You’d think a guy who gets onstage and sings Neil Diamond songs might look like the spangled, hip-swiveling star. Denny Diamond doesn’t–but he’ll still make you sing like a guitar hummin’.
Denny, 42, of Harvard was told decades ago he sounded like Neil. Now his Neil Diamond act is pretty much a full-time gig–but he makes it clear he’s not an impersonator.
“I don’t try to study his moves,” Denny said. “It’s all about the music. And to me, it’s my natural voice. That’s just the way I sound.”
Denny said plenty of 20-somethings are grooving at his gigs.
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“They’re finding a new respect for the old music,” he said. “It’s usually the early stuff they like. `Captain Sunshine’ and `Gitchy Goomy.'”
His own kids are into the sound too, Denny said. “I have one son who just started high school. One kid plays guitar, one plays bass, and my daughter has picked up the violin. We sit on the floor at home and do Neil Diamond stuff.”
Has the great one ever heard him sing?
“I played in Nashville once the same day Neil Diamond did,” Denny said. “He wasn’t there, but his band members were in the audience holding up cell phones so he could hear. He later told me, `Thanks for keeping the music going.'”
For info on Denny’s gigs and CD, go to www.dennydiamond.com.