Neil Sedaka, the hit-making singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and vibrant melodies made him a prime act in the early years of rock ‘n’ roll and led to a second run of success in the Seventies, has died.
Sedaka, whose hits included “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Laugher in the Rain,” died Friday at age 86.
“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” his household stated in an announcement. “A 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.”
No different particulars of his demise had been instantly obtainable.
A key member of the Brill Building songwriting manufacturing unit, Sedaka teamed with lyricist and boyhood neighbor Howard Greenfield on songs that mirrored the teen innocence of the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles period of the late Nineteen Fifties-early 1960s, together with “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl” and “Oh! Carol,” a lament for his highschool sweetheart, Carole King.
After an extended dry spell, he reemerged with such smashes as “Laughter in the Rain” and “Bad Blood.” The Captain & Tennille’s cowl of his “Love Will Keep Us Together” was a chart-topper in 1975.
Short and dark-haired, with an enormous smile and high-pitched voice, he was a Juilliard-trained, Brooklyn-born son of a Jewish taxi driver who started performing as a teen and saved at it for many years.
Sedaka nonetheless performed dozens of live shows a yr nicely into his 80s. He retained the enthusiasm and broad vocal vary of his youth and by no means drained of the requirements he had sung tons of of instances.
“Past 70, Pavarotti told me the vocal cords are not what they used to be. I’m very fortunate that my voice has held,” he informed The Associated Press in 2012. “It’s nice to be a legend, but it’s better to be a working legend.”
Sedaka’s songs offered hundreds of thousands worldwide and have been lined by a variety of performers, from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to The fifth Dimension and Nickelback. Sedaka helped propel the profession of Connie Francis with “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are,” the latter for the soundtrack of the film with the similar title. The Captain & Tennille acquired a best-album Grammy thanks largely to “Love Will Keep Us Together” and included a nod to Sedaka at the finish of the tune, when Toni Tennille exclaimed “Sedaka’s back!”
Sedaka grew up in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood, pampered by his grandparents, aunts and mom in a two-bedroom condominium he shared with 11 family. He has a avenue there named in his honor, Neil Sedaka Way.
But his music compensated for his unpopularity as a child, he as soon as recalled. His expertise was acknowledged by a second-grade trainer who urged his homemaker mom, Eleanor, to purchase him a piano. She went to work in a division retailer to pay for a secondhand upright and managed his profession for years, as did his spouse, Leba.
Sedaka cherished songwriting and by no means give up, however he craved performing.
“Once a performer, always a performer. It’s that adrenaline rush. It’s like a natural high when you’re in front of an audience, and if you get that standing ovation, it’s infectious,” he informed the AP.