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Five Minutes with.....Neil Sedaka
The history of
Rock N’ Roll would be incomplete without the innumerable
contributions of Neil Sedaka. For over fifty years, Neil has
written, performed, produced, and inspired countless songs,
and his canon of compositions will continue to stand the
test of time.
Neil Sedaka
was born on March 13, 1939. Neil’s interest in music began
at the young age of four, when he would listen to The
Make-Believe Ballroom. But, it was not Rock and Roll,
but Classical music that would shape Neil into the musician
he is today. By the time he was eight years old, he had
already begun his intensive classical piano training at the
prestigious Julliard School of Music. At 16, Arthur
Rubenstein voted Neil as one of the best New York High
School pianists. Though Neil considered pursuing a Doctorate
in music, Neil’s next choice became his chosen vocation.
 Eager
to gain acceptance from his peers at Abraham Lincoln High
School, Neil began performing Rock N Roll outside of his
classical training. At this time, he would form the Doo-Wop
group The Tokens, in which they would record two
singles that would go on to be regional hits. But, it was
his introduction to his young neighbor Howard Greenfield, by
Greenfield’s mother, that began one of the most prolific
songwriting partnerships of the last half century that sold
forty million records between 1959-1963.
Sedaka
and Greenfield became one of the original creators of the
“Brill Building” sound in the late fifties and early sixties
when they were the first to sign with Don
Kirshner and Al
Nevins at Aldon Music. Aldon Music would go on to sign Neil
Diamond, Carole King, and Paul Simon among many others, and
they became the center of the pop world.
Sedaka catapulted into stardom after Connie Francis recorded
his "Stupid Cupid." She then sang the theme song Neil and
Howard had written for the 1960 MGM spring break classic,
Where the Boys Are, which would be her biggest hit.
Rhythm and blues stars Clyde McPhatter and LaVern Baker also
scored hits with his songs. As a result of these hits,
Sedaka was able to sign a contract with RCA as a writer and
performer of his own material. Sedaka soon recorded chart
toppers "The Diary," "Oh! Carol," " Stairway to Heaven,"
"Calendar Girl," "Little Devil," "Happy Birthday Sweet
Sixteen," "Next Door To An Angel," and "Breaking Up Is Hard
To Do," songs that have become a part of peoples' lives and
can instantly take listeners back to special moments. His
music became distinguished for a unique recording style
involving multi-tracking his own voice to achieve a rich
sound. This was merely the first act in a career that has
not ceased to evolve and entertain.
 In
1964, the direction of American music changed drastically
when The Beatles launched The British Invasion. It became
very hard for most male solo artists to continue to pursue
their career in music. Due to his many talents as a
songwriter, Neil was able to prevail, writing hit songs for
such artists including Frank Sinatra (The Hungry Years),
Elvis Presley (Solitaire), Tom Jones (“Puppet Man”), The
Monkees (When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door), and The
Fifth Dimension (Workin’ on a Groovy Thing).
Neil’s journey continued in the UK with the release of his
album “Emergence” in 1972. This was the first step of
redefining himself as a solo artist. It was Elton John who
decided to sign Neil to his up and coming record label
Rocket Records and begin to re-introduce Neil to American
audiences. The two albums he recorded for the Rocket label,
Sedaka's Back in 1974 and The Hungry Years
in 1975, both became top selling albums around the world.
His comeback was further heralded by two of his songs
co-written with Phil Cody, "Bad Blood" and the
quintessential "Laughter in the Rain," both reaching the #1
position on the music charts. In Rolling Stone Magazine,
Sedaka was hailed as "the new phenomenon." The song
"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" was re-released as a ballad in
1975, and made music history when it reached #1 on the
charts, becoming the first song recorded in two different
versions by the same artist to reach the Number One. During
this time, Sedaka also helped to launch the career of the
Captain and Tennille with their version of his "Love Will
Keep Us Together," which won a Grammy Award for Record of
the Year for this worldwide, number one hit........You can
find the conclusion of Neil's biography at his website,
www.neilsedaka.com
Probably the ability to travel without
ever leaving the comfort of your room.
As a performer I'm always rushing to
airports and travelling on planes, so
the leisurely speed of a cruise is a
welcome change of pace.
I think cruising is a great way to see exotic locals that you normally wouldn't visit, so those would probably rank amongst my favorite destinations. Turkey (where my grandparents are from) was particularly special.
Funny enough, I just returned from a 70th birthday cruise with my wife, my children and my grandchildren. It was a trip to Mexico on the Norwegian Star (Norwegian Cruise Lines.) We had the most fantastic suite I've ever seen in my almost 50 years of cruising. It was 6,000 square feet with three gorgeous staterooms, a living room, piano, huge private deck with our own jacuzzi, and a top deck that was big enough for my grandchildren to play soccer on! We were also treated to some of the best service I've ever received on a cruise. It was a wonderful experience.
Just keep on cruising! It's a great way to travel.
Neil has returned to his
classical roots, composing his first symphonic piece
“Joie De Vivre”. “Joie De Vivre” saw its world premiere
with The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Neil’s
recent Australian Symphony Tour in 2008 featured “Joie
De Vivre” as its centerpiece.
Sedaka has been married for forty-five years to his wife, Leba, and they have two children: daughter Dara is a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials, and son Marc is a successful screenwriter in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Samantha, made Neil a grandfather, for the first time in 2003 with the birth of twins, Amanda and Charlotte, and for the second in 2005 with the birth of Michael Emerson.
In addition to his
extensive tour schedule, Neil has just completed “Waking
Up is Hard to Do”. Inspired by his grandchildren,
“Waking Up is Hard to Do” is a collection of Neil Sedaka
Hits that have been reinvented as children’s songs, and
is set for release on January 6, 2009 from Razor and
Tie. “Waking Up is Hard to Do” was a family
collaboration, in which Neil’s son Marc adapted four of
his father’s classic songs, and Neil’s five year old
grand-daughters made their recording debut as his backup
vocalists.
Neil is currently completing a collection
of new songs, including his first ever salsa song,
produced by Grammy Award Winner David Foster.
All of these
ventures will no doubt add to his legend – that of a
consummate musician, an extraordinary vocalist, and an
ageless songwriting talent.
Neil is touring during 2009, his U.K. dates are:
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