Matt Vee's “Music of Neil Diamond: I Am … He Said" at the University of Dubuque -- October 4.
Tuesday, October 4, 7:30 p.m.
University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, 2255 Bennett Street, Dubuque IA
One of history's most admired singer/songwriters will be celebrated in the University of Dubuque's latest Heritage Center touring presentation on October 4, when Matt Vee's Music of Neil Diamond: I Am … He Said finds the headliner and a team of gifted musicians treating audiences to adored smash hits including “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “Sweet Caroline.”
To date, the 81-year-old Diamond has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had 10 chart-topping singles on Billboard's Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie," "Song Sung Blue," "Longfellow Serenade," "I've Been This Way Before," "If You Know What I Mean," "Desirée," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (Diamond's duet with Barbra Streisand), "America," "Yesterday's Songs," and "Heartlight," the latter inspired by Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In total, 38 songs by Diamond have been featured in the Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, and his movie debut in 1980's The Jazz Singer earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 2011, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors, and he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. In 2019, his 1969 signature song "Sweet Caroline" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and Billboard ranked him as the 25th greatest artist of all time. Diamond is also the only musician to score a top 20 hit in each decade since the origin of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, and over a career spanning five decades, he has scored 16 top-10 albums on Billboard charts.
Along with cousins Jeff and Tommy Vee (sons of the legendary Bobby Vee), touring artist Matt Vee joins forces with other family members and friends as The Killer Vees to celebrate the music from Diamond's timeless catalog. With the University of Dubuque Choir and Julien Chamber Choir joining as special guests, Matt Vee has said of his production, "This is not a tribute show. This is a celebration of an amazing musical icon we all love!"
Matt Vee's Music of Neil Diamond: I Am … He Said will be presented in the John & Alice Butler Hall of the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on October 4, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert is $25-45, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)589-3000 and visiting Dbq.edu/heritagecenter.
