Solitary Man - Live At The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles/1972

"Solitary Man" was Neil Diamond's first charting single as a recording artist. In a 2005 Times Online interview, Diamond said: "After four years of Freudian analysis I realized I had written 'Solitary Man' about myself."

Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich produced this track. Diamond worked with them in the Brill Building when he was a young songwriter.

According to David Wild, who interviewed Diamond for Rolling Stone and wrote He Is...I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond, this was a turning point in Diamonds songwriting. When we asked David if Diamond's songs were personal or character-driven, he told us: "I think they're all personal for Neil - that may be part of the secret of his success. He's a deeply personal performer - a groundbreaking introspective singer songwriter since "Solitary Man" - who transforms himself into an exhibitionist onstage."