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She's the Real 'Sweet Caroline'

Neil Diamond says JFK's daughter inspired his famous song

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2007 4:20 PM CST

(Newser) – Neil Diamond ended decades of mystery about his most famous song by confessing to JFK’s daughter that she’s the “Sweet Caroline” in question—and then serenading her via satellite at her 50th birthday bash. “I’ve never discussed it with anybody before,” says Diamond, who got inspired after seeing a photo of young Caroline in a magazine, the AP reports.

"It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony," says Diamond, young and penniless at the time. "It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there." The song, now 40 years old, has re-emerged on the charts—largely due to its popularity at Red Sox games.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Neil Diamond was inspired by a long-ago photo of Caroline Kennedy. (Getty Images)

A photo of the young Caroline Kennedy inspired Neil Diamond to write "Sweet Caroline" 40 years ago. (Archive Photos)

Singer Neil Diamond performs, Aug. 18, 2005, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Diamond held onto the secret for decades, but he has finally revealed that President Kennedy's daughter was the inspiration... (Associated Press)

Caroline Kennedy authographs a copy of her new book, "A Family Christmas," during a book signing at the JFK Library in Boston on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfay) (Associated Press)

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She's the Real 'Sweet Caroline'