HOT AUGUST NIGHT
Lee Holdridge Composer and Conductor. Lee collaborated with Neil Diamond on his 'Stones', 'Moods',
'Tap Root Manuscript' albums and on the film score of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'.
"Hot August Night was the big turning point. That magnetism that people think of with
Neil Diamond was born on that night. He knocked them dead. Neil came through a cloud of smoke and the audience just exploded. It was the first time I saw him confident on stage .....
That was chemistry." -
"Performers' Paradise" - ND
"We will do things for you that you will not forget for a while..." - ND 1972
"I’ve always regretted not filming the Hot August Night concert in ‘72, an album so pivotal in my career." - ND (2018)
HOT AUGUST NIGHT 1972
"Electric ... his audience falls like plums at his feet." - Tone - Daily Variety
"More of a triumph, in every measurable way, than his stunning show last summer at the Greek .... Most of all, Diamond gave of himself." - Robert Hilburn - Los Angeles Times
" ... he moved the audience through many moods from joy to sorrow." - Sue Cameron - The Hollywood Reporter
"The lean, sensual performer was A TRIUMPH." - Michael Carmack - Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
"I enjoyed the outstanding theatrical experience of my life, due to the unsurpassed and almost hypnotic talents of Neil Diamond." - James A Doolittle - General Director, Greek Theatre Association
"The 30-piece orchestra with conductor and composer Lee Holdridge behind him. The strings were magical and it was the most entertaining concert I have ever been to. I went to see him 3 times that week and, to this day, I can't forget how fantastic he sounded." - Bonnie Schultz
Credits
Guitar: Danny Nicholson, Richard Bennett, Neil Diamond
Guitar, Vibraphone: Emory Gordy Jr.
Bass: Reinie Press
Keyboards: Alan Lindgren
Percussion: Jefferson Kewley
Drums: Dennis St. John
Conductor: Lee Holdridge
Strings: Alice Ober, Baldassare Ferlazzo, David Turner, Donald Bagley, Giacinto Nardulli, Haim Shtrum, Henry Ferber, Giacinto Nardulli,
Hyman Goodman, Jay Rosen, Jerome Kessler, Jess Bourgeois, Jesse Ehrlich, John de Voogdt, Linn Subotnick, Marilyn Baker,
Myron Sandler, Nathan Gershman, Paulo Alencar, Philip Candreva, Philip Goldberg, Ralph Schaeffer, Raymond Kelley,
Richard Kaufman, Robert Lipsett, Ronald Folsom, Salvatore Crimi, Samuel Boghossian, Shari Zippert, Sidney Sharp, Sven Reher,
Tibor Zelig, Timothy Barr, Walter Rower, Walter Wiemeyer, Wilbert Nuttycombe, William Henderson
Producer: Tom Catalano
Art Direction: George Osaki
Crew [In-studio Sound]: Stan Miller
Crew [Lighting, Stage Direction]: Joe Gannon
Crew [Wardrobe]: Bill Whitten
Engineer: Armin Steiner
Liner Notes: Karen Shearer
Mastered By [Half-speed]: Stan Ricker
Photography By: Ed Careff, Tom Bert
Recorded in concert at The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles on August 24, 1972