I was listening to the radio the other night and heard Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. 


Now this may be a bit of a "chicken and the egg" question, but does anyone know when this song became the big "lets play it at the end of the night at clubs and sing along" song? 


I remember seeing the movie "Beautiful Girls" and there is a scene when all of the guys are singing along to the song with gusto and I did not think much of it. But then later, in various clubs and locales I would hear the song played and the crowd would go wild singing along. With about the same amount of gusto, I imagine. 

Anyhow, does anyone know if the movie was taking a cue from reality? Or did folks see the movie and then say "wow thats a really great song" and then belt it out like the characters. Or has no one else even witnessed this phenomenon but me?

Please advise!
beth