The Therapy Sessions and Failed Screen Test That Inspired Neil Diamond’s I Am… I Said

Inspired by the experience of a failed screen test for a film about one of the most controversial comedians of the 20th century, Lenny Bruce…superstar singer-songwriter Neil Diamond composed the most personally challenging song of his illustrious career. I Am… I Said…. It took him 4 months to write. It was a daily battle to put that song on paper that drained him emotionally. But when it was completed, it turned out to be one of the most fulfilling songs he had ever written. It came from therapy sessions he was having at the time. However, one lyric about a chair inspired a famous journalist to write a scathing book about Bad Songs, Wherein he ripped this Neil Diamond and This 70s classic to Shreds…However, the fans struck back and the hate mail was so insurmountable the journalist had to write a public apology. The story of this climatic song and the incredible journey to stardom by its legendary author is NEXT….on Professor of Rock.

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