Q&A on the News
Q: How and why did the song "Sweet Caroline" become a fixture at Boston Red Sox games? — Kathy McDonough, Peachtree Corners
A: A Red Sox employee whose job it was to decide the music lineup at Fenway Park, heard Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" at other stadiums and put it in the musical rotation in the late 1990s. Amy Tobey began playing the song sometime between the seventh and ninth innings, but only if the Red Sox were leading and the "atmosphere is festive," Charles Steinberg, a senior adviser to Boston Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino, recently told MSN.com. When new ownership took over in 2002, team officials requested that "Sweet Caroline" be played in the middle of the eighth inning at every game. Coincidentally, Diamond, who wrote and first performed the song in 1969, revealed in 2007 that it was inspired by Caroline Kennedy, who is President John F. Kennedy's daughter, after he saw a photo of her. Caroline Kennedy also is the great-granddaughter of former Boston Mayor John Francis "Honey-Fitz" Fitzgerald. Diamond sang and led the fans in "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park on Saturday, the day after Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested.
Q: What is the population breakdown for Carroll County? — Don McCleary, Atlanta
A: Carroll County had a population of 110,615 people in 2010, according to the U.S. census. The breakdown: 72.5 percent white, 18.7 percent black, 6.4 percent Hispanic and 0.9 percent Asian.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
