’70s Rock Legend Is Suddenly Climbing the Charts 56 Years After No. 1 Hit

Neil Diamond is back on the Billboard 200 chart more than five decades after earning his first No. 1 hit.

The legendary singer-songwriter’s All-Time Greatest Hits has re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 171, marking another milestone for one of pop music’s most enduring catalogs. The compilation album originally peaked at No. 15 and has now spent 56 weeks on the chart across its run.

The renewed chart success puts the spotlight back on “Cracklin’ Rosie,” the opening track on the collection and the song that became Neil Diamond’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1970. The classic single helped establish Diamond as one of the defining hitmakers of the era and remains one of his signature recordings.

Released on July 8, 2014, All-Time Greatest Hits is a 23-track compilation spanning Diamond’s most successful recordings from the 1960s through the early 1980s.

The album opens with “Cracklin’ Rosie” and also features fan favorites including “Sweet Caroline,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “America,” “Hello Again,” “Love on the Rocks,” “Red Red Wine” and “I Am… I Said.”

Upon its original release, the compilation reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200. It also charted internationally, including the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

The album received positive reviews when it debuted. AllMusic described it as a generous collection of Diamond’s biggest hits across multiple record labels, while PopMatters called it “the most concise and satisfying summation of Neil Diamond’s career.”

‘Cracklin’ Rosie’ Remains a Career-Defining Hit

The album’s lead track carries particular significance in Diamond’s career.

Released in 1970 on the album Tap Root Manuscript, “Cracklin’ Rosie” became Neil Diamond’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also his third single to sell one million copies in the U.S.

The song enjoyed international success as well, reaching No. 3 in the U.K., No. 1 in Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and South Africa, while also performing strongly across Australia and Europe.

Billboard ranked “Cracklin’ Rosie” as the No. 17 song of 1970, further cementing its place among the year’s biggest hits.

Diamond has recorded an extraordinary career that includes 10 No. 1 singles across the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, along with 38 Top 10 Adult Contemporary hits. His best-known songs include “Sweet Caroline,” “Song Sung Blue,” “America,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “Heartlight.”

Beyond commercial success, Diamond has earned some of music’s highest honors. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Now 85, Diamond continues to stay creatively active. In May 2026, he released Wild at Heart, his first album of original material in more than a decade. Although he retired from full-scale touring in 2018 following his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, he has continued writing, recording and making occasional public appearances.

Related: 1973 Rock Song, Lasting Nearly Six Minutes, Remains a Classic 53 Years Later