(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Neil Diamond - "Song Sung Blue"
Hit Number 1: July 1, 1972
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
Apparently 1972 was the year where artists had no belief in their songs. Yet again, "Song Sung Blue" was a scenario where the artist didn't think their song was hit material. At least Neil Diamond didn't hate his song like Sammy Davis Jr. hated "The Candy Man", but he didn't think the song had any hit potential to it. Diamond said how he always thought of "Song Sung Blue" as an afterthought, and though it was a song he always liked himself, he believed it to be too basic. What Diamond didn't realize is that basic worked in 1972. There are so many songs in this time that didn't have much to them, but they were easy to listen to, and were lighthearted enough that the music-buying public found them appealing. That's all "Song Sung Blue" is.
"Song Sung Blue" is not Diamond's first #1 hit. He appeared in this blog once before with "Cracklin' Rosie", a really fun song about a lonely guy getting drunk, but "Song Sung Blue" isn't quite at the level of that song. Instead, it's a nice little song about singing the blues to make yourself feel better. The song starts pretty soft, and keeps building and building, adding a choir, a drumbeat and some lively strings. Allegedly, the song was inspired by Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 21". I admittedly have no idea what that sounds like, so I'll just have to take their word for it. All I can say is that "Song Sung Blue" is pretty generic, with no special backstory tied to it, and that even Diamond didn't think it had hit potential. But it was still released, hit #1, and remains today as a nice little listen. Nothing spectacular, just a good song.
On that note, Diamond will appear in this blog again, but not by himself.
GRADE: 7/10
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