| The Bang Years 1966-1968 | |
|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | |
| Released | 2011 |
| Recorded | 1966-1968 |
| Label | |
The Bang Years 1966-1968 is a compilation album by Neil Diamond of Diamond's 23 songs he recorded for Bang Records in mono. [1] Originally issued in 2011 by Columbia Records, it was reissued in 2014 by Capitol Records after Diamond signed with Capitol taking his Bang catalog with him.
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [2] | 86 |
| Belgian Heatseekers Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [2] | 5 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [3] | 88 |
| US Top Current Albums ( Billboard ) [4] | 199 |
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desirée", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "America", "Yesterday's Songs", and "Heartlight". Thirty-eight songs by Diamond have reached the top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, including "Sweet Caroline". He has also acted in films, making his screen debut in the 1980 musical drama film The Jazz Singer.
Louis Allen Rawls was an American bass-baritone singer, record producer, composer and actor. Rawls released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song "You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine". He also worked as a film, television and voice actor. He was a three-time winner of the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Grammy Award.
1962–1966, also known as the Red Album, is a compilation album of hit songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. Released with its counterpart 1967–1970 in 1973, the double LP peaked at number 3 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it topped the Cash Box albums chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart while 1967–1970 reached the top spot. The album was re-released in September 1993 on compact disc, charting at number 3 in the UK.
Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. The first letters of their names formed the label's name.
"I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by American band the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966, and remained there for seven weeks, becoming the last number-one hit of 1966 and the biggest-selling single for all of 1967. Billboard ranked the record as the number-five song for 1967. While originally published by Screen Gems-Columbia Music (BMI), it is now published by Stonebridge Music/EMI Foray Music (SESAC), with administration passed to Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group.
"Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out to "The Way You Look Tonight". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra.
"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. Denny Doherty was the lead vocalist. It was the group's only #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" is a song written by American musician Neil Diamond, whose recording of it on Bang Records reached number 10 on the US pop singles chart in 1967. The song enjoyed a second life when it appeared on the 1994 Pulp Fiction soundtrack, performed by rock band Urge Overkill. Other versions have been recorded by Cliff Richard (1968), Jackie Edwards (1968), the Biddu Orchestra (1978), and 16 Volt (1998).
This is the discography of American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in history. Billboard ranked him as the 25th greatest artist of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Diamond has sold 49.5 million albums in the United States.
Just for You is the second album by the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. Like his first, it has never been released on CD, though all but two of the tracks were made available on the Classics: The Early Years compilation. All tracks are also available on the compilation album The Bang Years 1966-1968. At some point or another, every single track on it was released either as an A-side or a B-side of a single, with many of them becoming big hits: "You Got to Me" (#18), "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (#10), "Thank the Lord for the Night Time" (#13), "Red Red Wine" (#62), and "Shilo". Curiously, the year-old hit "Cherry Cherry" also appears here, while the then-current hit "Kentucky Woman" (#22) does not. "Solitary Man" also re-appears in its 1966 version. This version would be re-released in 1970 and chart at #21. This was Diamond's first album consisting entirely of original material, and his final album for the Bang label.
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond.
"Solitary Man" is a song written by American musician Neil Diamond, who recorded the song for Bang Records in late January 1966. It has since been covered many times, notably by T. G. Sheppard, Gianni Morandi, Chris Isaak, Johnny Cash and HIM.
"Cherry, Cherry" is a 1966 song written, composed, and recorded by American musician Neil Diamond.
The Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 is a compilation album by Neil Diamond released in 1992. Songs from his years with Uni/MCA (1968–1972) are represented by live or studio re-recordings as noted below because MCA Records refused to license the masters to Columbia Records, something that would cause controversy.
Classics: The Early Years is a compilation album by American musician Neil Diamond released in 1983 featuring the early recordings he made for Bang Records in 1966 and 1967. After CBS acquired the Bang Records catalogue, the twelve best recordings were reissued on this album. Columbia gave Diamond control of the Bang masters of his recordings. The original copyright notice of this album read "(C) and (P)1983 Neil Diamond and CBS Inc." This compilation has a different track lineup compared to the 1968 Bang compilation album titled Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits which contains two cover songs. All the songs in this album are original Diamond compositions and substitutes "I'm A Believer" and "Shilo" in place of the Gary U.S. Bonds hit "New Orleans" and the Tommy James and the Shondells hit "Hanky Panky."
Melody Road is Neil Diamond's 32nd studio album, and first album of original music recorded since 2008's well-received Home Before Dark, which debuted on the US album charts at #1. It was produced by Don Was and Jacknife Lee.
"Two-Bit Manchild" is a song written and performed by Neil Diamond. It appears on Neil's 1968 album Velvet Gloves and Spit, and was released as an A-side with a B-side of "Broad Old Woman ". It is a "strong and interesting" song according to Robert Jamieson.
50 Year Anniversary World Tour is a Neil Diamond tour that marked the 50th Anniversary of Diamond's first hit single, "Solitary Man," released in 1966. It began in Fresno, California on April 7, 2017, and concluded at The O2 Arena in London on October 19, 2017. The tour began just after the March release of a 50-song, three-disc career-spanning box set titled Neil Diamond 50 – 50th Anniversary Collection. The Oceania tour was announced on November 10, 2017 and cancelled on January 22, 2018, after Diamond announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
"I'll Come Running" is a song written by Neil Diamond. It was first released by Diamond in July 1966 as the B-side to his US top-ten single "Cherry, Cherry", before being included on his debut album The Feel of Neil Diamond, released in August 1966. The song was later covered by Cliff Richard and released as a single in June 1967; it peaked at number 26 in the UK Singles Chart.
