{"id":2442264,"date":"2019-03-28T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=302701"},"modified":"2019-03-28T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T22:00:00","slug":"neil-diamond-tribute-to-raise-funds-for-parkinsons-disease-support-at-the-wheeler-opera-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/neil-diamond-tribute-to-raise-funds-for-parkinsons-disease-support-at-the-wheeler-opera-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Diamond tribute to raise funds for Parkinson\u2019s disease support at the Wheeler Opera House"},"content":{"rendered":"
Jay White is bringing his Neil Diamond tribute concert to the Wheeler Opera House on Friday night to raise funds for the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Jay White<\/a> decided to quit his day job selling life insurance to take his uncanny Neil Diamond tribute act on the road, he didn\u2019t expect it to carry his music career for the next 36 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt lasted a lot longer than I thought it would last initially,\u201d White, who brings his two-hour Neil Diamond show to the Wheeler Opera House tonight, said in a recent phone interview from his home in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Now White, who performs with Diamond\u2019s former bandmembers in what is billed as \u201cthe ultimate Neil Diamond concert experience,\u201d is giving back to the man whose music he\u2019s lived and breathed for all these years. The Aspen performance benefits the Parkinson Association of the Rockies in a show of support for Diamond, 78, who retired last year after being diagnosed with the disease.<\/p>\n

In 1983, as little more than a hobby, White started performing as Neil Diamond at a supper club in Detroit during its regular tribute night where cover acts would play 15 to 20 minute sets as varied pop music icons. After six months of performances, he made the leap to devote himself to recreating the \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d singer\u2019s epic concerts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my wife, I think I\u2019m just going to perform full time for a while and see how it pans out,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt\u2019s turned out to be quite a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

White performs with a 10-piece ensemble that includes Diamond\u2019s percussionist King Erisson and keyboardist Mark Levang. He promises the full Diamond experience \u2014 the voice, the bedazzled stage shirts, the thick parted hair, the audience interaction and the sing-alongs to \u201cForever in Blue Jeans\u201d and \u201cSweet Caroline\u201d \u2014 as he rolls through Diamond\u2019s decades-long run of hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who has never seen a Neil Diamond concert, we\u2019re going to re-create that experience,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

Diamond, of course, is among the most beloved American entertainers and songwriters in history, thanks his epic concerts and enduring songs like \u201cCracklin\u2019 Rosie,\u201d \u201cSolitary Man,\u201d \u201cAmerica,\u201d \u201cLove on the Rocks\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil Diamond writes about his own experiences, his own hopes and dreams,\u201d White said. \u201cWhen people hear these songs, they connect because they connect to those emotions and that\u2019s the thing that keeps his music alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

A part-time Roaring Fork Valley resident, Diamond endeared himself to locals even more last July when \u2014 in his only reported public performance since his retirement \u2014 he appeared with an acoustic guitar and played for first responders in Basalt at the command post as firefighters battled to save the town from the Lake Christine Fire.<\/p>\n

White, through his role as a Diamond doppelganger, has twice met Diamond when the singer has come through Las Vegas. Diamond once signed a photo of the pair with the salutation: \u201cKeep singin\u2019 so I can stay home and relax.\u201d White is also featured in a documentary film included in the 2003 Diamond box set \u201cStages.\u201d<\/p>\n

While White\u2019s core audience is people who lived through Diamond\u2019s astounding run of hits from the late 1960s through the \u201980s, his shows have become multi-generational happenings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people come up to me on the road and say, \u2018My parents love Neil Diamond and they played his music all the time and I grew to love his music, as well,\u2019\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

When Diamond announced his diagnosis in early 2018, White pivoted to support Parkinson\u2019s research and awareness.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy manager and I got together with Neil and said, \u2018Maybe we can do some shows to benefit Parkinson\u2019s organizations in different cities around the country?\u2019\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

White\u2019s goal is to raise $5 million for Parkinson\u2019s research and support over two years for organizations like the Parkinson Association, a Denver-based nonprofit that provides support and assistance to people living with the disease and their loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeil has given me a lifelong career since I was in my 20s. I couldn\u2019t be more grateful,\u201d White said. \u201cI owe everything in my life to performing his music. So I feel like this is a way for me to return the favor by helping out people who have Parkinson\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

atravers@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay White is bringing his Neil Diamond tribute concert to the Wheeler Opera House on Friday night to raise funds for the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.Courtesy photo When Jay White decided to quit his day job selling life insurance to take his uncanny Neil Diamond tribute act on the road, he didn\u2019t expect it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2442264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 21:52:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}