Mom loved Neil Diamond and on some level, his music remains a part of my life.

NYTimes: Backstage With Neil Diamond, the Marathon Man of Pop

“I never expected that I would be doing this for as long as I’ve been doing it,” he said after his sold-out show at the XL Center here on Thursday, having changed out of his black silk stage costume and into jeans and a loose-fitting cotton shirt, his eyes hidden behind small round glasses.

“So looking back and seeing that it’s been over 40 years since the first hits makes you think, ‘Is there a time that you stop?’ ” he continued. “But I don’t think I’m ever going to stop. It’s the only challenge I have left in my life.”