Neil Diamond inducted into rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) - Singer Neil Diamond promised to go on Twitter and “tell everybody that they really do love me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

He was inducted Monday with Dr. John, Alice Cooper, Darlene Love, Leon Russell and Tom Waits at a ceremony in The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. Paul Simon says Diamond’s entrance is 20 years too late.

Diamond says he flew 25 hours from Australia for the ceremony and was heading back to Sydney to resume his tour.

The Brooklyn-born Diamond wrote pop-rock hits for himself (“Solitary Man”) and others (The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer”). Presidential daughter Caroline Kennedy was the inspiration for “Sweet Caroline,” now a Boston Red Sox anthem.

Diamond settled into a comfortable career as a middle-of-the-road concert favorite.

The work by the inducted artists will be celebrated in perpetuity at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.