Diamond was born in New York City to an upper-middle-class Jewish household. He attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York for six months. In 1979, Diamond co-founded the band The Young Aborigines. In 1981, Adam Yauch, aka MCA, a friend and follower of the band became their bass player, and on the suggestion of their then-guitar player, John Berry, the band changed their name to the Beastie Boys. By 1983,Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) joined, and their sound began to shift away from punk to hip-...