Neil Sedaka: The Legendary Singer-Songwriter Who Made Pop History Twice

Neil Sedaka was one of America’s most popular singer-songwriters, twice!

As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, his talent was hard to miss. “I was a child prodigy,” he told “Sunday Morning” in 2020. “I started at nine years old. Got a scholarship to the prep school of Julliard.” CBS News.

When he was 13, he met a kid in his apartment building named Howard Greenfield. He’d found his lyricist, and they quickly hit it big.

When we met six years ago, Sedaka told me about the song that made him a star, “Oh, Carol,” inspired by his relationship with high school classmate Carole King: “I did date Carole King for about two minutes,” he laughed. “Yes. I had a crush on Carole King.”

In the next few years, Sedaka composed-and performed one hit teen anthem after another, including “Calendar Girl” and “Stupid Cupid,”

Asked if there is a throughline as to what makes songs popular, Sedaka replied, “It always goes back to, ‘Oh, that song could be my life. That’s my story.'”

He landed his first #1 single in 1962, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”

Neil Sedaka had become a superstar. Between 1958 and 1963, he sold 40 million records “I pushed three buttons on my car radio, and I heard ‘Oh Carol’ on three stations at the same time,” he said.

And then, suddenly it was over. In 1963, a new group arrived: The Beatles. Sedaka’s brand of bouncy pop quickly fell out of favor. He’d become a has-been at age 24. For 13 years, he was mostly forgotten. “I had 13 years of being off the charts – no plays, nothing,” he said.

And then, one night, at a party in England, he met a fellow musician named Elton John. “He said, ‘You know, I could make you a star again.'”

In 1974, John’s record company released a new album called “Sedaka’s Back.” That record included his first #1 hit in 12 years: “Laughter in the Rain.”

But even that song wasn’t as big a hit as the one recorded by the Captain and Tenille: “Love Will Keep Us Together.”

“I went from making $50,000 a year in 1974, to $6 million a year in 1975, with one record, one LP, and one song,” he said.

The second act of Sedaka’s career had begun. If you had any doubt, you just had to listen closely. In 1976, a new, slower version of “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” hit the charts again. “I think I’m the only person who did the same song twice, in a different tempo, number one both times,” he said.

On Friday, after a 70-year career, Neil Sedaka died at age 86. To him, making a song was a joyful, even mystical act.

“I think you’re chosen spiritually at that particular moment,” he said, “and you’d better sit very quietly, because you can actually feel the song being written by itself. And the song passes through your throat and through your fingers. It’s an extraordinary feeling!”