Neil Diamond wrote "Solitary Man" and recorded it on BANG records as his first single in 1966. It reached #55 that time. As Neil’s popularity grew on Uni records, BANG decided to re-release the single in 1970. That time, it reached #21 on the Hot 100 and #6 on the Easy Listening chart, #31 on the Canadian pop chart and #24 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. It’s been covered by many artists since then. Here are two of them.
Billy Joe Royal
From his 1982 album Makin’ Believe.
Johnny Rivers
From his 1973 album Blue Suede Shoes.
Those are our contestants for this battle. I hope everyone reading this votes in this battle, even if you’ve never voted before. It’s simple:
- Listen to the two songs.
- Decide which song you like the best.
- Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
- Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:
- Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
- Arlee at Tossing It Out
- Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
- Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
- Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Diedre at Streampebbles
- Debbie at BOTB by Debbie D
Voting for this round ends next Wednesday, March 1 at 12:00 noon, so make sure I have your vote by then.
The lines are now open. Good luck to Billy Joe and Johnny!
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
It’s Johnny Rivers for me. I like the sound of his voice.
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I know I’m late. I thing Neil Diamond can’t be beat, but of the two covers, Johnny Rivers wins hands down.
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If I can’t vote for the original, I have to go with Rivers. I like the subtle change in the lyrics, makes it more of a break up song. And I like the edgier quality of his version.
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I think I’ll lose on this one but surprisingly I pick the Billy Joe Royal…I like the sound of that recording more….and I’m a Rivers fan.
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I vote for Johnny Rivers. I prefer hearing the voice of the singer clearly as opposed to having the vocal mixed in with the crashing and banging of the instruments. Don’t know if that makes any sense.
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It’s Johnny Rivers for me. Love the soulfulness of his voice
Great battle!
– Mary
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Johnnie Rivers does it for me.
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I’m going against the tide and voting for Billy Joe. I like the tempo, and the vocals are brought to the front and center. The repeated ending is rather annoying, though.
I think Johnny Rivers’ version is overproduced, and the instruments overshadow his vocals a bit. It just sounds like the Secret Agent Man covering Neil Diamond.
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I like both of these artists. Both versions are good. However, I prefer the production and presentation better with the Johnny Rivers version. He gets my vote.
Lee
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John,
I honestly don’t remember this song. Between the two artists, I preferred Johnny Rivers . His voice just sounds nicer to my ears. Thanks for stopping by today to vote in my BOTB underway. Have a bandtastic afternoon!
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Hard to choose, but I think I’ll have to go with Johnny.
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Billy Joe Royal sounds very true to Neil Diamond’s version. Johnny Rivers sounds like he made it more his song.
I’m going to go with Johnny Rivers but this is one of those songs where I’d really rather listen to ND.
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I was listening to Neil Diamond just this morning! Billy Jo has a nice tempo, but Johnny Rivers gets my vote for soul. He sings it like he means it 😉
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BROTHER JOHN ~
JOHNNY RIVERS is always going to be a tough artist to beat, and this was no exception. Billy’s rendition was fine, but I didn’t prefer it to Johnny’s take on the song which seemed, to me, imbued with deeper feeling.
~ D-FensDogG
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Can’t vote against Niel Diamond!
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He’s not competing. Sorry! Want to vote for either Billy Joe Royal or Johnny Rivers?
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Oh! How embarrassing.. holds head in shame!
I like the Jonny Rivers 💜
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Of these two, it’s Rivers for me ~ he sounds sadder. But of course I like ND’s best!
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I agree.
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That’s one of my favourite Neil Diamond songs! The covers are both good and I had to listen to them a couple of times. In the end, I preferred Johnny Rivers’ vocals, so I’m going with him.
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I am going with the first one- Billy Jo Royal because I just liked his rendition better
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I like them both and Neil Diamond’s version of course but guess I’ll go with Johnny Rivers. More passion in his voice.
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