On A Capitol Fourth, the annual musical celebration of Independence Day on PBS, Neil Diamond will premiere a tribute song for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. All proceeds from the sale of the tune, “Freedom Song (They’ll Never Take Us Down”), will benefit One Fund Boston, formed to assist those victims and their families, and the Wounded Warrior Project, which supports injured service members.
“I was inspired to devote myself to the creation of a new song which expressed my love for this country and its two greatest assets: the spirit of its people and the freedoms it has afforded us all by law,” Diamond said.
A Capitol Fourth is broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and is one of PBS’s most popular programs. Last year, the concert averaged 6.3 million viewers, a 3.8 household rating, according to Nielsen.
The program is also heard live in stereo over NPR member stations nationwide.
Neil Diamond hasn’t had a hit song since Reagan’s first term. This has-been pop star should write a song about all those killed abroad in US wars of aggression.