Play Me
Encyclopedia
"Play Me" is a 1972
song by Neil Diamond
from his album Moods. The song, the first single from Moods, was recorded in February 1972 in Los Angeles
. It was released as a single in May 1972 and peaked at #11 in the United States in September of that year. It was listed by Billboard as #27 of his best 30 songs.
The "catchy pop-rock" song, a medium-tempo waltz, features broken chords
played on the acoustic guitar
, courtesy of Diamond's long-time collaborator Richard Bennett
. Bennett had played on a few songs on Diamond's 1971 album Stones
; Moods was his first full album with him, and he played on every Diamond album until 1987 and toured with him for 17 years.
about a 2008 concert, "Diamond [at age 67] also still possesses the ability to charm, even though he didn't need to do much except wiggle his prominent eyebrows at women in the crowd to elicit schoolgirl-like squeals—'Play Me,' in particular, had a bizarre aphrodisiac effect."
Singer/songwriter Mary Lee Kortes, while performing it in 2000 in New York, suggested that she had lost her virginity to the song. Nancy Sinatra
said, "'Play Me' is my favorite [Neil Diamond] song, because it is sexy."
. Wild was especially fond of the lines "You are the sun, I am the moon, / You are the words, I am the tune, / Play me," and other writers have cited the lines as well. Diamond himself has referred to those lines, for instance in an apology to a 2008 Columbus, Ohio
, audience, for performing with a raspy voice while suffering from acute laryngitis
.
also cited those lines, claiming that they made him like the song. Martin Pearson also criticised that line, commenting "Ugh! It's "brought", you horrible little American!"
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
song by Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
from his album Moods. The song, the first single from Moods, was recorded in February 1972 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It was released as a single in May 1972 and peaked at #11 in the United States in September of that year. It was listed by Billboard as #27 of his best 30 songs.
The "catchy pop-rock" song, a medium-tempo waltz, features broken chords
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
played on the acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, courtesy of Diamond's long-time collaborator Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (guitarist)
Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
. Bennett had played on a few songs on Diamond's 1971 album Stones
Stones (Neil Diamond album)
Stones was an album by Neil Diamond. It was recorded and released in 1971 and was one of the bigger hit recordings of his career. The conductors and arrangers were Lee Holdridge, Marty Paich and Larry Muhoberac....
; Moods was his first full album with him, and he played on every Diamond album until 1987 and toured with him for 17 years.
Female praise
"Play Me" is an audience favorite, especially, it seems, among women, who carry signs that read "Neil, Play Me" to his performances and scream "me, me, me" when he plays the tune, described as "an entreaty to romance". Along with "Love on the Rocks" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", it is one of the "baritone ballads" that have "60-year-old women erupting in girlish screams"; it makes female audience members shriek and swoon. According to Melissa Ruggieri, writing for Media GeneralMedia General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
about a 2008 concert, "Diamond [at age 67] also still possesses the ability to charm, even though he didn't need to do much except wiggle his prominent eyebrows at women in the crowd to elicit schoolgirl-like squeals—'Play Me,' in particular, had a bizarre aphrodisiac effect."
Singer/songwriter Mary Lee Kortes, while performing it in 2000 in New York, suggested that she had lost her virginity to the song. Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
said, "'Play Me' is my favorite [Neil Diamond] song, because it is sexy."
Critical acclamation
It is widely praised by critics and musicians as well; it is among the top-ten favorite songs of American writer and critic David WildDavid Wild
David Wild is an American writer and critic in the music and television industries and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. His published books include Friends: The Official Companion , Seinfeld: The Totally Unauthorized Tribute , Friends 'til the end and others.Wild was the host of...
. Wild was especially fond of the lines "You are the sun, I am the moon, / You are the words, I am the tune, / Play me," and other writers have cited the lines as well. Diamond himself has referred to those lines, for instance in an apology to a 2008 Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, audience, for performing with a raspy voice while suffering from acute laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
.
Lyrical criticism
The song also has its detractors, and "Play Me" is not the only Diamond song criticized by some for its lyrics. Janice Kennedy said the song was "an exercise in fingernail-on-blackboard painfulness: 'Song she sang to me, song she brang to me.'" American humorist Dave BarryDave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
also cited those lines, claiming that they made him like the song. Martin Pearson also criticised that line, commenting "Ugh! It's "brought", you horrible little American!"