From:   "Dik de Heer"  
Date:  Wed Mar 13, 2002  1:15 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Neil Sedaka
 
NEIL SEDAKA

Born 13 March 1939, Brooklyn, New York City, NY

Sedaka was initially trained as a concert pianist, being educated
at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. In 1953 he started writing
pop songs, with his friend Howard Greenfield (who wrote the lyrics,
Sedaka the music), a partnership that would stay intact for 20 years.
Their first success came in 1958, with "Stupid Cupid", a # 1 hit for
Connie Francis in the UK and a # 14 hit in the US. By then they were
already signed to Aldon Music, the publishing company of Al Nevins
and Don Kirshner, situated in the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway.
But songwriting was not enough for Neil. He wanted to record his own
material. He was unhappy with how Little Anthony and the Imperials
recorded his song "The Diary" and took the song to RCA, where Steve
Sholes signed him to the label. His version of "The Diary" peaked at
# 14 in late 1958 ; the flip was one of Neil's best rockers, "No Vacancy",
with a prominent sax role for King Curtis. Sedaka followed this up with
the frantic "I Go Ape", which made the British Top 10 (# 9), but it was
his fourth RCA single, "Oh Carol" (written for his sweetheart of the time,
Carole King) that really established him as an international star. Hits
rolled off the drawing-board - "Stairway To Heaven", Calendar Girl",
"Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (his
first # 1 in the USA) - all characterized by Neil's high-pitched, multi-
tracked vocals and strong melodies. Amid the songwriting and
recording, Neil vigorously exercised his magic fingers on Bobby
Darin's "Bullmoose" (1959).
By 1964 he and Greenfield had written over 500 songs which had sold
over 20 million records, but that was the year the lights went out for
Sedaka and his contemporaries, as Beatlemania washed away the
music-industry establishment.
Neil abandoned his personal performing career, but continued to write
songs for others. In the seventies he would make a spectacular come-
back, which started in England. In 1971 he relocated to the UK, where
he recorded three new albums in two years. These spawned five British
hit singles in 1973-74 and Sedaka began to happen again. Nevertheless,
he now had no record company in the States. Elton John almost fainted
when he heard this, and immediately signed Neil to his Rocket Records.
After a dry period of 11 years, 1975 was to become the most succesful
year of his entire career. He topped the Billboard charts twice, with
"Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood" and his composition "Love Will
Keep Us Together" was the biggest hit of the year, in a version by Captain
and Tennille. Also, he recorded a new slow version of "Breakin' Up Is Hard
To Do", which went to # 8. His final chart entry (# 19 in 1980) would be a
duet with his daughter, Dara Sedaka, "Should ' ve Never Let You Go".

Further reading : Neil Sedaka, Laughter In The Rain : My Own Story.
New York : Putnam, 1982.
Compilations of his greatest RCA hits are available in every local High
Street shop. Unfortunately, there is no CD that collects all his best
rockers, like "Ring-a Rockin'", "No Vacancy", "Stop! You're Knocking
Me Out" and "You Gotta Learn Your Rhythm and Blues".
An official website is still under construction ( http://www.neilsedaka.com )
See also: http://members.aol.com/sedaka1/biog.htm