"Yesterday's Songs" by Neil Diamond

Song#:  0815
Date:  11/07/1981
Debut:  51
Peak:  11
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  For Diamond it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. He starred in the 1980 box office bomb "The Jazz Singer," yet its soundtrack became his best-selling album that featured three Top 10 hits. After the dust settled, it was time move on with a new album and Diamond issued "On the Way to the Sky." It featured this first single that peaked at the dreaded #11 spot. However, it was a #1 hit at AC. Even though he had recent hits, the musical landscape was changing fast and Diamond's brand of AC/pop was falling out of favor. Although it did well, this song was not considered a major success and the album became Diamond's first to not reach the Top 10 since 1971. He would briefly rally back in another year, but this is pretty much where Diamond's hit-making days began to dwindle.

ReduxReview:  After putting out some of his best singles with "The Jazz Singer," this was certainly a disappointment. I didn't like this song when it first came out and I can't say I'm a big fan of it even now. It just sounded so old fashioned at the time (yeah, I know the theme of the song is yesterday stuff, but still...) and it's almost like Diamond went backwards in time instead of moving his music forward. The rest of the album wasn't much better. I don't know what he or his label was thinking, but this was totally the wrong album at the wrong time.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Diamond has always been a staple artist on AC radio. He's had more success on that chart than pop. He currently ranks as the third most successful artist on the AC chart (behind Barbra Streisand and Elton John). He has amassed 37 Top 10 hits with 7 of those reaching #1.

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