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1970 single by Neil Diamond From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Shilo" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. It was originally recorded in 1967 for Bang Records. Though not one of Diamond's biggest hits, "Shilo" has become one of his best-known songs, and was a staple of his concert appearances. It was included on Diamond's 1972 Hot August Night live album as well as almost all of his compilation albums.
| "Shilo" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| from the album Just for You | ||||
| B-side | "La Bamba" | |||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | Bang Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | Jeff Barry | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Neil Diamond and Bang founder Bert Berns disagreed over Diamond's career path.[2] The singer wanted to move away from his early teen-oriented pop type of recordings that Berns favored, which led to Berns' refusal to release the more introspective "Shilo" as a single,[3] even though Diamond felt it was part of his development as an artist. "Shilo" was instead relegated to an album track on 1967's Just for You.[3] Shortly after what was said to be a "tense" confrontation with Berns, Diamond departed Bang for Uni Records in 1968. Diamond went into a commercial slump, without hits, but by January 1970, his career had rebounded with "Sweet Caroline" and "Holly Holy" on Uni/MCA Records. Bang Records finally released "Shilo" as a single, albeit with a new backing track recorded to make it sound fresher and more like Diamond's current style.[3]
Following this, Diamond reissued his 1968 debut album with Uni, Velvet Gloves and Spit, in October 1970, to incorporate a completely new recording of "Shilo".[3] "Shilo" is about a childhood imaginary friend:[2]
The song was Diamond's most autobiographical to date, making reference to his lonely childhood amid turmoil.[2] Diamond's emotional investment in the song contributed to his and Berns's coming into intense conflict.[2] Decades later, Rolling Stone would compare the song's posture to the emo style.[4] Cash Box called it a "hitting rhythm number with lover’s lyric."[5]
"Shilo" reached #24 on the U.S. pop singles chart in spring 1970,[6] inspiring Bang to release a new Neil Diamond compilation album that year titled Shilo. It reached #8 on the Easy Listening chart, and peaked at #10 in South Africa.
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 10 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening[7] | 8 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
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