Neil Sedaka

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Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
pop

Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
singer, pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
, and songwriter

Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
often associated with the Brill Building

Brill Building

The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway in New York City, just north of Times Square. The Brill Building was intended as a financial office space for brokers and bankers....
. He teamed up with Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield was an United States lyricist and songwriter....
to write hits for himself and others. Sedaka's voice is tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
.

ka was born in Brooklyn, New York on 13 March 1939. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish-Jewish immigrants; his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent.

He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus

Abraham & Straus

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Encyclopedia

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American

United States

Pop music

Pianist

Songwriter

Brill Building

Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield was an United States lyricist and songwriter....
to write hits for himself and others. Sedaka's voice is tenor

Tenor

Career beginnings, 1960s success

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York on 13 March 1939. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish-Jewish immigrants; his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent.

He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus

Abraham & Straus

Abraham & Straus , now defunct, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn, New York. Federated Department Stores eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H....
department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. He also maintained an interest in popular music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield was an United States lyricist and songwriter....
, an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two began writing together.

The best-known Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
hits of his early career are "The Diary" (#14, 1958), a song that he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials; "Oh! Carol" (#9, 1959

1959 in music

Events* 1959 Jimi Hendrix buys first electric guitar: a White Single pickup Supro Ozark 1560 S.*January 5 The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held....
); "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1960

1960 in music

Events*January 14 - Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 - Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles, California....
); "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Run Samson Run (top 30, 1960); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

"Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" is a pop music song released in 1961 by Neil Sedaka. Sedaka wrote the music and performed the song, while the lyrics were written by Howard Greenfield....
" (#6, 1961

1961 in music

Events*January 15 - Motown Records signs The Supremes*January 20 - Francis Poulenc's Gloria is premiered in Boston*February 12 - The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single...
); "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962

1962 in music

Events*January 1 - The Beatles and The Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only. The Beatles are rejected, mainly as they come from Liverpool and the others are Dagenham-based nearer London....
); and "Next Door To An Angel" (#5, 1962). "Oh! Carol" refers to Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King

Carole King

Carole King is an United States singer, songwriter, and pianist. She was most active as a singer during the first half of the 1970s, though she was a successful songwriter for considerably longer both before and after this period....
. King responded with her answer song

Answer song

An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s....
, "Oh, Neil", which used Sedaka's full name. A Scopitone

Scopitone

Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. It was a forerunner of music video. The Italian Cinebox/Coilorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time....
exists for "Calendar Girl". Sedaka wrote another hit, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, for his then close friend Annette Funicello

Annette Funicello

Annette Joanne Funicello is an United States singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films....
.

In 1961 Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian. At first he published Esagerata and Un giorno inutile, local versions of Little devil and I must be dreaming.

A similar sharing came earlier with Sedaka and singer Connie Francis

Connie Francis

Connie Francis is an United States pop singer best known for several international hit songs including "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where the Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid"....
. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single Who's Sorry Now?
Who's Sorry Now?

"Who's Sorry Now?" is a popular music song with music written by Ted Snyder and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It was published in 1923 in music....
. She was introduced to Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing her diary

Diary

For other uses of the term 'diary', see Diary .A 'diary' is a record with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period....
while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but too intellectual for the young generation . Greenfield suggested to Sedaka a song they had written that morning for another girl group. Sedaka protested, believing Francis would be insulted, but agreed to play "Stupid Cupid". Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.

While Francis was writing her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary", his first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits such as "Fallin" and "Where the Boys Are

Where the Boys Are

Where the Boys Are is a Cinema of the United States coming-of-age comedy film, written by George Wells based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, about four Midwestern college co-eds who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
".

