Neil Sedaka was born in Brooklyn on March 13, 1939. He grew up in the Brighton Beach neighbourhood there. He showed an aptitude for music while he was still young and took piano lessons as a child. In 1947, he won a scholarship to Juilliard’s School of Music’s Preparatory Division for Children. His mother wanted young Neil Sedaka to be a classical pianist.
Neil Sedaka was 13 years old when he was introduced to his 16 year-old neighbour Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. It was Howard Greenfield who convinced Neil Sedaka that they should try their hand at pop songs. It was in 1956 that Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield sent demos to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records. As a result their songs would be recorded by such Atlantic artists as The Clovers ("Bring Me Love"), The Cookies ("Passing Time"), LaVern Baker ("I Waited Too Long"), Clyde McPhatter ("Since You've Been Gone").
In addition to writing songs, Neil Sedaka also wanted to be a singer. He joined three other graduates from Lincoln High School to form The Linc-Tones. Their first single, "While I Dream," was a local hit in New York. Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield also wrote such song as “I Love My Baby,” “Come Back, Joe” and “Don’t Go Away" for the group, who would eventually be re-named The Tokens. Neil Sedaka left The Tokens for a solo career in 1958. The Tokens would go onto have their own hits, including"Tonight I Fell in Love' and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
As to the songwriting team of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, they eventually landed a contract with Aldon Music in the Brill Building. It was through Aldon Music that they met Connie Francis, who would record their song "Stupid Cupid," which went to no. 14 on the Billboard singles chart. She would go onto record their songs "Fallin'," "Frankie," and "Where the Boys Are." Connie Francis's refusal to let Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield to read her journal inspired their song "The Diary." The song led to Neil Sedaka receiving a recording contract.
Neil Sedaka would record three singles before "The Diary" proved to be a hit, gong to no.14 on the Billboard singles chart. His single "Oh! Carol" performed even better, peaking at 9. The song was inspired by a girl that Neil Sedaka had dated in high school, Carol Klein, who would become a songwriter in her own right, Carol King. Neil Sedaka's songs "Stairway to Heaven" and "You Mean Everything to Me" both did well before "Calendar Girl" proved to be Neil Sedaka's first major hit, going all the way to no 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. It would be followed by other major hits, including "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," "Breaking Up is Hard To Do (which went all the way to no. 1)," and "Next Door to an Angel."
Unfortunately, Neil Sedaka's success as a singer would fade in 1964 with the British Invasion. His single "Sunny"only went to no. 86 in 1964. His single The World Through a Tear" peaked at no. 76 in 1965. His label did not renew his contract in 1966. Neil Sedaka then fell back on his talent as a songwriter. His songs “When Love Comes Knockin’ (at Your Door)” and “The Girl I Left Behind Me," co-written with Carol Bayer, were recorded by The Monkees. With Howard Greenfield, he wrote "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" for The Cyrkle. He co-wrote "Workin’ on a Groovy Thing" with Roger Atkins for The 5th Dimension.
In 1969, Neil Sedaka recorded his album "Working' on a Groovy Thing" in Australia, where he still had a strong following. The album would not be a success, although the song "Puppet Man" and the title song would be hits for The 5th Dimension. His 1971 album Emergence also did not fare well. Having moved to England in 1970, Neil Sedaka's fortunes as a songwriter began to change. His song "That's When the Music Takes Me," from his 1972 album Solitaire, went to no. 18 on the UK singles chart. It would later go to no. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. He met Elton John in 1973, who signed him to his label The Rocket Record Co.
Neil Sedaka would have his first no. 1 song since "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" with "Laughter in the Rain" in 1974. He would have another no. 1 hit in 1975 with "Bad Blood,' which featured uncredited backing vocals by Elton John. A ballad remake of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" went to no. 8. His song "Love in the Shadows" went to no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was in 1975 that Captain & Tennille hit no. 1 with Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield's song "Love Will Keep Us Together." Neil Sedaka would have one last hit in 1980 with "Should've Never Let You Go," recorded with his daughter Dara Sedaka.
While Neil Sedaka would have no more hit singles, he continued to record. From 1980 to 2016, he recorded 12 more albums. He continued to perform well into the Teens. More recently, Neil Sedaka and his grandson Michael posted duets of the two of them to social media.
I don't think it is an understatement to say that Neil Sedaka numbers among the greatest songwriters of all time. He was certainly versatile. He is probably best known for his series of bouncy pop hits from the late Fifties and early Sixties, such as "Oh! Carol," "Calendar Girl," and "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," but he wrote many other sorts of songs. His song "Love in the Shadows" is an outright guitar-driven pop rock. "Where the Boys Are" is a ballad. Neil Sedaka could write many different sots of sons, all of them with enough hooks to keep listeners interested. Beyond his talent as a songwriter, Neil Sedaka was also a remarkable singer. He was a high tenor with a sweet and clear voice, and a voice that was emotive enough to fit any mood. In his tribute to Neil Sedaka on social media, Mickey Dolenz wrote, "Neil was one of those rare songwriters who could do it all." Nothing truer of Neil Sedaka as a songwriter could be said.
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