Stones (Neil Diamond song)
| "Stones" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 German picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| from the album Stones | ||||
| B-side | "Crunchy Granola Suite" | |||
| Released | October 7, 1971[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:02 | |||
| Label | Uni | |||
| Songwriter | Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer | Tom Catalano | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Stones" is the title track of the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, recorded and released as a single in 1971.
Background
[edit]Diamond describes the song as "a desperate love song. Stones to me had always meant things that hurt people, things that cause pain." He rarely plays the song live for sentimental reasons.[2]
Reception
[edit]Record World's November 6, 1971 issue stated that the song showed that Diamond "hasn't lost his knack of writing intelligent pop-oriented material."[3] Cash Box, in an issue published on the same day said that the "striking image-laden ballad in fine Diamond fashion sparkles with immediate top 40 success."[4] Billboard called it "exceptional ballad material with a performance to match."[5] In the United States, the song remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 weeks, peaking at No. 14.[6]
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1971-72) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 14 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary[7] | 2 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 24 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles[9] | 15 |
| Germany (GfK)[10] | 26 |
| New Zealand[11] | 7 |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Stones". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- ↑ Harvey, Diana Karanikas (1996). Neil Diamond. Jackson Harvey. New York, NY: MetroBooks. ISBN 978-1-56799-390-5.
- ↑ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 6, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Cashbox Single Picks" (PDF). Cash Box. November 6, 1971. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Top 20 Pop Spotlight" (PDF). Billboard. October 30, 1971. p. 56. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- 1 2 "US singles chart peaks". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ↑ "US adult contemporary singles chart peaks". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 208. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "Stones". RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ↑ "Stones". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2026-08-31.
