America (Neil Diamond song)

"America" (also known as "They're Coming to America" or "Coming to America") is the name of a patriotic song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond, released in 1980 as part of The Jazz Singer soundtrack album. The song was a hit single in the United States in 1981, reaching number eight on theBillboard Hot 100 and was Diamond's sixth number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.[1]  Billboard also rated it as the #62 pop single overall for 1981.[2] Although the single version was a studio recording, it sounds live because of crowd overdubs in the song.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Background  ==Background[ edit] == The song's theme is a positive interpretation of the history of immigration to the United States, both during the early 1900s and today. Combining Diamond's typically powerful melody, dynamic arrangement, and bombastic vocal, it ends with an interpolation of the traditional patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". In Diamond's concerts, the song is a very popular number both home and abroad, with a large United States flag often displayed from the rafters on cue to the lyric, "Every time that flag's unfurled / They're coming to America."[citation needed]
 * 2 Cover
 * 3 See also
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links

The song has been used in a number of contexts, including as a theme song for Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign and in promotion of the 1996 Olympics. Diamond also sang it at the centennial rededication of the Statue of Liberty.[3]

Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Diamond modified the lyrics to "America" slightly during live performances. Instead of "They're comin' to America," towards the end, it became "Stand up for America."[4] [5]

Despite the song's patriotic message, it was included on a memorandum listing songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel Communications following the September 11 attacks.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">It was the second song played on WHTZ New York. ==Cover<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">New Age pianist David Lanz performed a cover of this song for his album Finding Paradise.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]