Billionaire's Row - Living The High Life with Joel Diamond
NEW YORK (PRWEB) June 18, 2023 -- Katherine Clarke, writer for the Wall Street Journal, is celebrating her new book release Billionaire’s Row (Random House) with both a book signing and private cocktail party. She describes how the block-long row of buildings on Central Park South have become the most desired –and among the most expensive - homes in NYC, not to mention the entire country. Even Beyonce and Jay Z had to take second position just last week to the "most expensive real estate sale in United States history" - the Penthouse in 220 Central Park South, last year selling for $238 million.
Included in the book and also attending her book launch private cocktail party, amongst many hugely successful entrepreneurs, will be multi-platinum & 2x Grammy Nominee writer/producer, Joel Diamond, who enjoyed 20 years living in the Penthouse at 220 Central Park South, with full time houseman and cook. His downstairs neighbors included Don Hewitt (creator and producer of 60 Minutes) and Charles Strouse (Broadway show "Annie"). Another downstairs neighbor was an angel/investor for Broadway shows and would always use Diamond as a sounding board for the music, playing him cassettes from the backer's auditions. First came La Cage aux Folles and when Diamond heard "I Am What I Am", he immediately called Gloria Gaynor telling her that he was going to produce her next biggest hit record since "I Will Survive", and sure enough it became a huge international success both on radio and the clubs and is officially today known as the official "Gay Anthem" around the world. The next song from a cassette backer's audition tape that Diamond was to cherry-pick from was "One Night In Bangkok" from the Broadway show "Chess". He immediately recruited super Zoli model Robey to perform it and again became a huge hit all over the world. Both recordings were released on Diamond's Silver Blue Records. By coincidence, several years ago Jay Z recorded a Diamond owned copyright for his multi-million selling "The Black Album."
Just in the next building to the east side lived Beats mogul Jimmy Iovine and in the penthouse in the next building to the west side was Candice Bergen - who Diamond had a crush on and once left a dozen roses with her doorman asking her for a date.
It was also during this time that Joel Diamond was hired (and mentored) by Clive Davis to head up Sony Music/April Blackwood, at which time he negotiated mogul David Geffen's first million-dollar deal for Laura Nyro and also hired a then unknown and now legendary Tommy Mottola as has his assistant.
He was also visited in the Penthouse by the "once respected" Harvey Weinstein, who personally cast Diamond to co-star with Ruben Blades in his Miramax feature film "Crossover Dreams." Many other luminaries, friends and family would marvel at the sumptuous views of Central Park, huge terraces on all four sides, elevator opening right into the entire top floor of the building, and the quirky mail drop shoot right inside the apartment, including the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr., Buddy Rich, Roy Orbison, Marvin Hamlisch, Joe Pesci, Robert Redford, Steve Lawrence, David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne with Britt Ekland, Regis Philbin, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lily Tomlin, Mama Cass, among many others.
Diamond's Penthouse was not only the trendy and chic place to be for his legendary New Years Eve parties, but also included the signing of David Hasselhoff (kicking off his enormous German success produced by Diamond) and the creation of the actual #1 hit song Diamond produced for Engelbert Humperdinck (in addition to 109 additional Humperdinck recordings), "After The Lovin'.”
Since that time, Joel Diamond has produced over 100 charted Billboard records and 47 Gold & Platinum recordings and was also signed personally by Casablanca Records (alongside The Village People and Donna Summer) president Neil Bogart as an artist on the label, following his own previous album on Sony Records. Diamond also produced Benny Mardones, who broke all Billboard records by having been the only artist ever to chart five times with the same song and still is in the top 25 most played rock records “Into The Night.” Just last year Diamond’s offer to sign the mysterious homeless subway opera singer, Emily Zamourka, went viral across the US and the world. Classical music was not new to Diamond who discovered, produced and managed the amazing Five Browns, consisting of five Julliard siblings all performing together at the same time on five Steinway grand pianos – scoring 3 consecutive #1 albums on the Billboard Classical Chart (even knocking Yo-Yo Ma out of #1).
Diamond says, "As I look back over my 50-year journey starting as a high school nerd from Passaic, NJ and singing at Weddings & Bar Mitzvahs, to my exciting 20 years in the Penthouse including being anointed Cosmopolitan Magazine's "Bachelor of the Month" and receiving literally thousands of letters, I am still going full blast living in my Calabasas, CA estate. It amazes even me that I still have the same energy, childlike enthusiasm (“Nobody has ever accused me of being mature”) and laser focus as I had 30 years ago and now ready to launch several new artists.”
For more information and pictures: Joel Diamond P: 818 456-6000 E: [email protected]
Joel Diamond, Silver Blue Productions, http://www.joeldiamond.com, 1 818 456-6000, [email protected]
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