Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka [ səˈdæːkə ] (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American singer and songwriter . Especially at the beginning of the 1960s, he recorded numerous hits such as Oh! Carol , One Way Ticket and Breaking Up is Hard to Do . He wrote for numerous other artists and composed more than 1000 songs.
Life
His father is the son of Turkish-Jewish immigrants. The mother was the daughter of Russian-Polish-Jewish immigrants. Eydie Gormé was his cousin.
As a teenager he learned to play the piano. He studied at Juilliard - Conservatory and worked in a classical radio station. At first he also experimented with doo wop and rock 'n' roll and was part of the early recordings of the Tokens .
He had his first success as a composer with Stupid Cupid . The song became a huge hit for Connie Francis in 1958 . It was sung by many other artists. Sedaka then received a contract as a solo artist with RCA Records . Breaking Up Is Hard to Do was his first number one hit in 1962. He wrote Oh! Carol , Standing on the Inside , Stairway to Heaven (not the same as the Led Zeppelin hit ), Calendar Girl , Little Devil , Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and Next Door to an Angel . The hit series ended in 1963.
In the 1970s, with the support of Elton John , he made a comeback in Great Britain and above all in the USA. In 1974 he jumped to number one on the local hit parade with Laughter In The Rain . He did the same with Bad Blood the following year . The song Love Will Keep Us Together , written for Captain & Tennille , won a Grammy .
Together with Howard Greenfield , Sedaka wrote the song Is This the Way to Amarillo? which, interpreted by himself, only reached number 44 in the USA, but became a number one hit in Germany for Tony Christie in 1972 . In 1973 Sedaka wrote the English lyrics to ABBA's Ring Ring together with Phil Cody . Together with his daughter Dara, he reached the US charts for the last time in 1980 with the title Should've Never Let You Go (number 19).
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | UK | US | |||
1973 | The Tra-La Days Are Over | - |
UK13
silver
(10 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1973
|
1974 | Laughter In The Rain | - |
UK17th
silver
(10 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1974
|
Live At The Royal Festival Hall | - |
UK48
silver
(1 week)UK |
- |
First published: 1974
|
|
1975 | Oh! Carol | - |
UK-
gold
UK
|
- |
First published: 1975
|
Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits | - | - |
US161 (4 weeks) US |
First published: 1975
|
|
Sedaka's back | - | - |
US23
gold
(62 weeks)US |
First published: 1975
|
|
Overnight Success | - |
UK31
silver
(6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1975
|
|
The Hungry Years | - | - |
US16
gold
(32 weeks)US |
First published: 1975
|
|
1976 | Laughter and Tears - The Best Of Neil Sedaka Today | - |
UK2
platinum
(25 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1976
|
Steppin 'out | - | - |
US26 (22 weeks) US |
First published: 1976
|
|
Solitaire | - | - |
US159 (4 weeks) US |
First published: 1976
|
|
1977 | A song | - | - |
US59 (7 weeks) US |
First published: 1977
|
Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits | - | - |
US143 (5 weeks) US |
First published: 1977
|
|
1980 | In The Pocket | - | - |
US135 (13 weeks) US |
First published: 1980
|
1991 | Timeless - The Very Best Of Neil Sedaka | - |
UK10
platinum
(16 weeks)UK |
- |
First publication: 1991
|
1995 | Classically Sedaka | - |
UK23
gold
(9 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1995
|
1999 | The very best of | - |
UK33 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1999
|
2006 | The Very Best Of - The Show Goes On | - |
UK19th
silver
(6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 2006
|
2007 | The Definite Collection | - |
UK-
gold
UK
|
US22 (2 weeks) US |
First published: 2007
|
2009 | Waking Up Is Hard To Do | - | - |
US197 (1 week) US |
First published: 2009
|
The Music Of My Life | - |
UK15 (6 weeks) UK |
US97 (1 week) US |
First published: 2009
|
More albums
- 1959: Rock with Sedaka
- 1961: Circulate
- 1972: Emergence
- 1972: Neil Sedaka
- 1974: Sedaka Live in Australia at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club
- 1977: Neil Sedaka and Songs: A Solo Concert
- 1977: A Song
- 1977: Neil Sedaka and Songs
- 1978: All You Need Is the Music
- 1981: Now
- 1984: Come See About Me
- 1986: The Good Times
- 1993: Love Will Keep Us Together
- 1994: Laughter in the Rain - The Best of Neil Sedaka 1974–1980
- 1997: Tales of Love and Other Passions
