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. 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.
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. he accolades showered on Neil Sedaka have been numerous. Among the honors he has received, Sedaka has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, has had a street named after him in his hometown of Brooklyn, and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On June 10 2004, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Popular Music / Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 35th annual induction and awards ceremony in New York. Named for the former President of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, this award is given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in furthering the successes of songwriters.
On April 24, 2007, Neil released The Definitive Collection , a career-spanning retrospective released in honor of his 50th Anniversary in show business. The Definitive Collection debuted at #22 on the Billboard Chart, marking the first time Neil has appeared on the chart since 1980.
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.
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.
