| Longfellow Serenade | |
| Cover: | Longfellow Serenade cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Neil Diamond |
| Album: | Serenade |
| B-Side: | Rosemary's Wine |
| Released: | 1974 (US) |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Length: | 3:22 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Tom Catalano |
| Prev Title: | Skybird |
| Prev Year: | 1974 |
| Next Title: | I've Been This Way Before |
| Next Year: | 1975 |
"Longfellow Serenade" is the title of a 1974 song by the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. It was written by Diamond, produced by Tom Catalano, and included on Diamond's album Serenade.
"Longfellow Serenade" spent two weeks at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1974.[1] It was Diamond's second No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following his 1972 single, "Song Sung Blue".[2] The song reached No. 1 in Switzerland and No. 2 in Germany.
Diamond described "Longfellow Serenade" in the liner notes to his 1996 compilation album, In My Lifetime: "Occasionally I like using a particular lyrical style which, in this case, lent itself naturally to telling the story of a guy who woos his woman with poetry."[2] The title of the song is a reference to the 19th-century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[2] Diamond chose to reference Longfellow specifically after recalling an instance in which, while in his teens, Diamond had used one of the poet's works to successfully seduce a significantly older woman.[3]
Cash Box called it a "powerful up-tempo ballad", saying, "Neil handles the tune with his usual expertise and rich smooth vocal."[4] Record World said that Diamond "invokes a classic 19th century bard and turns in a true masterpiece of thought and performance perfection."[5]
| Chart (1974–75) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 7 |
| Belgium | 9 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[7] | 1 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[8] | 7 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Netherlands | 9 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | 29 |
| South Africa (Springbok)[9] | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[11] | 4 |
| Chart (1974) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] | 68 |
| Canada[13] | 85 |
| U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[14] | 67 |
| Chart (1975) | Rank |
|---|---|
| South Africa[15] | 14 |
| Switzerland[16] | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[17] | 36 |
Petr Spálený – Velký Muž Serenád
