In 2007, Diamond revealed that he was inspired to write the song by a photograph of Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. The “who,” as in the identity of the “Caroline” immortalized in the lyrics, is the much juicier question. He’d also written “I’m a Believer,” which The Monkees took to No. By this point in his career, Diamond had established himself as a fairly well-known singer-songwriter with two top-10 hits-“Cherry Cherry” and “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon”-to his name. Except the “where” part of this story is actually pretty simple: Diamond wrote “Sweet Caroline” in a Memphis hotel room in 1969 on the eve of a recording session at American Sound Studio. “Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing,” Diamond sings in the song’s iconic opening lines. It’s pop’s answer to the national anthem, and as any karaoke belter or Boston Red Sox fan will tell you, it’s way easier to sing than “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The song celebrated its 50th birthday in 2019, and judging by its rich history, people will still be singing it in 2069.
The story of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” has it all: love, baseball, Kennedys, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and the triumph of the human spirit.
