# Jonathan Livingston Seagull (soundtrack)

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed) |
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, released in 1973 by Columbia Records. Produced by Tom Catalano, it is the soundtrack to the 1973 film of the same name. The album marked Diamond's return to Columbia and grossed more than the film itself. It won the 1974 Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.
Diamond often included a Jonathan Livingston Seagull suite in his live performances, as he did in his 1976 Love at the Greek concert—comprising "Be", "Dear Father", "Lonely Looking Sky", "Sanctus", "Skybird" and "Be (Encore)"—and his show in Las Vegas that same year. A studio version of the suite—comprising "Prologue", "Lonely Looking Sky", "Skybird", "Dear Father (Rebuked)" and "Be"—was presented on Diamond's 1996 box set In My Lifetime.

## Reception

Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Diamond's subsequent album Serenade (1974) have earned a combined 27 gold discs in Australia. As of September 1976, the soundtrack was a bigger financial success than the film, grossing 12 million dollars, while the film itself had grossed 2 million.
Irvine Herald reviewer Willie Freckleton observed that "Be" was "classical Diamond singing a very powerful ballad." In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Shawn M. Haney found the album to be "compelling and rich in texture and melody" and praised Catalano's direction, Holdridge's orchestral arrangements and Diamond's occasional vocals, concluding that the album "fits the piece of the puzzle the motion picture needed so perfectly."

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Diamond.

## Personnel

* Guitar: Richard Bennett, Larry Carlton, David Bennett Cohen Arthur Smith
* Bass: Emory Gordy Jr., Abe Luboff, Peter Mercurio, Joe Osborn Stanley Sheldon, Ray Siegel
* Keyboards: Paul Beaver, Caesar Giovannini, Ralph Grierson, Tom Hensley, Pearl Kaufman, Michael Lang, Michael Omartian, Clark Spangler
* Drums: Hal Blaine
* Percussion: Gary Coleman, Gene Estes, Victor Feldman
* Saxophone: Sonny Criss, John Ellis, William Henderson
* Woodwinds: Donald Christlieb, Gene Cipriano, Arthur Hoberman, Jules Jacob, Jack Marsh, Hugo Raimondi, Johnny Rotella, Gordon Schoneberg, Julian Spear
* Strings: Paulo Alencar, Israel Baker, Marilyn Baker, Myer Bello, Arnold Belnick, Dixie Blackstone, Harry Bluestone, Samuel Boghossian, Owen Wilson Brady, Rollice Dale, Isabelle Dashkoff, John De Voogdt, Joseph Di Tullio, Assa Drori, Robert Dubow, Jesse Ehrlich, Henry Ferber, Ronald Folsom, Norman Forrest, James Getzoff, Philip Goldberg, Harris Goldman, Allan Harshman, Claire Hodgkins, Lee Holdridge, Selene Hurford, Harry Hyams, Yukiko Kanei, George Kast, Richard Kaufman, Raymond Kelley, Jerome Kessler, Louis Kievman, Lou Klass, Robert Konrad, Jacob Krachmalnick, Raphael Kramer, Bernhard Kundell, William Kurasch, Carl LaMagna, Gayle Levant, Marvin Limonick, Leonard Malarsky, Joe Mondragon, Milton Nadel, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Robert Ostrowsky, Sven Reher, Joseph Reilich, Nathan Ross, Sheldon Sanov, Ralph Schaeffer, David Schwartz, Louis Singer, Sidney Sharp, Robert Stone, Tibor Zelig
* Horns: Hoyt Bohannon, Vincent DeRosa, David Duke, Tommy Johnson, Arthur Maebe, Lew McCreary, William B. Peterson, David B. Roberts, Tommy Shepard, Henry Sigismonti, Tony Terran
* Backing Vocals: Phil Azelton, Luella Howard, Diana Lee, Ida Sue McCune, Sally Stevens, Robin Ward, Andra Willis
* Choir: Bob Mitchell’s Singing Boys: Mark Albert, Kirk Alley, Timothy John Butala, Christopher Cartwright, Michael DeWayne Clark, Dale Cohen, John Coniglio, Sean Patrick English, Clement Shuji Hanami, Jeffrey Kennedy, Mathew Leum, Michael Leum, Bruce MacLeod, Martin Shunji Nomura, Brian Tatsuo Okamoto, Bradford Ralston, Jaime Rodriguez, Timothy Schmidt, Erik Stanton Simmons, Tracy Thielen, Eric Williams, Sherman Williams, Paul Watson Wims, Ronald Trimby Young

## Charts
### Sales and certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 20,000$^^$ |
| Belgium | — | 200,000 |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 2× Platinum | 200,000$^^$ |
| France (SNEP) | Platinum | 300,000$^*$ |
| Germany (BVMI) | Gold | 250,000$^^$ |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) | Gold | 10,000$^*$ |
| Netherlands (NVPI) | Gold | 50,000$^^$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 100,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000$^^$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||