Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I usually write about the old days of Somerville in one shape or form. It’s pretty simple because I can delve into actual proven history which is chronicled. Plus, I was usually there. It’s rare for me to get a scoop, or an inside tip on a cool story. Well, the following is a hum dinger! I may have found the source of how and when the three extra ” so goods” became part of the iconic Neil Diamond song Sweet Caroline.

Ben E. King of The Drifters with Pat Benti.

The main subject of this tale, musician/ front man Pat Benti, has been a friend and musical associate of mine for decades. He’s also performed with many other Somerville musicians and has professional and personal relationships with countless superstars. Here’s more about the man who says he started the extra “so goods” in Sweet Caroline.

Pat Benti has performed in most of the former popular Somerville nightclubs in their heyday, such as The Surrey Room (behind The

Rosebud) and Johnny D’s. Pat and his band Sha-Boom, were the last live band that played at Winter Hill’s legendary Pal Joey’s. I had to take a longer look at the man who claims he is responsible for altering and adding to one of the most popular tunes in the American songbook.

Pat Benti, (Pasquale Bentivegna) from East Boston, was the leader of the band Sha-Boom, a very popular Boston band in the ’70’s and 80’s. Pat and Sha-Boom opened for The Righteous Brothers and Roy Orbison to name a few. They also had a long run of warming up the huge Oldies 103 Concert Series audiences. They performed Celtic Pride Day, June, 10, 1986 (see color crowd photo).

2021 marks Pat’s 50th year in the music business and he wanted to share this very special story about how he believes he started the popular “so good, so good, so good,” in Sweet Caroline.

I conducted a few interviews and got Pat’s lifelong friend Mike Capozzi, who was there, to share his recollection of the Pat Benti/ Sweet Caroline connection.

“Back in the late 80’s, the city of Boston ran an event during Halloween season called the Monster Dash. This was a road race in which individuals and or teams dressed in costume and ran a race on the city streets. People would gather at City Hall Plaza at the end of the race to be entertained by Pat Benti and his Sha-Boom band, performing at a platform in the plaza. During the performance, the band got around to playing Neil Diamond’s hit single Sweet Caroline. In the Benti version, Pat got the crowd into it with the “so good, so good, so good” refrain. As far as I know, this refrain was a brainstorm of Benti’s, as I had never heard any other band perform the song in this manner.

Years later, during the 2003 season of the Boston Red Sox, and under their still new ownership, I attended a late season game. During the break between the top half and bottom of the eighth inning, the music played over the loud speaker system was Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the fans (as always, a mostly sold-out Fenway) spontaneously did the “so good, so good, so good” refrain. Could it actually be true that thousands of fans in Fenway that night might have learned the refrain from having attended the Monster Dash years earlier? I called Pat Benti on his cell number from my seat in the (Fenway) park and told him that the crowd was doing his version of the song.

Finally, what goes around comes around. In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, as part of the healing process for Boston, its residents and fans, the Red Sox invited Neil Diamond to sing Sweet Caroline at a home game. And wouldn’t you know, Neil did the Pat Benti version of his own song, getting the crowd going with the “so good, so good, so good” refrain. The following are Pat’s own words:

“Basically, it was a medley, that began with I’m A Believer. At The Monster Dash, in front of around 15,000 costume dressed people, I announced the composer, Neil Diamond. Then I went into, Sweet Caroline. Then I just started improvising by throwing in the “so good, so good, so good.” The year was 1986. Yes, when the Sox were in the World Series.”

(See Monster Mash crowd photo. Pat Benti is up front dressed in white as a mad scientist.)

To sum up the story, here are comments by longtime Sha-Boom bass guitarist Tony Baglio:

“Having performed with the Sha-Boom Band for many years, I can tell you, Pat Benti knows how to “read the room,” whether it’s a small club, concert hall or huge event like the Monster Dash. While I can’t swear he was the first to do the “so good, so good, so good” refrain, I can tell you the first time we performed at the Monster Dash was the first time I’d heard it, and knowing Pat’s penchant for whipping up a crowd, I’m convinced he was and is the “so good, so good, so good” originator. So, there you are.”

Was East Boston’s Pat Benti actually the one who started the infamous tradition of adding the three “so goods” to Sweet Caroline? Sounds to me like a pretty solid case. Will we ever find out for sure? In Neil Diamond’s own words, “Where it began, I can’t begin to know when…”

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