| "Cherry, Cherry" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Single cover artwork for the 1973 live version | ||||
| Single byNeil Diamond | ||||
| from the albumThe Feel of Neil Diamond | ||||
| B-side | "I'll Come Running" | |||
| Released | July 1966[1] | |||
| Recorded | February – March 1966 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:39 (studio single)[4] 3:56 (live single)[5] | |||
| Label | Bang | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond[6] | |||
| Producer(s) | Jeff Barry,Ellie Greenwich | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Cherry, Cherry" is a 1966 song written, composed, and recorded by American musicianNeil Diamond.
The song was recorded in February - March 1966, and was originally intended as a demo, arranged byArtie Butler and produced byJeff Barry andEllie Greenwich. It was issued as a 45single in 1966 where Greenwich came up with the chorus and can be heard as the prominent background voice, accompanied by Jeff Barry. Diamond has stated that the song was inspired by an early relationship with a significantly older woman.[7] Session guitaristAl Gorgoni (who later played on "The Sound of Silence" bySimon & Garfunkel and "Brown Eyed Girl" byVan Morrison) contributed to the song.Rolling Stone would later label "Cherry, Cherry" as "one of the greatest three-chord songs of all time".[8]
Billboard described the single as an "exciting production [which] features bass piano backing and choral support of Diamond's vocal work."[9]Cash Box said that it is a "lively, pulsating chorus-backed romancer with an infectious repeating riff" that is a "sure-fire blockbuster".[10]Record World called it "groovy", saying that "nifty piano and guitar backing will get teeny hoppers dancing."[11]
"Cherry, Cherry" was Diamond's first big hit,[1][12] reaching No. 6 on both theBillboard Hot 100 chart,[12] in October 1966,[1] and theCash Box chart.In 1973, a live recording of "Cherry, Cherry" was issued as a 45 single from Diamond's live albumHot August Night (1972). The live version hit No. 24 on theCash Box chart and No. 31 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[12]Billboard said that "the live sound and the bouncing arrangement makes it almost a different song" from the original studio version.[13]
Two versions of "Cherry, Cherry" have been released. The version familiar to most listeners was recorded in late January 1966 and released byBang Records in mid-1966, and was recorded as a demo, with Butler on keyboards, and Barry and Greenwich on backing vocals and hand-claps.[14] The other version, with different lyrics and originally intended to be released as the single, was finally released by Diamond andSony Music Entertainment in 1996 on the compilation albumIn My Lifetime.
The song is featured in the movieSaving Silverman, performed by the main characters’ Neil Diamond cover band, Diamonds in the Rough. It is also used inHow to Make an American Quilt and during the introduction of the character Veronica Corningstone inAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.[16]
CharactersHoward Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) andAmy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) from theCBS sitcomThe Big Bang Theory are also seen singing it in "The Scavenger Vortex" (S7, E3) atThe Cheesecake Factory.
As a solo artist, he'd scored his big breakthrough with the 1966 garage-rock hookfest "Cherry Cherry"...
