SHOCKING CONFESSION: NEIL DIAMOND REVEALS THE SIX MUSICIANS HE COULD NEVER STAND — “SOME THINGS I KEPT QUIET FOR TOO LONG”
Los Angeles, California — The music world is reeling after Neil Diamond, the legendary singer-songwriter whose voice has carried across generations, made an astonishing confession at age 84. In a rare and unguarded interview from his Los Angeles home, the “Sweet Caroline” icon opened up about decades of creative conflict, rivalry, and the weight of silence — finally naming the six musicians he admitted he “could never stand.”
The revelation stunned both fans and peers, not just for the names on the list, but for the honesty behind it. Diamond, long regarded as one of music’s most private and gracious figures, said that time — and truth — had finally caught up with him. “You reach an age where you stop pretending you liked everyone you worked with,” he said with a soft laugh. “I’ve kept a lot inside for too long. Some of it was respect. Some of it was exhaustion. And some of it was just me trying to keep the peace.”
He went on to describe how the competitive spirit of the 1960s and 1970s — the era that shaped him — was both electric and punishing. “There were a few artists who treated music like a battlefield,” he explained. “I never wanted that. I came from a place of melody and emotion, not ego.”
While Diamond declined to share all the details of what fueled these decades-long tensions, sources close to him revealed that his list included artists he’d once admired deeply — singers and songwriters whose paths intertwined with his own rise to stardom. “It wasn’t hatred,” he clarified. “It was disappointment. You think you’re joining hands to make music, and then you realize some people only want to win.”
At one point in the conversation, Diamond admitted that one unnamed artist — a fellow songwriter from the Brill Building era — had once humiliated him publicly after a studio disagreement. “He told me I’d never write a hit song again,” Diamond recalled. “A year later, I wrote ‘Cracklin’ Rosie.’ That was my answer.”
Another name on his list, he revealed, was someone he once called a friend. “I trusted him,” Diamond said quietly. “We wrote together. We laughed together. And then one day, he took something that wasn’t his — a melody I’d been working on for months — and turned it into his own hit. That broke something in me.”
When asked if he would ever consider reconciling with any of them, Diamond shook his head. “No. I forgave them a long time ago — but I won’t forget. There’s a difference. Forgiveness is for peace of mind. Forgetting is for fools.”
Fans who know Neil Diamond’s reputation for warmth and humility were taken aback by his candor. But to those closest to him, this moment was long overdue. After retiring from touring in 2018 due to Parkinson’s disease, Diamond has spent much of his time reflecting on his career, his faith, and the personal cost of keeping his emotions buried.
“When you stop performing, you start remembering,” he said. “The silence makes room for the truth.”
He ended the conversation not with bitterness, but with grace — a tone that has defined him since the beginning. “Music gave me everything,” Diamond said, his voice steady. “Even the pain came with a melody. And maybe that’s the lesson — that even what hurt us most can still sing.”
The full interview — where Diamond reportedly names each of the six artists and elaborates on their clashes — is set to air later this week. Until then, the revelation continues to ripple through the industry, a reminder that even legends carry unspoken scars behind the songs that made them immortal.
As one longtime friend put it simply: “Neil Diamond has never been one for drama — so when he finally speaks his truth, you know he means every word.”