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"Longfellow Serenade"
"Longfellow Serenade"
Single by Neil Diamond
from the album Serenade
B-side	"Rosemary's Wine"
Released	1974 (US)
Genre	Rock
Length	3:22
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Neil Diamond
Producer(s)	Tom Catalano
Neil Diamond singles chronology

"Longfellow Serenade" is the title of a 1974 song by the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. It was written by Diamond, produced by Tom Catalano, and included on Diamond's album Serenade.

"Longfellow Serenade" spent two weeks at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1974.^[1] It was Diamond's second No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following his 1972 single, "Song Sung Blue".^[2] The song reached No. 1 in Switzerland and No. 2 in Germany.

Diamond described "Longfellow Serenade" in the liner notes to his 1996 compilation album, In My Lifetime: "Occasionally I like using a particular lyrical style which, in this case, lent itself naturally to telling the story of a guy who woos his woman with poetry."^[2] The title of the song is a reference to the 19th-century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.^[2] Diamond chose to reference Longfellow specifically after recalling an instance in which, while in his teens, Diamond had used one of the poet's works to successfully seduce a significantly older woman.^[3]

Cash Box called it a "powerful up-tempo ballad", saying, "Neil handles the tune with his usual expertise and rich smooth vocal."^[4] Record World said that Diamond "invokes a classic 19th century bard and turns in a true masterpiece of thought and performance perfection."^[5]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1974–75)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[6]	7
Belgium	9
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary^[7]	1
Canada RPM Top Singles^[8]	7
Germany	2
Netherlands	9
New Zealand (RIANZ)	29
South Africa (Springbok)^[9]	1
Switzerland	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[10]	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[11]	4

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[12]	68
Canada^[13]	85
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)^[14]	67

Chart (1975)	Rank
South Africa^[15]	14
Switzerland^[16]	9
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening^[17]	36

Cover versions

Petr Spálený – Velký Muž Serenád

References

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 177.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 150.
^ Jackson, Laura (2005). Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion (ECW Press), page 112.
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 5, 1974. p. 14. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 5, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. November 2, 1974. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. December 2, 1974. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 30, 1974". Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
^ Canada, Library and Archives (January 16, 2018). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1975". Retrieved October 27, 2018.
^ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1975
^ Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1975