Jay White displays a polished Diamond at the Riviera
A Diamond has many facets but none have gotten more “points” for authenticity than Jay White, who portrays Neil Diamond nightly in the Rivera’s Le Bistro Theater.
Celebrating his 27th year as a Neil Diamond tribute performer, the entertainer shows audiences where the “carbon” in a Diamond can be found. White has often been mistaken for the singing icon, both physically and vocally, and Diamond himself called White his favorite tribute performer in an August 2001 interview.
White first became a Neil Diamond fan back in the mid-70’s when Diamond’s “Love at the Greek” album was released. Liking the LP, he began buying Diamond’s records and singing along with them at home.
“I discovered that our vocal range was the same and that my natural sound was very similar to his,” says White. “Then, around 1979, I met a guy at a party who was putting together an acappella group. We called ourselves The Voices and started performing 50’s and 60’s songs in various bars in Detroit where I grew up. Being a Neil Diamond fan, I took the opportunity to perform three or four of his songs solo, accompanying myself on acoustic guitar. It was then that people in the audience started telling me how much my voice resembled his.”
After getting Diamond’s stage persona and mannerisms down, in 1982 White ended up getting a job impersonating Diamond in a show called “Salute to the Superstars” in a club in Detroit, a gig that lasted five years. In 1989, however, White’s life took an exciting turn when he received a call from a producer in Las Vegas named John Stuart, thanks to a friend who had told Stuart of White’s impersonation. White ended up performing in “Legends in Concert,” then at the Imperial Palace, from the end of 1989 until late 1997 when he decided to move on.
“Onstage, I try to feel exactly like Neil Diamond,” White, who portrays the 1980’s period of Diamond’s career, says. “I try to put his stage persona into my head and when I speak to the audience, I try to say things Neil would say, ad-libbing like he would. The facial expressions and gestures are as important as getting the voice right. They bring the realism to what I do. It took me 10 years to get the portrayal down in every respect.”
Bearing a strong natural physical resemblance to Diamond, White has had no plastic surgery but has styled his hair like Diamond wore his in the 80’s and uses a little makeup and costumes to complete the illusion. He spends an hour on stage as Diamond, without breaking character.
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
(Click to leave a message)
