Jerry Corelli the Christian Neil Diamond

1975 was when this picture was taken.  I was 16 years old and trying desperately to grow a mustache.

 For some reason dressing stupid was the fashion back then.  I don't know why I wore that hat.

This was the first "Neil Diamond" album I'd listened to.  A friend, Jim Eberle, had the album and said I sound like him and that I should listen to the album.  I guess I was to the second song on the "Serenade" album and I was hooked.  At first I know it was because my voice was beginning to lower and it was easier to sing to Neil Diamond that it was Steve Archer.  I also listened to Barry McGuire.  The album below was my first Barry McGuire album like Neil Diamond's "Serenade" was my first Neil Diamond album I bought after giving Jim back the album he let me borrow.

Then I discovered used album stores and found out Neil Diamond had a bunch of albums prier to the Serenade album and once I heard the "Hot August Night" album I knew I wanted to collect them all.

I guess I was 18 or so when I first started getting people coming up to me after a gig and saying, "Do you know who you sound like?" or "You sound just like Neil Diamond."  From that first time and for a long time that statement used to really bother me.  When I listened to my recordings and compared them with Neil Diamond I couldn't hear it.  I guess it's like William Shatner not seeing why comedians do his captain Kirk the way they do.

I'm not sure when I started becoming comfortable with the Neil Diamond thing but I think I realized that as singers we have to be compared with someone so now I tend to use it in my favor.  In 2010 I've been singing at a lot of Worthy Music Ministries' Showcases and many of them are in more secular venues like the Seattle Center - Center House Stage, Tacoma Freedom Fair and the Orting Pumpkin Fest.  The venues don't have too big of a problem with us sing Christian music but I've found that since people think I sound like Neil Diamond it's a great chance to get it out of the way by singing "America".

Now when I sing at venues and do Neil Diamond's "America" it tends to get it out of the way and it is an attention grabber too.  I now have more people coming up to tell me I'm the Christian Neil Diamond.