On an episode of the quiz show "I've Got a Secret

I've Got a Secret

I've Got a Secret is a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?....
" in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he played "Fantasy Impromptu" on the show. Panelist Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan (comedian)

Not to be confused with Harry Morgan, American actor of film and television, who was billed as Henry Morgan in certain roles. For the pirate, see Henry Morgan....
made a point that the Russians, at least older ones, hated rock and roll. Sedaka's participation in the competition, which Van Cliburn

Van Cliburn

Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. , is an United States pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958, when at age 23, he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
won in 1958, was cancelled by the USSR because of Sedaka's rock and roll.

Between 1960 and 1962, Sedaka had eight Top 40 hits, but he was one of many American performers of the era whose popularity was decimated by the British Invasion

British Invasion

File:The Beatles in America.JPGThe British Invasion was the term applied by the news media?and subsequently by consumers?to the influx of rock and roll, beat music and pop music performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States, Canada and Australia....
and other changes. His commercial success declined rapidly after 1964 -- he scored only two minor hits in 1965, none of 1966 singles charted, and when his RCA contract ended in 1967 it was not renewed, leaving him without a record label.

Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late Sixties, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems

Screen Gems

Screen Gems is an United States subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia Pictures that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees

The Monkees

The Monkees were a pop singing quartet assembled in Los Angeles in 1965 in music for the United States television series The Monkees , which aired from 1966 to 1968....
, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle

The Cyrkle

The Cyrkle was a 1960s United States rock and roll band ....
's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing", a Top 40 R&B hit for Patti Drew in 1968 and a US Top 20 hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969, and "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons .Valli, along with Tommy_DeVito_, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio, the original members of The Four Seasons , were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 in music and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 in music....
's charting album Timeless.

1970s comeback

Sedaka revived his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late Sixties, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably UK and Australia. He made several trips to Australia in this period to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star Crossed Lovers" became a major hit in Australia. The song went to #5 nationally April 1969 -- giving Sedaka his first charting single in four years -- and it also came in at #5 in Go-Set
Go-Set

Go-Set was the first Australian rock music magazine, published from early February 1966 until August 1974. Founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer and Tony Schauble, it became an influential publication and featured many notable contributors ....
magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.

Later that year, with the support of Festival Records

Festival Records (Australia)

Festival Mushroom Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled Workin' On A Groovy Thing at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton

Pat Aulton

Pat Aulton was a noted Australian record producer, musician, arranger and songwriter.He is best known for the successful pop and rock singles and albums he produced for Australian and New Zealand artists in the 1960s and early 1970s on the Sunshine Records and Spin Records labels....
, with arrangements by John Farrar

John Farrar

John Farrar , born on 8 November 1946 in Melbourne Australia, is a Record producer, songwriter, singer and guitarist who is best known for his work with Olivia Newton-John with whom he wrote and produced many hit songs....
(who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John Order of Australia, Order of the British Empire is an England, Australian singer and actor. She is an avid activist for both environmentalism issues and breast cancer awareness....
) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock (band)

Ayers Rock was a jazz fusion/progressive rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The group formed in 1973, and included many well-travelled rock performers; drummer Mark Kennedy had previously played in Spectrum , and played on sessions for King Harvest and Friends ....
) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster

John Sangster

John Sangster was an Australian jazz composer, arranger, drummer, cornettist and Vibraphone born in Melbourne, most well-known as a composer though also a gifted multi-instrumentalist....
.

The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling West Virginia", reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield

Howard Greenfield was an United States lyricist and songwriter....
-- the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager

Carole Bayer Sager

Carole Bayer Sager is an United States lyricist, songwriter and singer.Born in New York City, Sager co-wrote her first pop music hit, A Groovy Kind of Love, with Toni Wine, while a student at the Fiorello H....
, who subsequently embarked on a successful collaboration with expatriate Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen

Peter Allen

Peter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, Elkie Brooks, and one, Arthur's Theme, won the Academy Award....
.

