In 1974, Neil Diamond was sitting at the top of the pop world, transitioning from high-energy hitmaker to a more introspective, lushly orchestrated storyteller.
At just 33, he penned an unexpected mid-tempo ballad inspired by a classic 19th-century American poet, creating a track that topped the Adult Contemporary charts and stands as one of his most seductive records. That song was “Longfellow Serenade.”
The song reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1974. It remained on the charts for a total of 15 weeks.
The tune, located on Diamond’s Serenade LP, was based on poetry by 19th-century bard Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, known as a fireside poet. In the LP’s liner notes, posted by The Paris Review, Diamond explained the song’s meaning.
“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,” the songwriter shared.
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Long before “Longfellow Serenade,” the poet’s words served a very practical purpose for a young Diamond. According to biographer Laura Jackson’s Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion, the future superstar reportedly used Longfellow’s romantic rhymes in his youth to successfully charm an older woman.
The website Music Tales references the poet’s work, Serenade from Longfellow’s play The Spanish Student as the song’s inspiration. He translated that theatrical romance into a lush, acoustic-driven track that captured his peak ’70s sound.
Following his 1972 smash “Song Sung Blue,” “Longfellow Serenade” marked Diamond’s second No. 1 hit on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. The LP shot all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200.
According to the Kennedy Center, which recognized the legendary singer-songwriter as an honoree in 2011, Diamond is one of the “most accomplished pop songwriters of our era.”
The passage continued, “In five prolific decades he has created one of the most enduring catalogs of American popular music. Encompassing and transforming the many styles that define American popular music — from rock, folk and blues to country, Tin Pan Alley and top 40 pop — he has written some of our most treasured songs: “Solitary Man,” “Cherry, Cherry,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Holly, Holly,” “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am…I Said,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Kentucky Woman,” “America.”
More than fifty years later, “Longfellow Serenade” remains one of the more distinct tracks in Neil Diamond’s mid-’70s catalog. Its blending of 19th-century poetry with orchestrated pop was a huge risk, but it paid off, delivering a No. 5 hit that still holds up as one of the music legend’s smoothest love songs.
Related: 1969 Neil Diamond Classic, Written in Less Than One Hour, Remains Pop Culture’s Favorite ‘Reason to Smile’
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