This Neil Diamond Song Flopped On Release — 21 Years Later, A Reggae Band Took It To No. 1

Neil Diamond had a budding solo career when his album "Just for You" came out in 1967, but his hopes for a little number on the album called "Red Red Wine" were dashed when it flopped the next year, only to be transformed into a hit by the reggae band UB40 two decades later. At the time, Diamond had already penned some notable tunes for other artists, including "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees, and was eager to show the world his own music. One of the songs released from "Just for You" was "Red Red Wine," a slower, soulful ballad (and a foreshadowing of Diamond's pivot to country in the '90s) about escaping your sorrows with — you guessed it — some red, red wine.

Diamond hoped "Red Red Wine," which he wrote while working part-time in a store, would make it big on the airwaves when it was released as a single in 1968. However, the tune failed to make a big splash on the charts, only reaching No. 62 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song seemed to have run its course, and Diamond later had several songs chart much more successfully, including his smash hit "Sweet Caroline" in 1969 and "Cracklin' Rosie" in 1970. 

"Red Red Wine" got more attention in 1983 when reggae band UB40 covered the song for their "Labour of Love" album, which features covers of some of the band's favorite reggae songs. But wait — "Red Red Wine" isn't a reggae song, so how did it end up on the album? The answer lies in a misunderstanding. UB40 thought the song was originally by reggae artist Tony Tribe, who covered "Red Red Wine" in 1969 — they didn't know about Diamond's 1967 version. The revelation of Diamond's authorship surprised the group, but didn't stop them from moving forward with the cover.

UB40's "Red Red Wine" was initially released in 1983 and topped the charts across the pond, but it failed to achieve the same success in the United States. Once again, the song wasn't quite ready to break into the mainstream. That is, until UB40 played the song at a tribute concert for Nelson Mandela's birthday at Wembley Stadium in June 1988. 

That performance, which was televised around the globe, prompted some radio airplay in the U.S., and before anyone knew it, "Red Red Wine" was spreading like wildfire. Five years after its debut, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and spread all over the world, turning a '60s flop into a smash hit.

UB40's rhythmic and more energetic take on Diamond's originally underrated "Red Red Wine" is not only the most successful version, but also the rendition that often comes to mind when the song is mentioned. That's alright with Diamond, who has sung its praises and shared that it's one of his favorite covers of his songs.

"I never in my life would have imagined it this way," Diamond shared in an interview when asked about "Red Red Wine." "I was sitting in the back [of the store], strumming it on a guitar, making it a country song about crying into your beer and doing all that. If you would have told me that 20 or 25 years later it would have been a huge reggae hit, you know, it's totally different."

He's such a fan of the cover, in fact, that he plays the reggae version at his concerts. How about a reggae version of "Sweet Caroline" next?