Neil Diamond is actually a bit of a footnote in the history of The Cars’ guitarist Elliot Easton. Easton said Neil once gave him a guitar string for a band rehearsal.
Easton appeared with actor/comedian Jeff Garlin and guitarist Jimmy Vivino ‘Couch of Guitars’ on Gibson TV. Easton said Neil gave him a guitar string when he was 15 and the band rehearsed across the street from the home of Diamond’s parents.
Elliot said, "I knocked on Neil Diamond's parent's door in Massapequa [New York] because we saw Neil's car in the driveway. We were practicing with my band -- this is like '69 or something like that. It was like junior high, and we're playing on a Sunday and I break a string on my cheap Japanese electric. There's nothing's open and you could see the yellow Lincoln Continental, we knew Neil was there visiting his parents. Knocked on the parent's door [and] Neil answers in a bathing suit. I will never forget it."
[Source: Classic Hits Today]