Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 13th, 1939, Neil Sedaka was playing the piano for five hours a day by the time he was eight. While attending the Abraham Lincoln High School, Neil was selected as one of the best seven New York high school classical pianists by the legendary Arthur Rubinstein and was awarded a scholarship at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music.
By the time he was 18, Neil had outgrown the group and went solo, releasing his first single on the Decca label. On "Snowtime" backed with "Laura Lee", Sedaka had multi-tracked his vocals and was one of the first artists to achieve this sound. The record went nowhere and his next single, "Ring - A- Rockin'" also failed to dent the national charts. In 1958, Morty Craft produced Connie Francis singing a song that he had written called "Stupid Cupid". Neil played the piano at the session. The song was an international best seller and gave Sedaka his first taste of success as a songwriter.
By late 1958, he was under contract to publishers Al Nevins and Don Kirshner as a songwriter at the now famous Brill Building in New York. It bristled with such talents as Neil Diamond, Carol King and Paul Simon. His demo songs were sold to other artists, but he has always wanted to record his own voice. The following year, Sedaka signed with RCA Records as a recording artist and enjoyed a minor U.S. hit with "The Diary". The follow-up, "I Go Ape", was a strong novelty record, which helped establish him. This was followed by one of his most famous songs, "Oh Carol", a lament directed at his high school girlfriend, Carole King, who replied in kind with the less successful "Oh Neil". His solid voice and memorable melodies resulted in a string of early 60s hits, including "Stairway To Heaven", "Calendar Girl", "Little Devil", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". These songs summed up the nature of his lyrical appeal. The material subtly dramatized the trials and rewards of teenage life and the emotional upheavals resulting from birthdays, break-ups and incessant speculation on the qualities of a loved one.
By 1963, after selling some 25 million records, Neil was riding the wave of international success. However, the "British Invasion" of English groups pushed him and most other male, solo artists off of the charts. His record sales progressively dwindled and after five years, his popularity in the U.S.A had faded. RCA Records however did not give up on Neil and he recorded albums in Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese and Hebrew, that sold well internationally.
When his recording contract with RCA ran out in 1966 and was not renewed most thought his record career was over, but in 1975 he made a "comeback". When "Laughter in the Rain" was released in the United States and shot to the top of the charts, completing a remarkable international comeback. Later that same year, the Captain And Tennille took Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" to the number 1 spot in the U.S., selling over three million copies and earning a Grammy Award for Neil. Elton John then teamed up with Neil on the Top Twenty disc, "Bad Blood". The year ended with an excellent reworking of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in a completely different, ballad type arrangement which provided another worldwide hit.
Suddenly, his songs were in demand and his tune "Solitaire" became a hit for The Carpenters. Consequently, in the USA, Neil set some new heights with the number of artist's radio airplays. Out of the 140 songs which had been broadcasted over a million times in a year, three belonged to him. He was the first artist to gain six BMI Awards for 400,000 annual airplays per song.
By the time 1990 rolled around, he had shifted gears again and began to concentrate on classical music. His most memorable effort to date has been "Classically Sedaka", a one take, six live session recording, with a 75 piece symphony orchestra. In November of 2002, an hour long program about him was broadcast on A & E's acclaimed Biography series. March, 2006 saw the release of "The Show Goes On: The Best of Neil Sedaka", a compilation of his all-time greatest hits. He continues to tour to the delight of his fans all over the world. Find out more about him at: http://www.neilsedaka.com/
By the time he was 18, Neil had outgrown the group and went solo, releasing his first single on the Decca label. On "Snowtime" backed with "Laura Lee", Sedaka had multi-tracked his vocals and was one of the first artists to achieve this sound. The record went nowhere and his next single, "Ring - A- Rockin'" also failed to dent the national charts. In 1958, Morty Craft produced Connie Francis singing a song that he had written called "Stupid Cupid". Neil played the piano at the session. The song was an international best seller and gave Sedaka his first taste of success as a songwriter.
By late 1958, he was under contract to publishers Al Nevins and Don Kirshner as a songwriter at the now famous Brill Building in New York. It bristled with such talents as Neil Diamond, Carol King and Paul Simon. His demo songs were sold to other artists, but he has always wanted to record his own voice. The following year, Sedaka signed with RCA Records as a recording artist and enjoyed a minor U.S. hit with "The Diary". The follow-up, "I Go Ape", was a strong novelty record, which helped establish him. This was followed by one of his most famous songs, "Oh Carol", a lament directed at his high school girlfriend, Carole King, who replied in kind with the less successful "Oh Neil". His solid voice and memorable melodies resulted in a string of early 60s hits, including "Stairway To Heaven", "Calendar Girl", "Little Devil", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". These songs summed up the nature of his lyrical appeal. The material subtly dramatized the trials and rewards of teenage life and the emotional upheavals resulting from birthdays, break-ups and incessant speculation on the qualities of a loved one.
By 1963, after selling some 25 million records, Neil was riding the wave of international success. However, the "British Invasion" of English groups pushed him and most other male, solo artists off of the charts. His record sales progressively dwindled and after five years, his popularity in the U.S.A had faded. RCA Records however did not give up on Neil and he recorded albums in Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese and Hebrew, that sold well internationally.
When his recording contract with RCA ran out in 1966 and was not renewed most thought his record career was over, but in 1975 he made a "comeback". When "Laughter in the Rain" was released in the United States and shot to the top of the charts, completing a remarkable international comeback. Later that same year, the Captain And Tennille took Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" to the number 1 spot in the U.S., selling over three million copies and earning a Grammy Award for Neil. Elton John then teamed up with Neil on the Top Twenty disc, "Bad Blood". The year ended with an excellent reworking of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in a completely different, ballad type arrangement which provided another worldwide hit.
Suddenly, his songs were in demand and his tune "Solitaire" became a hit for The Carpenters. Consequently, in the USA, Neil set some new heights with the number of artist's radio airplays. Out of the 140 songs which had been broadcasted over a million times in a year, three belonged to him. He was the first artist to gain six BMI Awards for 400,000 annual airplays per song.
By the time 1990 rolled around, he had shifted gears again and began to concentrate on classical music. His most memorable effort to date has been "Classically Sedaka", a one take, six live session recording, with a 75 piece symphony orchestra. In November of 2002, an hour long program about him was broadcast on A & E's acclaimed Biography series. March, 2006 saw the release of "The Show Goes On: The Best of Neil Sedaka", a compilation of his all-time greatest hits. He continues to tour to the delight of his fans all over the world. Find out more about him at: http://www.neilsedaka.com/
Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org
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