Neil Sedaka

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Neil Sedaka (2017)

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

Sedaka on AVRO's TopPop program (1974)

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 DE UK UK US US
1973 The Tra-La Days Are Over - UK13
silver
silver

(10 weeks)UK
-
First published: 1973
1974 Laughter In The Rain - UK17th
silver
silver

(10 weeks)UK
-
First published: 1974
Live At The Royal Festival Hall - UK48
silver
silver

(1 week)UK
-
First published: 1974
1975 Oh! Carol - UK-
gold
gold
UK
-
First published: 1975
Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits - - US161 (4 weeks)
US
First published: 1975
Sedaka's back - - US23
gold
gold

(62 weeks)US
First published: 1975
Overnight Success - UK31
silver
silver

(6 weeks)UK
-
First published: 1975
The Hungry Years - - US16
gold
gold

(32 weeks)US
First published: 1975
1976 Laughter and Tears - The Best Of Neil Sedaka Today - UK2
platinum
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
platinum

(16 weeks)UK
-
First publication: 1991
1995 Classically Sedaka - UK23
gold
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
silver

(6 weeks)UK
-
First published: 2006
2007 The Definite Collection - UK-
gold
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 DE UK UK US 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
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

watch TV

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

  1. ^ Singer Eydie Gormé Dead at 84. Retrieved October 26, 2014 .
  2. 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
  3. a b Chart sources: DE UK US
  4. Music Sales Awards: UK US

Web links

Commons : Neil Sedaka  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files