Neil Sedaka, the Brooklyn–born musical prodigy who found success with pop music— both as a hit-making songwriter and performer — in a career that spanned from the 1950s to the 21st century, died Feb. 27 in West Hollywood. He was 86.
In the era between Elvis’ induction into the Army and the start of Beatlemania, Sedaka, with his partner, lyricist Howard Greenfield, either wrote or sang a steady production of hits. As a performer, he had a dozen top 20 Billboard hits, including “The Diary (#14, 1959), “Oh, Carol” (#9, 1959), “Stairway to Heaven” (#9, 1960), “Calendar Girl (#4, 1961), “Little Devil” (#11, 1961), “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen (#6) and “Next Door to an Angel (#5, 1962). He topped the charts in 1962 with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” As a composer, he co-wrote hits for Connie Francis (“Stupid Cupid,” which reached #14 in the U.S. and topped the British chart, and “Where the Boys Are,” the theme song for the movie and a #4 hit in 1958).
After the Beatles popularized the idea of a self-sufficient band that wrote its own songs, Sedaka’s clean-cut pop fell out of style. Yet Sedaka-Greenfield still managed to write hits for the Fifth Dimension (“Workin’ on a Groovy Thing” [#20, 1969], former Monkee Davy Jones’ “Rainy Jane” [#32, 1969], and Tom Jones [“Puppet Man,” #24, 1970]).
Neil Sedaka was born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mac and Eleanor Sedaka. His father was Sephardic and his mother Ashkenazi; Sedaka was a transliteration of the Hebrew “tzedakah.” He showed musical promise from a young age. In the second grade, his music teacher recommended he take piano lessons; by the time he was nine, he was a scholarship student at the Juilliard School. When he was 17, he was selected by Arthur Rubinstein and Jascha Heifetz to perform on New York’s classical music station, WQXR.
But the lure of pop music was too strong. He started writing pop tunes with Greenfield, his neighbor. By the time he was 19, he had his first hit with “Stupid Cupid.” In an interview with The Forward, Sedaka claimed that growing up in the heavily Jewish Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn helped shape his music. Not only his: in addition to Greenfield, other musicians from the neighborhood included Carole King, who Sedaka dated and was the subject of “Oh, Carol”; King and her co-writer, Gerry Goffin, wrote an answer song, “Oh, Neil.” Neil Diamond lived across the street. Talking to The Forward about the concentration of talent, he joked that “there must have been something in the egg cream.”
Sedaka and Greenfield rented an office in the Brill Building, where, in addition to King and Goffin, they worked beside other Jewish songwriters including Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Pomus advised Sedaka to sign up with Jewish music publisher Don Kirshner, who felt Sedaka’s high tenor voice had potential and got him a contract at RCA Records.
By the early 1970s, Sedaka and Greenfield had ended their partnership. He moved to England and cut three albums (produced by Graham Gouldman of 10cc) which didn’t sell. Elton John, then enjoying the first flush of stardom, was a lifelong fan of Sedaka, and released two albums on his Rocket Records. Both albums, 1974’s “Sedaka’s Back” and 1975’s “The Hungry Years,” were hits, and were certified Gold Records. Rocket released “Laughter in the Rain,” written by Greenfield and King, which returned Sedaka to the top of the charts. But his biggest hit was “Love Will Keep Us Together,” a #1 smash recorded by the Captain and Tennille (who tipped their hat to the writer by singing “Sedaka’s back” on the song’s coda).
“Bad Blood,” featuring Elton John, was another #1 hit in 1975, followed in 1976 by his remake of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” this time recast as a slowed down, smoky ballad, which reached #9.
By the 1980s, Sedaka had remade himself as a middle-of-the-road balladeer. An enthusiastic and charming performer and storyteller, he remained a concert attraction. He composed a few instrumental pieces, including the symphony “Joie de Vivre” and “Manhattan Intermezzo,” a piano concerto. He returned to the pop charts with “Should’ve Never Let You Go,” on a duet with his daughter, Dara, a #19 hit.
Sedaka’s death was announced by his son, Marc. No cause of death was given. He was taken from his West Hollywood home by ambulance Friday morning. He is survived by his wife, Leba Strassberg, and their two children. The family released a statement Friday:
“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka. A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.”
As of press time, no information on a funeral or memorial has been released.
