NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� , the hit-making singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and bright melodies made him a top act in the early years of rock 鈥榥’ roll and led to a second run of success in the 1970s, has died.
Sedaka, whose hits included 鈥淏reaking Up Is Hard to Do鈥� and 鈥淟aughter in the Rain,鈥� died Friday at age 86.
鈥淥ur family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,鈥� his family said in a statement. 鈥淎 true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.鈥�
No other details of his death were immediately available.
A key member of the Brill Building songwriting factory, Sedaka teamed with lyricist and boyhood neighbor Howard Greenfield on songs that reflected the teen innocence of the post-Elvis, pre-Beatles era of the late 1950 and early 1960s, including 鈥淗appy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,鈥� 鈥淐alendar Girl鈥� and 鈥淥h! Carol,鈥� a lament for his high school sweetheart, .
After a long dry spell, he reemerged with such smashes as 鈥淟aughter in the Rain鈥� and 鈥淏ad Blood.鈥� The cover of his 鈥淟ove Will Keep Us Together鈥� was a chart-topper in 1975.
Short and dark-haired, with a big smile and high-pitched voice, he was a Juilliard-trained, Brooklyn-born son of a Jewish taxi driver who began performing as a teen and kept at it for decades.
Sedaka still played dozens of concerts a year well into his 80s. He retained the enthusiasm and broad vocal range of his youth and never tired of the standards he had sung hundreds of times.
鈥淧ast 70, Pavarotti told me the vocal cords are not what they used to be. I鈥檓 very fortunate that my voice has held,鈥� he told The Associated Press in 2012. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be a legend, but it鈥檚 better to be a working legend.鈥�
Sedaka鈥檚 songs sold millions worldwide and have been covered by a range of performers, from and to and . Sedaka helped propel the career of Connie Francis with 鈥淪tupid Cupid鈥� and 鈥淲here the Boys Are,鈥� the latter for the soundtrack of the movie with the same name. The Captain & Tennille received a best-album Grammy thanks largely to 鈥淟ove Will Keep Us Together鈥� and included a nod to Sedaka at the end of the song, when Toni Tennille exclaimed 鈥淪edaka鈥檚 back!鈥�
Growing up in Brooklyn, loving performing
Sedaka grew up in Brooklyn鈥檚 Brighton Beach neighborhood, pampered by his grandparents, aunts and mother in a two-bedroom apartment he shared with 11 relatives. He has a street there named in his honor, Neil Sedaka Way.
But his music compensated for his unpopularity as a kid, he once recalled. His talent was recognized by a second-grade teacher who urged his homemaker mother, Eleanor, to buy him a piano. She went to work in a department store to pay for a secondhand upright and managed his career for years, as did his wife, Leba.
Sedaka loved songwriting and never quit, but he craved performing.
鈥淥nce a performer, always a performer. It鈥檚 that adrenaline rush. It鈥檚 like a natural high when you鈥檙e in front of an audience, and if you get that standing ovation, it鈥檚 infectious,鈥� he told the AP.
At 16, Sedaka was chosen by Arthur Rubenstein in a contest as the city鈥檚 best high school piano student and performed on a classical radio station as a prize. It was the same year he discovered rock 鈥榥鈥� roll, when he performed a song, 鈥淢r. Moon,鈥� he had written with Greenfield, his classmate at Abraham Lincoln High School.
鈥淚 sang it in the auditorium for a ballyhoo show and I remember there was a bit of a riot. The kids were jumping and screaming,鈥� Sedaka said. 鈥淎fter that I was able to go into the sweet shop with the tough kids with the leather jackets.鈥�
After high school, and then Julliard, Sedaka and Greenfield were signed to Don Kirshner鈥檚 Aldon Music, where they scored their first hit with Francis, 鈥淪tupid Cupid.鈥�
Sedaka churns out hits, until the Beatles
In 1958, at age 19, Sedaka signed with RCA Victor Records and his first single, 鈥淭he Diary,鈥� enjoyed modest success. He began touring and promoting his songs through regular TV appearances on Dick Clark鈥檚 鈥淎merican Bandstand鈥� and 鈥淪hindig!鈥�
At the Brill Building, Sedaka and Greenfield were joined by other up-and-coming writers and lyricists including , and King.
鈥淣eil Sedaka was so talented, and he inspired me to follow my dream of being a songwriter,鈥� King said on her Facebook page Friday. 鈥淲ith love and gratitude and condolences to his family.鈥�
Micky Dolenz of the Monkees also paid tribute to Sedaka, saying on Instagram that he was 鈥渙ne of those rare songwriters who could do it all.鈥�
From 1959 to 1962, Sedaka had 10 records in the Top 10, including 鈥淐alendar Girl,鈥� 鈥淥h! Carol,鈥� 鈥淗appy Birthday Sweet Sixteen鈥� and 鈥淣ext Door to an Angel.鈥� But in the mid-1960s, the Brill Building sound, influenced by the doo-wop groups of the New York City streets, was pushed off the charts by the -led British Invasion and the psychedelic and protest music that followed. Sedaka would endure 13 years 鈥渋n the wilderness,鈥� as he described it to the AP.
Sedaka’s unlikely comeback, with help from Elton John
Sedaka was among the lucky, however, enjoying a renaissance that began in the mid-鈥�70s thanks to the patronage of , whom he met at a party after Sedaka moved his wife and two kids to England to take advantage of his lingering popularity there. John signed him to his fledgling, U.S.-based Rocket Records label, providing him a chance at more hits with the album 鈥淪edaka鈥檚 Back.鈥�
At Rocket, Sedaka and a new writing partner, Philip Cody, topped charts with 鈥淏ad Blood鈥� and the joyous 鈥淟aughter in the Rain.鈥� He also achieved a rare feat with 鈥淏reaking Up Is Hard to Do.鈥� His original up-tempo version went No. 1 in 1962. He rerecorded it as a slow ballad in 1975 and that, too, went No. 1.
He recorded five albums from 1972 to 1976. They included hits 鈥淪tanding on the Inside,鈥� 鈥淭hat鈥檚 Where the Music Takes Me鈥� and 鈥淥ur Last Song Together,鈥� about his breakup with Greenfield, with whom he began writing songs when Sedaka was only 13 and Greenfield 16.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame eluded him despite a fan petition drive.
Sedaka married wife Leba in 1962. They had two children. Daughter Dara recorded a duet with dad in 1980, 鈥淪hould鈥檝e Never Let You Go.鈥� It was a hit, but she never joined him in the music business. Son Marc is a film and television writer.
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AP Entertainment Writers Mark Kennedy in New York and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed. Leanne Italie, the principal writer of this story, retired in January.
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