Neil Diamond has opened up about living with Parkinson’s disease after being diagnosed with the condition in 2018.
In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the singer-songwriter behind hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “Cracklin’ Rosie” opened up about putting his life on display “warts and all” for the Broadway musical A Beautiful Noise, along with his 2018 Parkinson’s diagnosis and adjusting to life and performance with the condition.
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The Grammy-winning artist has only really come to terms with his diagnosis “in the last few weeks,” he said.
“I don’t like it. But, this is me; this is what I have to accept. And I’m willing to do it,” Diamond said. “This is the hand that God’s given me, and I have to make the best of it, and so I am.”
Part of the reason the musician had trouble accepting his diagnosis was that he had a “pretty amazing life” and he didn’t always appreciate it in the moment. ”
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Diamond has since had to face the reality that his busy schedule of creating and touring is of the past. “I can’t really fight this thing, so I had to accept it, this Parkinson’s disease. There’s no cure,” he said. “There’s no getting away from it. You can’t just say, ‘OK, enough already. Let’s get back to life.’ It doesn’t work like that.”
“I’ve come to accept what limitations I have, and still have great days,” he added.
Diamond continues to find joy in music. “I still can sing,” he said. “I feel good. It’s like, all the systems in my mind and my body are working as one when I’m singing. And it’s a great feeling.”
But in January 2018, Diamond revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that abruptly ended his touring career.
In the 1960s Diamond climbed the charts with hits like “Cherry, Cherry,” “Thank the Lord for the Night Time,” “Holly Holy,” and “Sweet Caroline.”
In the Seventies, with “Cracklin’ Rose,” “Song Sung Blue,” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” he conquered the world. By the Eighties, he was one its biggest concert draws. In the ’90s, no one sold more tickets than the “Jewish Elvis.”
When Diamond and Mason met once more in 2014 for “CBS This Morning,” the singer was about to go on the road again – and he implied it wasn’t by choice. “I have to, yeah. I don’t want to,” he said.
“So, where does the ‘have to’ come from?” Mason asked.
“I have to because if I want to maintain any self … ” He paused. “I don’t know why I have to.”
But in January 2018, Diamond revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that abruptly ended his touring career.
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