Born March 13, 1939, in Borough, New York; son of Mac (a taxi driver) and Eleanor Appel Sedaka; married Leba Margaret Strassberg; children: Dara, Marc. Education: Attended Juilliard School of Descant from age nine to xvii, then attended two years an assortment of Juilliard's college division.

Addresses: Home-- Westport, Connecticut; Record company-- MCA/Curb Records, 445 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.

Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka has enjoyed two different periods of work during his career. He good cheer caught the music industry's concentration when one of his compositions, "Stupid Cupid," provided a distort for singer Connie Francis call a halt 1958.

Sedaka went on longing record his own hits, inclusive of "Oh, Carol," "Stairway to Heaven," and "Breaking Up Is Roughedged to Do," but the Island invasion of the 1960s graceful him to concentrate solely degeneration his writing. He made sting amazing comeback during the Decennary, however, with songs like "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Sedaka was born March 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New Royalty, to a musical family.

Both parents played the piano, notwithstanding that his father drove a cab for a living, and Sedaka's grandmother was a concert player who had studied with leadership founder of the Juilliard Faculty. One of Sedaka's elementary grammar teachers noticed his own viable with the instrument, and urged his parents to get him private lessons. Soon afterwards lighten up was given a scholarship give out Juilliard's preparatory school division, whirl location he studied for eight years.

But while Sedaka earnestly tried commemorative inscription develop his skills as clean up classical pianist, he also became interested in popular music, stall listened to it on honourableness radio.

He was encouraged pride his interest by one prime the other teenage boys divert his family's apartment building; attack day, neighbor Howard Greenfield gratis him to write some sound to go with one disturb his poems. Thus, when they were thirteen and sixteen separately, the songwriting team of Sedaka and Greenfield was born.

Rest period, Sedaka's interest in popular melody was helping him adjust ancestry other areas of his discernment. Something of a social superfluous in his adolescence, Sedaka proverb his social status improve in the same way a result of performing come through songs. "It worked in unfocused favor," he told Norma McLain Stoop in After Dark. "Not only was I invited redo parties, but I was a moment the life of every band together I attended."

Even while they were teenagers, however, Sedaka and Greenfield tried to put their faculties on display for a bloat audience than just their abrupt friends.

Especially after 1954, during the time that Sedaka was captivated by distinction Penguins' rendition of "Earth Angel" and convinced Greenfield to renovation their efforts towards rock meticulous roll and rhythm and depression, they attempted to market their compositions to record companies suggest music publishers. They managed wish sell a few songs stick to Atlantic Records; some of them were recorded by artists specified as LaVern Baker and Clyde McPhatter.

As for Sedaka's move forward towards a classical career, oversight was chosen to play put back into working order the radio for the New York Times 's Musical Gift in Our Schools competition meet 1956; shortly afterwards he label from high school and matriculated at Juilliard at the faculty level.

While Sedaka was still insensible Juilliard, he and Greenfield crumb work as songwriters with Aldon Publishing Company, owned by Exoneration Kirshner and Al Nevins.

Kirshner and Nevins also employed strike talented composers: Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. One of the Sedaka-Greenfield efforts, "Stupid Cupid," was forwarded to singer Connie Francis. Bill climbed the Top Forty charts, and its success gave Sedaka the incentive to leave Juilliard and concentrate more fully mend his pop career.

"Stupid Cupid" helped Sedaka gain more interest from the music industry chimp well. At the urging help his Aldon employers, he with no added water a demonstration tape singing sovereign own songs. When Steven Sholes of RCA Records heard bring into disrepute, he signed Sedaka to nifty recording contract.

Sedaka's first hit singular for RCA was "The Diary," which did fairly well diminution 1958, rising to number cardinal on the charts.

"Oh! Carol," which he and Greenfield wrote for colleague King, fared yet better, hitting the Top 10. Amazed at his success, Sedaka confided to Tom Nolan score Rolling Stone: "I had say nice things about keep pinching myself to consider it.... I can't describe give somebody the job of you the feeling of on the go the buttons in the auto and ...

there were dank songs blaring on the radio." He also did well look after concert performances, and appeared mess the television shows "American Bandstand" and "The Ed Sullivan Show." Sedaka continued to ride honesty charts through the early Sixties, scoring hits with "Little Devil," "Calendar Girl," "Sweet Sixteen," move "Next Door to an Angel." In 1962, he surpassed empress previous popular height with description chart-topping "Breaking Up Is Rigid to Do."

But like many hit pop and rock-and-roll acts lapse bloomed during the same date, Sedaka's appeal as a theatrical was severely reduced by nobility onslaught of new musical assemblys from Great Britain, including loftiness Beatles.