In 1972 Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the Solitaire
Solitaire (album)

Solitaire is a 1972 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. The album, released after a successful English tour in early 1972, marked the comeback of Sedaka after a 10-year absence from the charts....
album in England

England

Strawberry Studios

Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport that became closely associated with rock band 10cc....
in Stockport

Stockport

Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers River Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, southeast of the city of Manchester....
, working with the four future members of 10cc

10cc

10cc were an England art rock rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. Initially comprising four musicians ? Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme ? who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the ?10cc? name in 1972....
. As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams

Andy Williams

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is a legendary American pop singer. Andy Williams has recorded 18 gold and three platinum certified albums. When Ronald Reagan was president, he declared Andy's voice to be "a national treasure"....
and The Carpenters

The Carpenters

The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter and Richard Carpenter . Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply "Carpenters", without the Article ....
, it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You" which also charted in America -- Sedaka's first US hit in ten years.

A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team – who had by then charted with their own debut 10cc album – to record The Tra-La Days Are Over
The Tra-La Days Are Over

The Tra-La Days Are Over is a 1973 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. The album was the second to be produced at Strawberry Studios in England in collaboration with Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme, Kevin Godley and Eric Stewart, who had formed the band 10cc since their first joint venture with Sedaka on Solitaire ....
, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (a US #1 hit two years later for Captain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille are United States pop music recording artists who achieved recording chart success from 1975-80 with a repertoire of romance and novelty hit songs....
). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together"

He worked with Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s....
, who signed him to his Rocket Records

Rocket Records

The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Steve Brown among others, in 1972 in music....
label. Sedaka returned with a flourish, topping the charts twice with "Laughter in the Rain

Laughter in the Rain

"Laughter in the Rain" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka and written by Sedaka and Phil Cody. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 1975....
" and "Bad Blood

Bad Blood (Neil Sedaka song)

1975 in music

Events*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former The Beatles John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
). John provided backing vocals for the latter song. The flipside of "Laughter in the Rain

Laughter in the Rain

"Laughter in the Rain" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka and written by Sedaka and Phil Cody. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 1975....
" was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles....
, which recalled the by-gone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status.

Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together

Love Will Keep Us Together

"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a popular song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield in 1973. It was first released on Sedaka's 1974 LP "Sedaka's Back"....
", a No. 1 hit for Captain and Tennille and the best-selling record of 1975

1975 in music

Coda (music)

Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage which brings a piece to a conclusion....
; Toni Tennille sang this in an ad lib while laying down background vocals.

Sedaka was the opening act for the The Carpenters

The Carpenters

Ray Coleman

Ray Coleman was a British author and former editor-in-chief of Melody Maker known for biographies of The Beatles. Besides Melody Maker, Coleman was a participant with music magazines including Disc, Black Music, and Musicians Only, and a contributor to magazines such as Billboard magazine....
, Richard Carpenter fired Sedaka, which resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka announced he was off the tour. This was before, however, Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire

Solitaire

Solitaire, also called patience, often refers to single-player card games involving a layout of cards with a goal of sorting them in some manner....
," which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show," stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Sherwin Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager.

"Solitaire

Solitaire

Solitaire, also called patience, often refers to single-player card games involving a layout of cards with a goal of sorting them in some manner....
" would find success again in the 21st century, when American Idol finalist Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken is an United States American popular music singer who began his rise to fame on the American Idol of the television program American Idol in 2003....
sang the song when Sedaka appeared as a judge in the second season, won by Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard

Christopher Ruben Studdard is an United States pop music, contemporary R&B, and gospel music singer. He rose to fame as winner of the American Idol of American Idol....
. The "guest judge" has since been eliminated. Aiken explained that the song was his mother's favorite and that she begged him to sing it when she learned that Sedaka would be on the show. After he was awarded a recording contract, he added "Solitaire" as the B-side to his single "The Way

The Way/Solitaire

"The Way"/"Solitaire" is the second commercial Double_A-side#Double_A-side Compact Disc single by Clay Aiken released on March 16 2004 on the RCA label....
," whose sales were faltering. When "Solitaire" moved to the A-side, radio and record sales responded and the single hit #1 on the Billboard

Billboard

Billboard is a weekly United States magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized Record chart that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis....
Hot Singles Sales chart, one of the biggest hits of 2004. Sedaka was invited back to American Idol to celebrate its success and could be seen in the audience several times.

