Name: Neil Diamond Performs "America" | Letterman
Uploaded: 2023-07-04T22:00:17.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Neil Diamond Performs "America" | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-07-04. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Neil Diamond Performs "America" | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-07-04. Transcript available.

Our next guest is one of the most popular singers in the entire world, having
sold nearly 100 million albums.
And earning more gold records than anyone except for Elvis, singing now one of
his biggest hits ever from this CD right here, entitled Live in America.
Ladies and gentlemen, here's Neil Diamond.
Neil!
We've been traveling far, without a home, but not without a star.
Free, oh we want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to that dream.
On the boats and on the planes, they come to America, never looking back again,
they come to America.
Oh, don't it seem so far away, but we're traveling light today, in the eye of a
star, in the eye of a star.
Freedom's light burning war, freedom's light burning war.
There around the world, they come into America, every time that flag's unfurled,
they come into America.
Got a dream to take them there, they come into America.
Got a dream they come to share, they come into America.
America, they come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
They come into America.
Today, yes.
Today, yes.
Today, yes.
Today, yes.
Today, yes. Today, yes. Today. My country, jesuvi. Today. Sweet land of liberty.
Today. Of the eyes sing. Today. Of the eyes sing. Today. Today.
Today. Today. Yes. Today.
Welcome back to the show. Happy 4th of July. Thank you so much. Neal Diamond,
kids. We'll be right back. Neal, thank you very much. That was very exciting.
Thank you.
You've been on the program before, and I really can't tell you how happy I am
you're celebrating the 4th of July with us tonight.
Is this a good holiday for people to work? This is a good holiday for people to
come to New York because it's empty. But I've worked on July 4th before. I've
done concerts in Washington and the Statue of Liberty.
But I actually did one in Germany once on July 4th. And they're not familiar.
Now that doesn't mean anything to the Germans.
It means nothing at all. It could be Tuesday, January 3rd. It doesn't matter.
So we said, wow, it's July 4th. We're Americans. We're coming over here. Let's
give them a big fireworks show at the end of it.
Show them what it's like. Show them what Americans are made of, you know. And
there were some German technicians. Yeah, they didn't speak English at all.
They just said, yeah, and they'll know when to push it. And there was a key
word.
Meantime, in the middle of the last song that I'm doing, which is Brother Love,
the song slows down and I begin the part that I do a sermon to the audience.
Brothers and sisters, which probably means in German, blow the whole place up.
Well, they fired everything that they had all at once, you know. And for about
30 seconds, I tried to sing louder or talk louder.
You can't do that. Those things are horrendous. So I said, thank you, thank you.
Left the stage. My band left the stage. My sound engineer climbed over his
board to get out. My lighting engineer.
Those Germans, really, they got a sense of human.
Oh, yeah. And you went to high school with Barbara Streisand.
Did you get a chance to say hello backstage?
I saw Bud. I saw Bud. She's changed a lot.
I mean, this woman is, I mean, she was a beautiful woman when I knew her.
Now, she's a short old man. I don't know.
This theater, you worked here when it was the Ed Sullivan show, still the Ed
Sullivan Theater.
And how many times were you on his show?
I did it once. It was in the late 60s. He had gone to color.
And it was a tremendous thrill because everybody who was anybody wanted to do
that show.
Absolutely. That made you, that was the stamp of approval.
Absolutely. No question about it.
So I got on the show. I did my song.
And he used to stay around after the show and mingle with his guests right here
on this stage and say hi and everything.
And he did that night. He was very gracious.
And I asked him if I could bring my mother and father up and just to have him
meet him.
Oh, that must have been a big thrill for the whole family.
Oh, they were thrilled. I mean, this was Ed Sullivan.
And they come up, Mom, this is Ed Sullivan. Dad, this is Ed Sullivan. He's, you
know him. He's wonderful.
My mother pulls out of her pocket a picture of me autographed.
And she says, remember him. He's going places.
This is true. She actually, it took about four years for me to ever invite her
to anything I did again.
Mom is working Ed Sullivan.
She did. And matter of fact, when we finished The Jazz Singer, the last day of
shooting of The Jazz Singer, Laurence Olivier was there.
And I invited my folks to come down and meet him.
She did the same thing. She gave him an autographed picture of me.
You know, which is why she's not here tonight.
But she's on a cruise somewhere, I think.
But, you know, I'd be mingling with our guests tonight after the show if it
weren't for Richard Simmons.
Yeah, I don't.
But come back tomorrow and you and I can mingle.
All right. Can Neil and I go outside to trigger the fireworks or not?
Yeah.
Is that all right, Bob?
All right. Do you want to do that?
All right. We'll go right out here.
This will be our big farewell right out here.
Watch your step.
Watch your step.
Okay, here we go.
This is it. Is this the finale?
This is the finale, Dave.
Neil Diamond.
It's done.
Show him what to do.
Let him set off the...
All you need to do is just hold that red button down.
And then run for your lines.
And that's going to go like heck up on the top.
Okay.
Really?
So, whenever you're ready, just hold it down.
Here we go.
Happy Fourth of July to you.
Good night, folks.
Thanks for watching.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Bye.