The Jazz Singer (soundtrack)


The Jazz Singer is an album by American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, which served as the soundtrack album to the 1980 remake of the film The Jazz Singer. The soundtrack was released in November 1980 on Capitol Records, instead of Diamond's then-usual Columbia Records, because the film was produced by EMI Films, owned by the parent company of the label for which the soundtrack was released. The soundtrack was re-released in February 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States and Sony elsewhere. After Diamond signed with Capitol Records, this album was reissued by Capitol globally in 2014.
The film's reviews were negative, earning Diamond the first Razzie for Worst Actor at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards, but made a modest profit at the box office, grossing almost double its budget. However, its soundtrack was a huge success and became Diamond's biggest-selling album in the United States, selling over 5 million copies there and reaching No. 3 on the pop albums chart. This would mark the second time a Neil Diamond soundtrack outperformed the movie from which it came. Three songs from the album became top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Love on the Rocks", "Hello Again" and "America" reaching Nos. 2, 6, and 8, respectively.

Personnel

  • Neil Diamond – guitar, lead vocals
  • Richard Bennett – acoustic and electric guitars
  • Doug Rhone – guitar, backing vocals
  • Alan Lindgren – synthesizers, pianos, orchestra arrangements and conductor
  • Tom Hensley – keyboards, pianos, orchestra arrangements and conductor
  • Reinie Press – bass
  • Dennis St. John – drums, music director
  • Vince Charles – percussion
  • King Errisson – percussion
  • Assa Drori – concertmaster
  • Jimmy Getzoff – concertmaster
  • Sid Sharp – concertmaster
  • John Rosenberg – orchestra contractor
  • Bob Gaudio – vocal arrangements
  • Donny Gerard – backing vocals
  • Marilyn O'Brien – backing vocals
  • Linda Press – backing vocals, vocal arrangements
  • H.L. Voelker – backing vocals
  • Luther Waters – backing vocals
  • Oren Waters – backing vocals
  • Choir – Timothy Allan Bullara, Jeremy C. Lipton, Dale D. Morich, Yoav Steven Paskowitz, Boyd H. Schlaefer, Mark H. Stevens, David Teisher and James Gregory Wilburn

Production