I'm not really a fan of Neil Diamond, but this shows class, in my opinion!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/people_neil_diamond

Raspy Neil Diamond disappoints Ohio concertgoers
Wed Aug 27, 7:48 AM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Disappointed Neil Diamond fans will get a refund after attending a concert at Ohio State University in which the 67-year-old singer's voice sounded raspy.

Some fans left the Monday concert early and others said Diamond completed the concert without mentioning anything to the audience about his voice.

A statement from Diamond, the singer of such hits as "Sweet Caroline" and "Song Sung Blue," on Tuesday says a doctor has diagnosed acute laryngitis.

Diamond spokeswoman Eve Samuels says the singer is offering a refund to those who place a request before Sept. 5. "I haven't let you down before and I won't let you down now," the singer said in an apology on his Web site.

Another message says Wednesday's concert in Green Bay, Wis., will be rescheduled for Sept. 12, and Friday's concert in St. Louis, Mo., will instead take place Sept. 10.

I went to a Odetta concert once when she had laryngitis. She turned it into a sing-a-long, and we still managed to have fun.

Some of those tickets for Neil were pretty pricey, so I say this is a really square thing he is doing. A class act, indeed.

I saw the show at MSG a couple weeks ago, and was not disappointed. Neil was in fine voice that night.

Good for him. That shows he at least cares about his fans. He's doing the right thing.

Thats been one of the criticisms of Neil in the last few years, he doesn't sing but talks thru his songs.

But at least he recognizes when the fans didn't get their money's worth. Very nice.

The last FEW YEARS?! More like the last 30+ years to these ears...

I'll give Neil credit - it's a classy move.

LOL I was being kind.

I don't wanna say that Neil Diamond talks through his songs, but I just heard he's doing a co-headlining tour with Lou Reed...

I was at a Jethro Tull show where Ian Anderson was unable to sing and we did not get offered a refund, back in 1994.

What's better? To cancel or offer the refund for the dissatisfied?

The refund, I think. Many people probably had to juggle their schedules to make it and had looked forward to the show for weeks. They got a performance, albeit a poor one, rather than having it pulled out from under them at the last minute. I think I'd take the free night out, even if it didn't live up to expectations, over having it canceled.

I saw Sammy Hagar lose his voice in concert twice. In Dallas, on his VOA tour he completely lost his voice. He actually pulled somebody up from the audience to sing a couple of songs for him. He managed to make it through the concert though. Four years later, when he was fronting Van Halen at the Monsters of Rock concert at the Cotton Bowl (the last Texxas Jam), he did it again after just a couple of songs. He promised that they would come back and play a free concert for us in Dallas. Then a few years later, I was listening to the radio at work when they announced that Van Halen would be doing a free concert downtown in the West End that same day. There was no way I could get off of work with that short of notice so I couldn't make it but I thought it was great of them to do that even if I wasn't able to go to it.

Neil Diamond just died.

Whwre did you hear/read that, Steve?

I can't find any reference on the web to Neil Diamond dying. Looks like Ed McMahon died today, though.

Twitter and Wikipedia ... but I don't see confirmation anywhere.

Neil Diamond will be performing w/the Boston Pops on July 4th on CBS btw[we'll know then if he's really dead].