- 2000: Singer and His Songs
- 2003: Brighton Beach Memories: Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish
- 2003: The Show Goes On
- 2003: The Complete Recordings 1955-1966
- 2006: The Miracle of Christmas
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | UK | US | |||
1958 | The Diary | - | - |
US14 (15 weeks) US |
First published: 1958
|
1958 | I go ape | - |
UK9 (13 weeks) UK |
US42 (8 weeks) US |
First published: 1959
|
Oh! Carol |
DE25 (12 weeks) DE |
UK3 (18 weeks) UK |
US9 (18 weeks) US |
First published: 1959
|
|
1960 | Stairway to Heaven | - |
UK8 (15 weeks) UK |
US9 (15 weeks) US |
First published: 1960
|
You mean everything to me | - |
UK45 (3 weeks) UK |
US17 (13 weeks) US |
First published: 1960
|
|
Run Samson Run | - | - |
US28 (11 weeks) US |
First published: 1960
|
|
1961 | Calendar girl |
DE34 (4 weeks) DE |
UK8 (14 weeks) UK |
US4 (15 weeks) US |
First published: 1961
|
Little Devil | - |
UK9 (12 weeks) UK |
US11 (9 weeks) US |
First published: 1961
|
|
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen |
DE27 (16 weeks) DE |
UK3 (18 weeks) UK |
US6 (14 weeks) US |
First published: 1961
|
|
Sweet Little You | - | - |
US59 (7 weeks) US |
First published: 1961
|
|
1962 | King of clowns | - |
UK23 (11 weeks) UK |
US45 (9 weeks) US |
First published: 1962
|
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do |
DE42 (4 weeks) DE |
UK7 (16 weeks) UK |
US1 (28 weeks) US |
First published: 1962
US re-entry in 1976 |
|
Next Door To An Angel | - |
UK29 (4 weeks) UK |
US5 (11 weeks) US |
First published: 1962
|
|
1963 | Alice in Wonderland | - | - |
US17 (10 weeks) US |
First published: 1963
|
Let's go steady again | - |
UK42 (3 weeks) UK |
US26 (9 weeks) US |
First published: 1963
|
|
Bad girl | - | - |
US33 (8 weeks) US |
First published: 1963
|
|
The Dreamer | - | - |
US47 (7 weeks) US |
First published: 1963
|
|
1964 | Sunny | - | - |
US86 (3 weeks) US |
First published: 1964
|
1965 | The World Through A Tear | - | - |
US76 (9 weeks) US |
First published: 1965
|
1966 | The Answer To My Prayer | - | - |
US89 (4 weeks) US |
First published: 1966
|
1972 | Oh! Carol / Breaking Up Is Hard To Do / Little Devil | - |
UK19 (14 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1972
|
Beautiful You | - |
UK43 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1972
|
|
1973 | That's When The Music Takes Me | - |
UK18 (10 weeks) UK |
US27 (10 weeks) US |
First published: 1973
|
Standing On The Inside |
DE28 (4 weeks) DE |
UK26 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1973
|
|
Our Last Song Together | - |
UK31 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1973
|
|
1974 | A little lovin ' | - |
UK34 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1974
|
Laughter In The Rain | - |
UK15 (9 weeks) UK |
US1 (20 weeks) US |
First published: 1974
|
|
1975 | The immigrant | - | - |
US22 (10 weeks) US |
First published: 1975
|
The Queen Of 1964 | - |
UK35 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1975
|
|
Bad blood | - | - |
US1
gold
(14 weeks)US |
First published: 1975
|
|
1976 | Love In The Shadows | - | - |
US16 (11 weeks) US |
First published: 1976
|
Steppin 'out | - | - |
US36 (9 weeks) US |
First published: 1976
|
|
You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine | - | - |
US53 (5 weeks) US |
First published: 1976
|
|
1977 | Amarillo | - | - |
US44 (7 weeks) US |
First published: 1977
|
1980 | Should've Never Let You Go | - | - |
US19 (19 weeks) US |
First published: 1980
with Dara Sedaka |
Autobiography
- Laughter in the Rain: My Own Story . New York: Putnam 1982. ISBN 0-399-12744-5 .
watch TV
- King of Queens : Himself (2005)
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 604f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
swell
- ^ Singer Eydie Gormé Dead at 84. Retrieved October 26, 2014 .
- ↑ More information on the title in: Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 114
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE UK US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK US
Web links
- Neil Sedaka in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Neil Sedaka at Discogs (English)
- Official website (English)
- Neil Sedaka in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (English)
- Neil Sedaka at Rock'n'Roll AG
- Neil Sedaka at MusicBrainz (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Sedaka, Neil |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer and songwriter |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 13, 1939 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York City |