Rebel Without Applause: I Thank The Lord For The Night Time

It’s Thanksgiving week, and most of the week we’ll be featuring some thankful songs. Since today is also cover Monday, I’m featuring a cover of Neil Diamond’s “I Thank the Lord for the Night Time” by New Zealand cover band Rebel without Applause. This live recording is rather good. It has a studio quality and makes me wonder if it was really recorded in the studio and the applause was added later. Nah, I’m going to believe it’s an actual live recording.

From their website, Rebel without Applause appears to be the typical cover band that plays weddings, reunions, and bar mitzvahs. While a number of folks abhor cover bands, they serve a purpose and I will have to say this rendition of the Neil Diamond classic is very well done. Perhaps we’ll hear more in the future.

Neil Diamond’s Original

“I Thank the Lord for the Night Time” was Diamond’s fifth charting single and the next to the last to be issued by the Bang record label. The Bang brand was actually an acronym of the partners' first names: Bert Berns, Ahmet Ertegun, Neshui Ertegun, and Gerald Wexlar all of Atlantic Records.

Set up as an independent label distributed originally by Atlantic, Berns was the primary owner of the label. Upon Burn’s death in 1967, his widow took control and Bang would be privately distributed until 1978 when CBS picked up the distribution option. The label was officially purchased by CBS in 1982. Diamond’s original single charted in August 1967 at 13.