Neil Diamond Honored as MusiCares Person of the Year

"I'm still in a state of shock," Neil Diamond told Spinner in an interview following the MusiCares tribute to him as 2009's Person of the Year, which featured Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Kid Rock, among others, honoring the music legend with renditions of his songs.

Despite a more than 40-year-career of countless successes Diamond remains charmingly humble, to the point he doubted anybody would show. "When they first presented this idea I said to my managers, 'I wouldn't want to be you,' because I didn't think anybody would want to sing my songs," he says. "I'm overwhelmed all this talent showed up."

Coldplay performed a sweet, bluegrass version of the Diamond-penned Monkees smash, 'I'm a Believer,' while Jennifer Hudson stunned with a rendition of 'Holly Holy,' and the Foo Fighters rocked 'Delerious Love,' off Diamond's latest 'Home Before Dark.'

The diversity of the performances was something Diamond appreciated. "I was very pleased with the fact that most of these artists performed the songs in their own musical vocabulary," he says. "It was a wonderful evening for me and I don't think I'll forget this one. This is the highlight of my career."

See the full list of 2009 Grammy winners here.



Download Adele's Interface