| "Song Sung Blue" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| from the album Moods | ||||
| B-side | "Gitchy Goomy" | |||
| Released | May 1972 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Uni | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Catalano | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
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| Background Singers: Sally Stevens, Susie Stevens, Alison Freebairn-Smith and Jennifer Hicklin | ||||
"Song Sung Blue" is a 1972 hit song written and recorded by Neil Diamond, inspired by the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto #21. It was released on Diamond's album Moods, and later appeared on many of Diamond's live and compilation albums. The song was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States for one week, the week of July 1, and it spent twelve weeks in the Top 40. It also reached #14 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
"Song Sung Blue" was Diamond's second #1 hit in the U.S., after 1970's "Cracklin' Rosie", and to date his last solo #1 song (he had a #1 duet with Barbra Streisand in 1978, with "You Don't Bring Me Flowers").[3] In addition, "Song Sung Blue" spent seven weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart.[4] The song has become one of Diamond's standards, and he often performs it during concerts.
"Song Sung Blue" was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1973, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[4] Both awards that year were won by Roberta Flack's rendition of Ewan MacColl's song, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".
Cash Box said of it that "the song gives the phrase 'Everybody, sing!' new meaning."[5] Record World said that it has "simply some of the best and most commercial soft sounds on the contemporary scene."[6]
Diamond described "Song Sung Blue" in the liner notes to his 1996 compilation album, In My Lifetime, as a "very basic message, unadorned. I didn't even write a bridge to it. I never expected anyone to react to "Song Sung Blue" the way they did. I just like it, the message and the way a few words said so many things."[4]
- ^ Breihan, Tom (March 1, 2019). "The Number Ones: Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
Diamond based the "Song Sung Blue" vocal melody on the second movement of a Mozart concerto, and the melody, it turns out, translates just fine to pop music.
- ^ "song sung blue | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 314.
- ^ a b c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 108.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 29, 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 29, 1972. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-04-01.