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Neil Sedaka

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Neil Sedaka (1939 to 2026) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Brighton Beach, across from Neil Diamond, and he had a relationship with Carole King. His mother took a part-time job to buy him a second-hand piano, after his teacher had suggested giving him piano lessons. In 1947 he passed an audition for a piano scholarship.

Music and breakthrough

Sedaka began his music career in 1957. He was briefly a co-founder of the doo-wop group The Tokens and then had a series of hits, above all with the lyricist Howard Greenfield: Oh! Carol in 1959, Calendar Girl in 1960, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen in 1961 and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do in 1962. In the mid-1960s his popularity declined, but in 1975 he made a comeback with two number 1s on the American Billboard Hot 100, Laughter in the Rain and Bad Blood. For these he worked mainly with the lyricist Phil Cody. Records such as Solitaire and The Hungry Years also appeared at that time.

Influence

Sedaka wrote or co-wrote more than five hundred songs, also for others, such as Stupid Cupid for Connie Francis, (Is This the Way to) Amarillo for Tony Christie and Love Will Keep Us Together for Captain & Tennille. In 1983 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He kept performing, even during the Covid years with short concerts on social media. His melodic pop songs link the rock 'n' roll of the 1950s with the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and notice how cheerful and singable the melody is, while the lyrics are about a break-up.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: Artists