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Longfellow Serenade
| "Longfellow Serenade" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| from the album Serenade | ||||
| B-side | "Rosemary's Wine" | |||
| Released | 1974 (US) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Catalano | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Longfellow Serenade" is the title of a 1974 song by the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. It was written by Diamond, produced by Tom Catalano, and included on Diamond's album Serenade.
"Longfellow Serenade" spent two weeks at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1974.[1] It was Diamond's second No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following his 1972 single, "Song Sung Blue".[2] The song reached No. 1 in Switzerland and No. 2 in Germany.
Diamond described "Longfellow Serenade" in the liner notes to his 1996 compilation album, In My Lifetime: "Occasionally I like using a particular lyrical style which, in this case, lent itself naturally to telling the story of a guy who woos his woman with poetry."[2] The title of the song is a reference to the 19th-century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[2] Diamond chose to reference Longfellow specifically after recalling an instance in which, while in his teens, Diamond had used one of the poet's works to successfully seduce a significantly older woman.[3]
Cash Box called it a "powerful up-tempo ballad", saying, "Neil handles the tune with his usual expertise and rich smooth vocal."[4] Record World said that Diamond "invokes a classic 19th century bard and turns in a true masterpiece of thought and performance perfection."[5]
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 177.
- ^ a b c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 150.
- ^ Jackson, Laura (2005). Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion (ECW Press), page 112.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 5, 1974. p. 14. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 5, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
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