In 1975

1975 in music

Events*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former The Beatles John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
, Sedaka recorded a new version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." The 1962 original was fast-tempo

Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
and bouncy teen pop, but the remake was slower and in the style of a jazz/torch piano arrangement. Lenny Welch had recorded the song in this style in 1970. It reached #8 on the pop charts in early 1976, making him the second artist to hit the US Top Ten twice with separate versions of the song. (The Ventures had hits in 1960 and 1964 with recordings of "Walk, Don't Run

Walk, Don't Run (song)

"Walk, Don't Run" is a 1960 in music single by the Seattle, Washington-based instrumental rock band The Ventures. Although written and first performed by Johnny Smith in 1955, the Ventures' version is believed to be one of the first surfing songs to make the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #2 and reaching #3 on the Cash Box magazine char...
". Elton John later accomplished the feat twice, with 1991's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is the first single from United Kingdom musician Elton John's 1974 album Caribou ; it was released that year during the latter half of May in the United Kingdom, and on June 10 in the United States....
" and 1997's "Candle in the Wind

Candle in the Wind

"Candle in the Wind" is a song with music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier....
".)

Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The same year, Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by a #16 hit in 1976, "Love in the Shadows." In 1980

1980 in music

Events...
, Sedaka had a Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go," which he recorded with his daughter, Dara.

Sedaka is also composer of "Is This The Way to Amarillo

Is This the Way to Amarillo

"Is This the Way to Amarillo" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, referring to Amarillo, Texas. It is about a man travelling to Amarillo to find his fianc?e....
", a song he wrote for Britain's Tony Christie

Tony Christie

Tony Christie is an England male singer from Conisbrough, South Yorkshire. His mother was English and his father came from Ireland....
. It reached #18 on the UK charts in 1971, but #1 when reissued in 2005

2005 in music

Events*In the course of the year 2005, 12 rock albums reached the number 1 spot in America. This was the first time even ten albums have reached the top spot since 1996....
, thanks to a video starring comedian Peter Kay

Peter Kay

'Peter John Kay' is an England comedian, writer, Film producer, director and actor. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor......
. Sedaka recorded the song in 1977, when it became a #44 hit. On April 7, 2006, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, Sedaka was presented with an award from the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized...
: British Hit Singles and Albums as writer of the best-selling single of the 21st century so far, "Amarillo".

Ben Folds

Ben Folds

Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter and the former frontman of the band Ben Folds Five. He is widely acclaimed for his prowess as a pianist, composer, songwriter, performer, and multi-instrumentalist....
, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Neil had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday.

Sedaka continues to perform. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment hall of fame....
and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame

Long Island Music Hall of Fame

The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization located in Lake Grove, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York....
in October 2006.

A concert performance on 26 October 26 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City honored the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Guests included Captain and Tennille, Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole

Natalie Maria Cole is an influential United States singer-songwriter and performer who has won ten Grammy Awards. She achieved success in her early career as an R&B star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more jazz orientated musical style in the early 1990s....
, Connie Francis

Connie Francis

Connie Francis is an United States pop singer best known for several international hit songs including "Who's Sorry Now?", "Where the Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid"....
, and Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken is an United States American popular music singer who began his rise to fame on the American Idol of the television program American Idol in 2003....
.

During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre". Neil also toured the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum

Araneta Coliseum

The Araneta Coliseum is the largest Indoor arena in Asia, with a dome diameter of 108 meters. It is located in Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed "The Big Dome", it hosts sporting and entertainment events in the country....
.

Other musical works

In 1985

1985 in music

Sorry, no overview for this topic
, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime

Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
TV series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

is a television anime, part of the Gundam series and a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. The show is written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, while the series' mechanical designs is split amongst Kunio Okawara, Nagano Mamoru, and Kazumi Fujita....
. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD

DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
.

