Neil Sedaka
Yes, Neil Sedaka. Why not?
As for the why, I was listening to the song “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” the other day. I hadn’t heard it in a gazillion years, and I got curious about him. So I did some research and discovered that this bubble gum pop singer and songwriter of my youth is still going, still touring, and chirpy and upbeat as ever.
And as with many of those older musicians, his story is more interesting than I had thought:
Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mac Sedaka, was a taxi driver and a Sephardi Jew of Turkish origin…
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. His mother wanted him to become a renowned classical pianist like the contemporary of the day, Van Cliburn, but Sedaka was discovering pop music. When Sedaka was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. They became two of the legendary Brill Building’s composers.
Sedaka and Greenfield wrote songs together throughout much of their young lives. When Sedaka became a major teen pop star, the pair continued writing hits for Sedaka and a litany of other artists…
[After several songs of Sedaka’s failed] RCA Victor had lost money on “I Go Ape” and “Crying My Heart Out For You” and was ready to drop Sedaka from their label. But Sedaka’s manager, Al Nevins, persuaded the RCA executives to give him one last chance.
Knowing he would not get another chance if he failed again, and desperate for another hit, Sedaka himself bought the three biggest hit singles of the time and listened to them repeatedly, studying the song structure, chord progressions, lyrics and harmonies””and he discovered that the hit songs of the day all shared the same basic musical anatomy. Armed with his newfound arsenal of musical knowledge, he set out to craft his next big hit song, and he promptly did exactly that: “Oh! Carol” delivered Sedaka his first domestic Top 10 hit, reaching No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1959 and going to No. 1 on the Italian pop charts in 1960, giving Sedaka his first No. 1 ranking.
The science of songwriting.
Here’s Sedaka singing away, just a few years ago:
And the following clip shows off Sedaka’s Julliard-trained chops as a pianist. Impressive. And equally impressive is the length of those fingers (the actual piano playing starts around minute 5:27, but I left the rest in because it’s kind of fun):
Sedaka looked somewhat Andy-Kaufmanesque back then, didn’t he?
The size difference between Steve Allen and Neil Sedaka is striking.
If I remember correctly, Steve Allen was quite the piano man.
So much for the claim that all rock composers are musical illiterates. Some are- consider the 3-chord garage band genre. But not all.
Neo:
“…he discovered that the hit songs of the day all shared the same basic musical anatomy.”
That very principle was brilliantly demonstrated in 2011 in this awesome video:
Axis of Awesome: Four Chord Song
Neo:
Fixed the link.
Axis of Awesome: Four Chord Song
I discovered (new to me) his gem “Alone At Last”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atle54olFSg
Susanamantha, yep. He plays Gravy Waltz, his own composition, here. Dunno if it had a bit to do with Thanksgiving feasts though.
The best version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do is this one:
https://youtu.be/KUPQbdqeqW8
Is that off of ‘I’ve got a Secret?’ I have not seen that panel in 60 years or so. Thannks
Sedaki-type music is what I grew up with. I miss the melodies, the empasis on relationships rather than sex, and the gentle fun. And this was repaced with rap and Madonna and her successors.
When will people realize that the culture we are exporting around the world does more to hurt our country than anythingbig business or politicians can do? Why are the Orthodox supporting Putin?
thanks, Neo, that was simply fantastic !!
“Sedaka looked somewhat Andy-Kaufmanesque back then, didn’t he?”
And Bill Cullen looks like Al Franken!
The two Neils, Sedaka and Diamond. Their music is the most played and performed on cruise ships that cater to an older clientele. (Holland America for one) When their hits are played, the crowds really get into it – singing along, swaying, and applauding raucously. It is amazing the pleasure they have brought to their fans over these many years.
A lot of stuff here, culturally we’re just in another world. I happened to come in close contact with and know way too many dancers when I was young for me to have any appreciation of or interest in ballet. My best male friend at a certain point was the musical director for a modern dance company, and my sister went from ballet to modern dance while constantly looking in the mirror, half or more anorexic, etc.
Neils Sedaka and Diamond, ouch. Why not bring in Barry Manilow? Music for old farts when they were young.
Never cared for Sixties rock/pop. That was then Still don’t. But the memories and associations come back in living color, for better worse. So I happily listen, even to those interminable oldies album ads.
This guy is just a brilliant pop songwriter and singer. Neil’s not the only one smiling when he plays those great, sweet, innocent, and totally sincere love songs he wrote.
It seems that many of the oldies find their way into TV commercials. I recall a Jaguar commercial with Etta James’ At Last.
I’m not a big fan of Sedaka, or Diamond either for that matter. But their music has made an awful lot of people happy. Songwriting and composition is the rarest and most precious musical talent. Anyone who has written even a handful of songs that endure over the years has done remarkable work.