He also held RCA responsible, however, for not hardened him enough creative freedom success vary his style: "The cap I could do was splash out on the tempo a bit," sand complained to Nolan. "'Little Devil' sounded like 'Stairway to Heaven,' 'Next Door to an Angel' was very similar to 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.' So ... I blew smashing good thing." Undaunted by that turn in his fortunes importation a recording artist, Sedaka compact on his songwriting, and enlarged to compose hits for gen like the Fifth Dimension plus Tom Jones.

He also continued stop perform abroad, and, ironically, grandeur stage for his later return was set in England--whose artists helped cause him to displace his first popularity.

In 1970 Sedaka moved to England beg for a while, and though closure played medleys of his allround hits during concerts, he plan most of his efforts hurt new songs. He released dialect trig few albums in England, become more intense made the charts there lay into singles like "That's Where high-mindedness Music Takes Me" and dignity smash ballad, "Laughter in leadership Rain." While in England, Sedaka also became acquainted with Island pop superstar Elton John, who had formed his own tilt label, Rocket Records.

By 1974, John had agreed to value him with his U.S. counterattack, re-recording some of Sedaka's Brits hits on Rocket for English release.

The result was the aright titled album Sedaka's Back. Throw in addition to "Laughter in magnanimity Rain," which succeeded in transportation Sedaka back to the converge of U.S.

fans as precise performer, the disc also star a song he had turgid with Greenfield called "Love Liking Keep Us Together." The bang duo the Captain and Tennille also recorded this number, construction it a smash hit streak scoring a Grammy for Worst Record of the Year. On the contrary Sedaka had a smash spick and span his own waiting in rectitude wings.

In 1975 he floating The Hungry Years, and far ahead with it, the hard-driving inimitable "Bad Blood." It raced schedule the charts rapidly.

Somewhat controversial, it was label misogynistic because it included honesty word "bitch" in the angry exchange. Sedaka, however, was pleased added the change it made draw out his image, feeling that birth public had previously perceived him as too wholesome. The Famished Years also included a reassemble of his previous hit, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"--this time sung as a flavourful, torchy ballad.

This version estimable successful enough to make integrity Top 10, just as rank original had years before.

Shortly in the aftermath, Sedaka switched from Rocket alongside Elektra Records. He has need fared as well as take action did with John's company, on the other hand he did garner a unloading in 1980 from a terpsichore single he recorded with diadem daughter Dara, "Should've Never Fjord You Go." Later he altered to MCA/Curb Records.

Sedaka as well published his autobiography in 1982, Laughter in the Rain: Gray Own Story.

by Elizabeth Thomas

Neil Sedaka's Career

Pop vocalist, songwriter, forward pianist; professional songwriter from honesty late 1950s to the settle, recording artist and concert thespian in the United States, 1958-63 and 1974--; in England 1970-74.

Appeared on television shows, counting "American Bandstand," and "The Phlegmatic Sullivan Show"; had own cleave to special on NBC, c. 1976, "Neil Sedaka Steppin' Out."

Neil Sedaka's Awards

Composition "Love Will Keep Pompous Together," as recorded by significance Captain and Tennille, received Grammy as Best Record of blue blood the gentry Year, 1975.

Famous Works

• Singles
• "The Diary"/"No Vacancy," RCA, 1958.
• "I Go Ape," RCA, c.

  1959.

• "Oh! Carol," RCA, 1959.
• "Stairway to Heaven," RCA, 1960.
• "Calendar Girl," RCA, 1961.
• "Little Devil," RCA, 1961.
• "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen," RCA, 1961.
• "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," RCA, 1962.
• "Alice in Wonderland," RCA, 1963.
• "Let's Go Steady Again," RCA, 1963.
• "Bad Girl," RCA, 1963.
• "Laughter tag the Rain," Rocket, 1974.
• "That's At the Music Takes Me," Shoot up, 1974.
• "The Immigrant," Rocket, 1974.
• "Bad Blood," Rocket, 1975.
• (slow version) "Breaking Scaffold Is Hard to Do," Set up, 1975.
• "Love in the Shadows," Climb, 1976.
• (With daughter, Dara) "Should've On no account Let You Go," Elektra, 1980.
• (With Dara) "Your Precious Love," MCA/Curb, 1983.
• LPs
• Neil Sedaka RCA, 1959.
• Circulate RCA, 1961.
• Little Devil and Extra Hits RCA, 1961.
• Italiano RCA, 1964.
• Sedaka's Back Rocket, 1974.
• The Hungry Years Rocket, 1975.
• Steppin' Out Rocket, 1976.
• A Song Elektra, 1977.
• All You Require Is the Music Elektra, 1978.
• In the Pocket Elektra, 1980.
• Now Elektra, 1981.
• Writings
• Laughter in the Rain: Low point Own Story Putnam, 1982.

Further Reading

Sources

• After Dark, September 1976.
• Rolling Stone, Dec 4, 1975.
• Seventeen, September 1976.