Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ sales up by 597 per cent, selling 19K after Boston bombings

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FILE - This April 20, 2013 file photo shows Neil Diamond singing "Sweet Caroline" in the eighth inning of a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals in Boston. Sales for Neil Diamond\'s “Sweet Caroline” are up by 597 percent a week after the tune has become a source of comfort following bombings in Boston last week. The song is a staple of Boston Red Sox games. Nielsen SoundScan said Wednesday that it sold 19,000 tracks this week. It only sold 2,800 the week before. It has sold 1.75 million tracks to date. Diamond released the song in 1969. It is addressed to Caroline Kennedy. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Sales for Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” are up by 597 per cent a week after the tune became a source of comfort following the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

Nielsen SoundScan said Wednesday the song sold 19,000 tracks this week. It sold 2,800 tracks the previous week and 1.75 million tracks to date.

The crowd-pleasing song is a staple of Boston Red Sox games. It makes no specific mention of Boston or the Red Sox, but the team started playing it regularly at Fenway Park more than a decade ago and fans took to it.

The New York Yankees, Toronto Raptors and other professional sports teams have also played the song at games in the days after last week’s deadly blasts.

Diamond released “Sweet Caroline” in 1969. It is addressed to Caroline Kennedy.

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