Neil Diamond Was Shocked That This “Basic” Song Ever Became a Hit in 1972

In 1972, Neil Diamond already had several hits to his credit with songs that he wrote.  “Cracklin’ Rosie”, out in 1970, became his first No.1 single. It was followed by other successful songs, like “I Am…I Said” and “I’m A Believer”, among others. 

So when Diamond released “Song Sung Blue” in 1972, he thought he knew what a hit song was, and it wasn’t this song. On his Moods album, Diamond wrote “Song Sung Blue” and all of the songs on the record by himself. A simple tune, “Song Sung Blue” says, “Song sung blue, weeping like a willow / Song sung blue, sleeping on my pillow / Funny thing / But you can sing it with a cry in your voice / And before you know it, get to feeling good / You simply got no choice.”

A true musician, “Song Sung Blue” was inspired by the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto #21. The song not only became a No. 1 hit but also brought Diamond two Grammy nominations. It’s a success story that he later admits baffles him.

 “This is one to which I never paid too much attention,” Diamond says in his 1996 In My Lifetime boxed set. “A very basic message, unadorned. I didn’t even write a bridge to it. I never expected anyone to react to ‘Song Sung Blue’ the way they did.”

In fact, Diamond only included “Song Sung Blue” on Moods because of his own affection for the song.

“I just liked it, the message and the way a few words said so many things. I recorded the song strictly for that reason,” Diamond says. He adds that he had “no idea that it would become a huge hit or that people would want to sing along with it.”

The Surprising Success of “Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond

Diamond may not have known “Song Sung Blue” would be a hit, but the head of Diamond’s record label at the time, Russ Regan, reportedly told Diamond it would be his “biggest copyright ever”. Regan wasn’t wrong. The song has since been covered by numerous artists, including Andy Williams, Johnny Paycheck, Bobby Darin, and Frank Sinatra, among others.

“Although the lyric says everything I wanted it to say, there’s not much meat to it,” Diamond later acknowledges. “But it turned out to be a major, major copyright.”

In 2008, a documentary called Song Sung Blue was also released. The documentary tells the true story of husband and wife Mike Sardina and Claire Sardina, who found success performing in Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band. In 2025, their story was told in a movie of the same name, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

Photo by Tony Russell/Redferns