Neil Diamond Giving Proceeds From ‘Sweet Caroline’ Sales to One Fund
Photo via Bradalmanac/Flickr
Neil Diamond is showing his support for Boston by giving the money earned from the sales of “Sweet Caroline” to the One Fund.
In the week following the Boston Marathon attack, song sales spiked more than 500 percent, and sold nearly 20,000 copies, according to the Nielsen Entertainment ratings, which measures audience size in terms of sales.
According to Billboard.com:
The bulk of ‘Sweet Caroline’s’ sales last week came from the Boston designated marketing area (DMA), where 8.7% of its sales for the week were registered. It was the No. 28-selling song in the city last week. Comparatively, on the national level, ‘Sweet Caroline’ was the 103rd-biggest tune.
When Diamond heard about the news, he tweeted, “Donating these royalties to One Fund!”
The sales boost was sparked in part by Diamond’s appearance at Fenway Park, where he performed “Sweet Caroline” in front of fans on Saturday, April 20. The event wasn’t pre-planned, according to the musician’s website. The singer merely showed up at Fenway 30 minutes before game time, and asked if he could do the performance for the people of Boston, following a ceremony that day honoring the victims and first responders of the Marathon bombings. “He then called up to the control room and simply asked if he could sing the song that is heard during the [eighth] inning of every Red Sox home game,”according to his website.
The money from sales will benefit the One Fund, which was set up by Mayor Tom Menino and Governor Deval Patrick to aid the victims of the attack. So far, the fund has raised more than $21 million in less than two weeks.
