Happy Birthday to Neil Diamond!!! Diamond shocked fans across the globe on Monday (January 22nd) when he announced he was retiring from live performances following a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.

Diamond announcement read in part: “It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years. My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows. I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come. My thanks goes out to my loyal and devoted audiences around the world. You will always have my appreciation for your support and encouragement. This ride has been ‘so good, so good, so good’ thanks to you.”

Diamond last performed live in Times Square on December 31st, 2017 singing “Sweet Caroline” as part of theDick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve telecast. Prior to that, back in October, he wrapped his massively successful “50 Year Anniversary World Tour” at London’s O2 Arena. A planned string of Down Under dates has since been canceled since his diagnosis.

Neil Diamond is beloved for his string of hits, including such classics as “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue,” “I Am. . . I Said,” “Cherry Cherry,” “Kentucky Woman,” “Thank The Lord For The Night Time,” “Solitary Man,” “Red, Red Wine,” “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” “Love On The Rocks,” “Hello Again,” and “America,” among many others. Diamond also wrote the Monkees‘ Number One hit, “I’m A Believer,” as well as other Monkees favorites including the Top Two hit, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow).”

2016 saw the release of Neil Diamond’s fourth holiday album, titled An Acoustic Christmas. Among the yuletide classics featured on the set are “O Holy Night,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” and “Silent Night.” The album was produced by Don Was and Jackknife Lee, who were behind the boards for Diamond’s last album, 2014’s Top Three set, Melody Road.

In 2013, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, Diamond pledged all the proceeds from the-then recent sales spike of his 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline” to Boston’s One Fund. The song, which has been an incredible source of pride and joy for Boston since it became a Fenway tradition over a decade ago, was played in honor of Boston at various games following the tragedy — including the Sox’s archrivals, the New York Yankees.

In 2007 Diamond made news when he revealed that Caroline Kennedy was the inspiration behind his 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline.”