#93 "Forever In Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond

Elvis, ABBA, Queen, KISS, and now Neil Diamond? Yes, people, there's always room for some cheese in The 300's heart.

Something made me think of the big Neil the other day and I thought, "Wait a minute... I've yet to talk about him on the list! What's going on?" When I did some investigating, I realized that I'd never burned my Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits cd into ITunes. Somehow it eluded the massive conversion from cd's to mp3's that I did a year or so ago. Hence we have #93 on the list, which should actually be somewhere closer to #76. Sorry, folks.

I don't know when I first discovered Neil Diamond. I swear I saw him in some cowboy movie a long time ago, but it may have been some sort of western video send-up for one of his classic 70's tunes like "Cracklin' Rosie" or something. I remember my mother HATING Neil Diamond. I don't really know why. I'm pretty sure she's still not a big fan. I certainly remember his "Turn on Your Heartlight" song from the biggest movie of the 80's "ET." He disappeared for a while I guess, but came back as a sort of cultural icon in movies like "Saving Silverman" or in Saturday Night Live skits with Will Ferrell. And yeah... he IS cheesy. The haircut. The sequins. The whole package is a little much, but there's no denying his ability as a songwriter. The guy has hammered out a zillion memorable songs, and not just for himself. Maybe it was humming his "I'm a Believer" from when I watched The Monkees as a kid that first got me in tune with my inner Diamond. Regardless... I like the guy and if you ask my wife, I also do a pretty sweet impression of him.

"Forever in Blue Jeans" is always the first Neil Diamond song I think of. It may not be as big as a few of his others, but it's one that I always liked. I still can't believe I overlooked it for so long here, but without further ado...

"Forever In Blue Jeans" can be found on a number of Neil Diamond compilations, like "The Essential" or "The Neil Diamond Collection." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.