When Rob Garrett reflects on the three decades he’s portrayed Neil Diamond, it’s clear the tribute artist is more than just an uncanny vocalist who resembles the “Sweet Caroline” singer.
Garrett might just be Diamond’s No. 1 fan.
Well before his official Neil Diamond impersonation in 1995, Garrett would cover Diamond’s hits in his band, casually accepting it when people brought up the vocal similarities.
“When I went to see Neil Diamond in July of ‘76, I was just a fan like everybody else,” said Garrett, remembering the sold out show at the Aladdin Theater. “I had no idea that he was going to become a career.”
Diamond’s sold-out Las Vegas opening would go on to be the first of 17 times Garrett saw him in concert.
“He made that audience go crazy,” said Garrett, who remembers that concert as the most memorable of the 17 times.
At the time, Garrett had already seen Elvis in concert 19 times and was sure that nobody could ever match up. But recalling the two hours of energy and charisma that Neil Diamond displayed, Garrett was proven wrong.
There were undeniable similarities between Elvis and Diamond — starting with each sporting coiffed dark hair with sideburns. But one of the main distinctions for Garrett was songwriting.
“Neil was a writer and more like a rock poet at that time, and Elvis was a translator of other people’s songs,” says Garrett.
Now, with his own residency in Vegas, Garrett often reflects on the serendipitous journey that brought him to this full-circle moment.
In 1995, Garrett was hired by Paul Revere of “Paul Revere and The Raiders” to portray Neil Diamond in the biggest “impersonation” type show in the world, “Legends In Concert”.
“I watched video upon video upon video,” said Garrett, likening his intense character study to Austin Butler’s famed method acting for “Elvis.” But unlike Butler, Garrett never felt like he was Diamond off the stage. He chalks this up to the natural similarities between him and Diamond.
“Both me and Neil Diamond are Jewish and born in Brooklyn,” said Garrett. Add to that other coincidences like both having one younger brother and a similar singing voice, and it’s almost like they are two sides of the same coin.
“Even though certain things in our lives are the same, we definitely have two different offstage personalities,” said Garrett.
Yet despite that, the audience sometimes gets caught up in the similarities. Garrett recounted how someone yelled out in the middle of his show “You’re Neil Diamond!” To which Garrett joked, “No, trust me, I just checked my bank account this morning and I’m not Neil Diamond.”
As he prepares to hit the road for his show in Vacaville, Garrett views the break from his residency as a “paid vacation.” The larger venue will also mark a departure from his usual intimate venue of 50 to 100 people. But no matter the venue size, it’s difficult to reign in the overwhelming excitement for “that song” as Garrett calls it.
“There’s not a human being on the planet that doesn’t know that song, and every age group know it as well,” said Garrett. “Wherever I go, when we get into a singalong, I tease them and say, ‘it’s not going to be that one, I’m going to make you wait before we do that one’.”
Of course, when “Sweet Caroline” makes it’s long awaited debut during the performance, everyone goes crazy, standing up and shaking Garrett’s hands as he makes his way around the room. “I just love seeing the reaction, that’s why I love the song,” said Garrett, although his favorite, bar none, is “I am … I said.”
“It’s the song that he considers an autobiographical masterpiece, his most personal song, the most difficult song he had to write,” said Garrett. The song is about belonging and growing up in New York City and moving to the West Coast, which Garrett relates to especially.
Although Garrett already knew how to be a stage performer with his own cover band, one of the learning curves that came with donning Diamond’s persona was acting the part. “I learned how to be somebody else who had very specific moves and very specific mannerisms when he performed a song,” said Garrett.
Diamond’s retirement in 2018 only reaffirmed Garrett’s desire to honor his legacy. “It is an obligation but it is a very welcome obligation,” said Garrett. “It’s not something I ever get tired of doing.”
IF YOU GO:
- WHAT: The Neil Diamond Concert Experience Starring Rob Garrett
- WHEN: April 19, 7:30 p.m.
- WHERE: Vacaville Performing Arts Theater, 1010 Ulatis Drive, Vacaville.
- TICKETS: $42 – $52, Tickets available online at; vpat.net
