On This Day in 1970: Neil Diamond Topped the ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 for the First Time with “Cracklin’ Rosie”

In 1966, The Monkees scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m a Believer.” The song was written by Neil Diamond, who already had launched a successful solo career by that time.

It took until this day (October 10) in 1970, though, for Diamond to have his own Hot 100 chart-topper. That song was “Cracklin’ Rosie,” which appeared on Neil’s sixth studio album, Tap Root Manuscript. The tune knocked Diana Ross’ version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” from No. 1 on the chart. After one week, “Cracklin’ Rosie” was replaced at No. 1 by The Jackson 5’s classic ballad “I’ll Be There.”

[RELATED: Remember When a 67-Year-Old Neil Diamond Scored His First No. 1 Album on the Billboard 200 with Home Before Dark]

The song also was Diamond’s breakthrough single in the U.K., reaching No. 3 across the pond. In the U.S., he’d already enjoyed Top-10 success with four tunes. They were “Cherry, Cherry” (No. 6, 1966), “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” (No. 10, 1966), “Sweet Caroline” (No. 4, 1969), and “Holly Holy” (No. 6, 1969).

More About “Cracklin’ Rosie”

According to SongFacts.com, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Diamond explained that the inspiration for the song came from a story he’d heard about an indigenous tribe in northern Canada whose male members far outnumbered the female members. According to Neil, on lonely weekends, a lot of the men apparently would drink an inexpensive sparkling wine called Cracklin’ Rosé.

“On Saturday nights when they go out, the guys all get their girl,” he explained. “[T]he guys without girls get a bottle of Cracklin’ Rosé, that’s their girl for the weekend.”

Diamond recorded the track with the famed collective of session musicians the Wrecking Crew. Featured on the song were Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass, Al Casey on guitar, and Gene Estes on percussion. The track was arranged by keyboardist Don Randi.

In 1994, “Cracklin’ Rosie” was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 1 million in the U.S.

Diamond’s Other No. 1 Hits

After “Cracklin’ Rosie,” Diamond had two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as an artist. Neil’s laid-back pop gem “Song Sung Blue” reached the top spot in July 1972, while “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” his memorable duet ballad with Barbra Streisand, spent two non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 in December 1978.

Interestingly, “Cracklin’ Rosie” isn’t the only song Diamond wrote about wine that topped the Hot 100. In 1988, U.K. pop-reggae band UB40’s cover of the 1967 Diamond tune “Red, Red Wine” hit No. 1 on the chart.