The Grammys are coming Sunday January 28th on CBS. Micky Dolenz wrote this about Neil Diamond, who was recently named as a Lifetime Achievement honoree. He wanted to share this with us exclusively.

special byline: by MICKY DOLENZ

I first heard Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer” in mid-October 1966, when his producer, Jeff Barry, played it for me and the other Monkees, the phenomenal track that Barry had recently cut with Neil on acoustic guitar. Neil had already had a couple of hits on the radio that year—“Cherry, Cherry” and “Solitary Man”—but this was to be one of the biggest records of both his and my career. It came out just a few weeks after I sang the lead vocal; and by Christmas of ’66, it was headed for the #1 slot on Billboard, Cash Box and Record World. It went on to become a worldwide smash in 1967 for The Monkees. A timeless classic, Neil brought it back to the charts in his own re-recorded version in 1971, but these days I mostly have to tell kids that I sang it long before Shrek! Smash Mouth, of course, took “Believer” to the top as a part of that movie in 2001.

Neil also wrote “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow),” which was on The Monkees’ second album, More of the Monkees, and the success of that and “I’m A Believer” inspired him to write our next single. “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” was recorded in late January 1967, and became a huge hit just a few weeks later. My late great buddy, Davy Jones, sang the lead on “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” and I honor him and Neil by singing it now at all of my solo shows. Always taking time to mention how blessed we were to work with so many gifted songwriters, like Neil.

And that brings us up to present day. The final Neil Diamond song written for The Monkees was one called, “Love to Love.” After two back-to-back Neil Diamond smash singles, The Monkees went on to record and play our own album, Headquarters. With the group’s hectic schedules at that time, we never finished “Love to Love.”

In 2016, however, Michael and Peter and I reconvened to finish the track that Neil had started with Davy and producer Jeff Barry forty-nine years earlier! It ended up being a standout song on our Top 10 album, Good Times; our last Neil Diamond classic, and my last chance to sing with Davy Jones. Thank you, Neil, for giving me and everyone else so many good times and great hits throughout the years.

We all like Ed Sheeran. He’s a nice guy, lots of fun, and a seemingly serious musician.

So why why why does he have such a bad problem with plagiarism?

His latest involves a song called “The Rest of Our Life,” which he gave to country superstar husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The song sounds so much like Jasmine Rae’s 2014 hit “When I Found You” that its Australian writers, Sean Carey and Beau Golden, have filed suit against Sheeran, et al. And yes, the songs are very much alike.

So what is going on here, Ed? It was only earlier this year that Sheeran had to add the songwriters of TLC’s “No Scrubs” to the credits of his massive hit “Shape of You.” Indeed, the shape of Sheeran’s song came from “No Scrubs” and there was no debating it.

And that wasn’t the first time Sheeran stepped in it. Another massive hit, “Thinking of You,” has caused a lawsuit from Marvin Gaye’s family. They hear the classic “Let’s Get it On,” when Sheeran’s song is playing, and frankly, I always did. Sheeran took some of the song and most of its feel for his hit. The Gayes had already won a big lawsuit against Robin Thicke over “Blurred Lines,” so they’re not strangers to this situation.

This kind of thing happens occasionally. Sam Smith had to add Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty to his “Stand By Me” because it was lifted right out of their “I Won’t Back Down.” In 1971, George Harrison conceded that “My Sweet Lord” was influenced by “He’s So Fine,” which led to a decade of litigation. There have been plenty of other examples. In the 80s, Michael McDonald thought he’d written a pop hit with “I Keep Forgetting” until someone pointed out that he’d just re-written the Chuck Jackson hit from the 1960s. Famed pop authors Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wound up sharing credit.

There are lots more of these. Sometimes the music publisher doesn’t want to deal with it. I don’t think Curtis Mayfield’s estate has ever gotten satisfaction from John Mayer, whose “Waiting for the World to Change” is completely lifted from Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and “We’re a Winner.” (A lot of Mayer is based on Mayfield.)

And this is different from sampling, which is Alicia Keys’s hobby to be sure. This is more like what Mariah Carey did in her heyday with Tommy Mottola– just taking the music and waiting for the lawsuit. (Mariah settled plenty of them in her day.)

What’s frustrating is that Sheeran seems capable of not doing this. All he has to do is ask someone over 30, “Does this sound familiar?” And it when it does, you scrap it. Otherwise, it’s back to the courts.

Dolores O’Riordan, the popular singer and front woman for the Irish band the Cranberries, has died suddenly at age 46.

Condolences to her family, friends, and fans.

Last year, O’Riordan announced that she suffered from bi polar disorder. But there’s no word yet on her cause of death. She had a beautiful voice. It’s just much too young. What a shame.

Fans are posting to Twitter right now in disbelief.

I’m really shocked that #DoloresORiordan has passed so suddenly
– I was talking to her a couple weeks before Christmas she seemed happy and well – we even spoke about maybe writing some songs together – unbelievable god bless her pic.twitter.com/Pk2QyAaaBw

— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) January 15, 2018

I once met Delores O’Riordan when I was 15. She was kind and lovely, I got her autograph on my train ticket and it made my day. She had the most amazing voice and presence. So sorry to hear that she’s passed away today x

— James Corden (@JKCorden) January 15, 2018