In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks

Food Rocks

Food Rocks was an attraction at Epcot's The Land pavilion presented by Nestl? in the Walt Disney World Resort. It was a musical stage show, with audio-animatronic figures....
, an attraction at Epcot

Epcot

Epcot is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The park is dedicated to international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was named EPCOT Center until 1994....
from 1994-2006.

A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Personal life

Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School

Abraham Lincoln High School (New York)

for schools of the same name.Abraham Lincoln High School is a public high school located at 2800 Ocean Parkway, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, and is part of Region 7 in the New York City Department of Education....
in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba, since 1962. They have two children: daughter Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials and son Marc, a screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
who lives in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
.

Pop culture references

In the Friends
Friends

Friends is an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. The series revolves around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses....
episode "The One With the Two Parties", Ross

Ross Geller

Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular United States television sitcom Friends , played by David Schwimmer....
says that he is wearing the same glasses frames as Neil Sedaka.

In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain is a Frank Zappa song, first made available on the album Just Another Band from L.A. in 1972 in music. The original recording of this song, which took a complete half-hour to perform, was from a live tour performance on August 7, 1971 in Los Angeles during the Flo & Eddie days of Frank Zappa's band....
", on the album Just Another Band from L.A.
Just Another Band from L.A.

Just Another Band from L.A. is a live album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1972 . It was recorded live in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA....
by Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock music, jazz, electronic music, orchestral, and musique concr?te works....
and The Mothers, it is alleged that some people say Studabacher Hoch "could sing just like Neil Sedaka."

In the Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World is an Television in the United States television sitcom that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, who grows up from a young boy to a married man....
episode "Killer Bees", Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he couldn't find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.

In Career Day on That '70s Show

That '70s Show

That '70s Show is an American television program situation comedy that centers on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin from May 17, 1976 to December 31, 1979....
, Kitty starts out singing "Bad Blood

Bad Blood (Neil Sedaka song)

"Bad Blood" was a popular song written by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. Sedaka's single, on which Elton John sang the backing vocal, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975 in music, remaining in the top position for three weeks....
" on the radio, which makes everyone, including Fez and Hyde's mother sing, too, in the lunchroom.

On the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television

Second City Television

Second City Television was a Canada television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984....
, Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy is a Canada Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning actor, television director, Television producer, musician and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, United States film and television movies....
portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup. The sketch also features John Candy

John Candy

John Franklin Candy was a Canadian comedian and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Ontario branch of The Second City. Candy died of a heart attack in 1994....
and Joe Flaherty

Joe Flaherty

Joe Flaherty is an American-Canadian comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy Second City Television, from 1976 to 1984....
who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.

Discography

LPs:

1959 Rock with Sedaka
1961 Circulate
1961 Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits
1963 Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits (Re-released in 1975 and 1992)(RCA 2627)
1969 Workin' On A Groovy Thing (Festival 1969)
1971 Emergence (UK)
1972 Neil Sedaka (UK)
1972 Solitaire
Solitaire (album)

Solitaire is a 1972 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. The album, released after a successful English tour in early 1972, marked the comeback of Sedaka after a 10-year absence from the charts....
(UK)
1973 The Tra-La Days Are Over
The Tra-La Days Are Over

The Tra-La Days Are Over is a 1973 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. The album was the second to be produced at Strawberry Studios in England in collaboration with Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme, Kevin Godley and Eric Stewart, who had formed the band 10cc since their first joint venture with Sedaka on Solitaire ....
(UK)
1974 Laughter in the Rain (UK)
1974 Live at the Royal Festival Hall
Live at the Royal Festival Hall

The album Live at Royal Festival Hall by Neil Sedaka was released on the Polydor Records label in 1974....
(UK; live)
1974 Sedaka's Back
Sedaka's Back

