"Forever in Blue Jeans" is a song by Neil Diamond which he co-wrote with his guitarist Richard Bennett. The up-tempo track was released as a single by Columbia in February 1979, having featured on Diamond's album You Don't Bring Me Flowers which was released the previous year. Diamond said about the song: "the simple things are really the important things".[1] It peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart in March 1979.[2]
| "Forever in Blue Jeans" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Diamond | ||||
| from the album You Don't Bring Me Flowers | ||||
| B-side | "Remember Me" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Rock, country pop, soft rock | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Richard Bennett, Neil Diamond | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Gaudio | |||
| Neil Diamond singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Cash Box called the song "a pleasant tribute to 'doing OK' without the glitter of wealth and fame" and said that it has "a restrained carnival mood and solid jaunty rhythmic underpinning" and that Diamond's vocals are "gruff" and "appealing."[3]
According to Cotton Incorporated, "Neil Diamond might have been right when he named his 1979 #1 hit “Forever in Blue Jeans”: 81% of women are planning their next jeans purchase to be some shade of blue."[4] The song has been used to promote the sale of blue jeans, most notably by Will Ferrell who impersonated Diamond for The Gap. Coincidentally Diamond himself did radio adverts for H.I.S. brand jeans in the 1960s.[citation needed]
Later in 1979, Tommy Overstreet recorded a country version of the song, on his I'll Never Let You Down album.
Charts
edit| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM)[5] | 10 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[6] | 4 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] | 22 |
| South Africa (Springbok)[8] | 7 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 16 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 20 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10] | 2 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts) | 31 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Neil Diamond: I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond, book By David Wild, 2008
- ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1979-03-24). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 27, 1979. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
- ^ "There's nothing as American as apple pie. And pop songs about blue jeans". Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ^ bac-lac.gc.ca, Canada Singles, RPM Weekly
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ^ "Neil Diamond – Forever In Blue Jeans". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Neil Diamond Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Neil Diamond Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "British single certifications – Neil Diamond – Forever in Blue Jeans". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
