|
Neil Sedaka was born Neil David Sedaka on 13th March 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mordechai Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Lebanese descent, while his mother Eleanor, who was of Polish and Russian origin, was a lover of classical music who took up a part-time job in the Abraham & Straus department store in order to earn $500 to buy Neil his first piano.
Neil grew up in a musical household, showing early aptitude at the piano, and at the age of nine, won a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard Music School, where he studied keyboard and theory alongside other gifted young musicians.
He showed promise as a classical pianist, but as a teenager, much to his mother's initial disappointment, gravitated toward popular song, and while attending Abraham Lincoln High School, formed a songwriting partnership with a neighbour, Howie Greenfield, a collaboration that proved decisive in shaping his early career, but which he kept secret from his mother.
While at school, he had also formed a group (the Linc-Tones), and although the band got to release several singles, they failed to achieve hit status. Some years later, this same band (but by now minus Neil) would emerge as The Tokens, who would go on to score several major hits, including the classic tune "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
Neil entered the professional music world, initially as a songwriter working with Howie inside the Brill Building system, where young writers supplied material for established artists. Meanwhile, in addition to writing, he was also doing session work, playing piano on a number of hits recorded by other acts, including Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover".
Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield were the earliest to sign with Al Nevins and Don Kirshner’s emerging Aldon Music. "Stupid Cupid", their first song for Aldon, was recorded by Connie Francis, shooting up the charts in 1958. Aldon would go on to become the top music publisher in the USA, with a staff of writers which included not just Neil and Howie, but also Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Although Neil and Howie penned songs for a number of acts including the emerging heart-throb Jimmy Clanton, their biggest client remained Connie Francis for whom they wrote such hits as "Fallin'" and the theme from the movie "Where The Boys Are".
However, Neil soon emerged as a performer of his own compositions, scoring his first major success in 1959 with "Oh! Carol", a buoyant, piano-driven hit that established his public persona as a youthful, romantic pop singer. This song was dedicated to a former girl friend, the songwriter Carole King, and was followed by a run of highly successful singles in the early 1960s, including "Calendar Girl", "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", "Little Devil", "Next Door to an Angel", "Alice In Wonderland", Let's Go Steady Again", "The Dreamer", "King of Clowns" and "Bad Girl". These recordings combined melodic clarity with rhythmic vitality and helped define the sound of pre-British Invasion American pop.
The mid-1960s brought a downturn in Sedaka’s chart fortunes in the United States as musical tastes shifted with the arrival of The Beatles, but he continued to write prolifically and enjoyed sustained success overseas, particularly in Europe and Australia. During this period he also broadened his stylistic range, drawing more openly on his classical background and developing a more mature lyrical voice.
His fortunes revived dramatically in the early 1970s when his work attracted renewed attention, leading to a major comeback as both songwriter and performer. He and Howie had split, and Neil found himself on the "oldies" circuit while still only in his twenties. In 1970, he decided to move to England where he was still popular. Elton John, a longtime fan, later signed him to his label, Rocket Records, resulting in two superb albums, "Sedaka’s Back" and "The Hungry Years", and it was Elton who basically revived Neil Sedaka's faltering career.
Songs such as "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" soon returned him to the top of the American charts, while his own reimagined ballad version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" demonstrated his ability to reinterpret earlier material with emotional depth and sophistication.
Alongside his own recording work, Neil Sedaka continued to write extensively for other artists, most notably with lyricist Phil Cody during the 1970s. Among their best-known collaborations was "Love Will Keep Us Together", which became an international hit and a defining record of the decade when recorded by Captain & Tennille.
Other notable hits included "Ring Ring" for Abba, "Solitaire" by The Carpenters, "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" by Captain & Tennille, and the massive UK hit "Is This The Way To Amarillo" (Lou Christie).
Looking back, his greatest strengths lay in melody and structure. He possessed an exceptional gift for crafting memorable tunes that balanced simplicity with harmonic interest, supported by a strong sense of rhythm and an intuitive understanding of popular taste. While the lyrics often favoured directness over poetic ambiguity, they served their purpose with clarity and sincerity, particularly in songs dealing with youthful romance and emotional vulnerability. As a vocalist he was expressive rather than technically commanding, but his voice suited his material and conveyed warmth and immediacy.
Neil Sedaka’s legacy in the history of popular music rests on his role as a bridge between eras. He stood as a key figure of the Brill Building tradition, helped shape early 1960s American pop, and later proved that a songwriter grounded in classic pop values could reinvent himself for a new generation. His songs endured through countless cover versions and revivals, and his influence remained evident in the continued emphasis on melody and craftsmanship in mainstream songwriting.
International Songwriters Association Hall of Fame member.
Neil Sedaka died suddenly on the 27th of February 2026 in Los Angeles, California, USA, at the age of 86, from undisclosed causes.
© Jim Liddane
Copyright Songwriter Magazine, International Songwriters Association & Jim Liddane: All Rights Reserved
This is just one of the many profiles of leading songwriters, singers, musicians and music industry personnel, published by the International Songwriters Association and "Songwriter Magazine". Please click HERE for a full list.
The Main Menu
ISA • International Songwriters Association (1967)
internationalsongwriters@gmail.com
The Small Print
This International Songwriters Association 1967 site is a non-profit non-commercial re-creation of portions of the full site originally published by the International Songwriters Association Limited, and will introduce you to the world of songwriting. It will explain music business terms and help you understand the business concepts that you should be familiar with, thus enabling you to ask more pertinent questions when you meet with your accountant/CPA or solicitor/lawyer.
However, although this website includes general information about legal issues and legal developments as well as accounting issues and accounting developments, it is not meant to be a replacement for professional advice. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal/accounting developments.
Every effort has been made to make this site as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an "as is" basis and the author(s) and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained on this site. No steps should be taken without first seeking competent legal and/or accounting advice
Some pictures on this site are library images supplied by (amongst others) the ISA International Songwriters Association (1967), International Songwriters Association Limited, Dreamstime Library Inc, BMI (Broadcast Music Inc), ASCAP (American Society Of Songwriters, Authors and Publishers), PRS (Performing Rights Society), PPS (Professional Photographic Services), RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann) TV3, and various Public Relations organisations. Other pictures have been supplied by the songwriters, performers, or music business executives interviewed or mentioned throughout this website, while certain pictures are commercial stock footage of businesses and office environments generally, rather than specific images of the ISA, its personnel, facilities or members.
In any event, all images are and remain the property of the individual owners unless indicated to the contrary.
Home •
Interviews •
Writing A Song
|
