text: why do people think neil diamond is such a gem? i had to grow up listening to neil cause my dad was such a fan and it was enough to give me the "song sung blues."   thoughts? not very many people know this, but neil diamond is not his real name:  ...his real name was genuflect zirconium...  but his manager felt it didn't have the right "ring" to it, so he 'proposed' that he change it to something a bit more 'engaging".  the overall 'reception' to the change was astoundingly favorable, and allowed him to "cross the threshold" into pop stardom.  he has signed record deals with a number of record labels ("virgin" records, however, is not one of them)...  ...;)