Sedaka's Back is an album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. The record, a compilation of his last three albums, which had been released only in the UK, was released on Elton John's Rocket Records label in 1974 in music....
(USA)
1975 Overnight Success (UK)
1975 The Hungry Years
The Hungry Years

The Hungry Years is an album by Neil Sedaka. It was released on the Rocket Records label in 1975 in music.The album is the American edition of Overnight Success, with two songs being replaced....
(USA)
1976 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Victor edition; Compilation of mid-1960s hits)
1976 Pure Gold (Another compilation of early 1960s hits)
1976 Sedaka Live in Australia at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club
1976 Steppin' Out
1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs — A Solo Concert (Live 2-LP)
1977 A Song
1977 Neil Sedaka and Songs
1978 All You Need Is the Music
1979 In the Pocket
1979 Oh Carol! and Other Big Hits (Re-release of 1960s hits)
1979 Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Camden edition; different compilation from the 1976 RCA Victor album of the same name)
1981 Now!
1984 Come See About Me
1986 The Good Times
1991 Timeless — The Very Best of Neil Sedaka (Includes both old and new songs)
1993 Love Will Keep Us Together (Compilation and new songs)
1994 Laughter In The Rain: The Best Of Neil Sedaka, 1974-1980
1995 Song Cycle (Songs culled from "Emergence" [1971] and "Solitaire" [1972], previously unavailable in USA)
1995 Classically Sedaka
1997 Tales of Love (and Other Passions)
2000 The Singer and His Songs
2003 Brighton Beach Memories — Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish
2003 Oh! Carol: The Complete Recordings, 1955-66 (8-CD box with previously unreleased material)
2006 The Very Best of Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On (2-CD, 46-track career retrospective [UK import] with 7 "new" [2003] recordings); tie-in with release of DVD (filmed 7 April 2006) in London, Neil Sedaka: Live at the Royal Albert Hall--The Show Goes On
2006 The Miracle of Christmas
2007 Neil Sedaka: The Definitive Collection (2-CD career retrospective including never-released early-career demos)
2008 The Miracle of Christmas (special 2-disc version)
2009 Waking Up Is Hard to Do (children's recording)

SELECTED SINGLES:

"The Diary" (US #14, 1958)
"I Go Ape" (UK #9, 1959)
"Oh! Carol" (US #9, UK #3, 1959)
"Stairway to Heaven" (UK #8, 1960)
"You Mean Everything to Me" (US #17, 1960)
"Calendar Girl" (US #4, UK #8; 1960)
"Run, Samson, Run" (US Top 30)
"You Mean Everything to Me" (UK #45, 1960)
"Little Devil" (US #11, UK #9; 1961)
"Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" (US #6, UK #3; 1961)
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (US #1, UK #7; 1962)
"Next Door to an Angel" (US #5, UK #29; 1962)
"King of Clowns" (UK #23, 1962)
"Let's Go Steady Again" (UK #42, 1963)
"Oh! Carol"/"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"/"Little Devil" (re-issue) (UK #19, 1972)
"Beautiful You" (UK #43, 1972)
"That's When the Music Takes Me" (UK #18, 1973)
"Standing on the Inside" (UK #26, 1973)
"Our Last Song Together" (UK #31, 1973)
"A Little Lovin'" (UK #34, 1974)
"Laughter in the Rain" (UK #15, 1974, US #1, 1975)
"The Immigrant" (US #22, 1975) (dedicated to John Lennon)
"Bad Blood" (US #1, 1975)
"The Queen of 1964" (UK #35, 1975)
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" [ballad version] (US #8, 1976)
"Love in the Shadows" (US #16, 1976)
"Amarillo" (US #44, 1977)
"Should've Never Let You Go" [Neil & Dara Sedaka] (US #19, 1980)

Autobiography

Laughter in the rain: my own story. New York: Putnam 1982. ISBN 0-399-12744-5

External links

on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
George Stroumboulopoulos

George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canada television and radio personality, and best known as the host of CBC Television's The Hour, a late-night talk show about the world's current events....