Neil Sedaka, the singer and songwriter behind the #1 hits "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "Bad Blood," and "Laughter In The Rain," has died. "Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka," his family writes in a statement to Variety. "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 cause of death has been provided. Sedaka was 86.
Born in New York City in 1939, Sedaka took to piano in grade school and successfully auditioned for weekly training in Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division. Despite his mother nudging him toward classical music, which he enjoyed, he fell hard for pop music. Pop music fell for Sedaka as well; still in his teens, he got a job as a songwriter at the famed Brill Building.
Also in his teen years, Sedaka formed a doo-wop group called the Linc-Tones with some of his high school friends, scoring regional hits in the mid-1950s before going solo in 1957. The group, which changed its name to the Tokens before Sedaka's departure, went on to release several top 40 hits without him. Meanwhile, he was beginning to write hits for other artists, starting with "Stupid Cupid" for Connie Francis in 1958. He was also a session pianist on songs like Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover."
Sedaka's own early singles didn't chart, but he had enough career momentum to get on American Bandstand and sign to RCA Victor. He broke through as a recording artist when 1960's "Oh! Carol" shot to the top 10. The title was inspired by Sedaka's former girlfriend, fellow musical prodigy and Brill Building songwriter Carole King, and it inspired a playful response song called "Oh! Neil" from Gerry Goffin, King's husband and frequent songwriting partner.
Sedaka began racking up hits of his own, including "Calendar Girl," "Little Devil," and "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," leading up to his first #1 hit, 1962's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." He landed another big hit with "Next Door To An Angel." But once the Beatles entered the scene, instantly changing the pop music climate, Sedaka's career went into decline for a decade. He continued to work as a songwriter and touring artist, especially in the UK and Australia, but the hits stopped coming.
That changed in the early '70s, when Sedaka joined forces with future members of the band 10cc to record his 1972 Solitaire album at England's Strawberry Studios. Though the album didn't take off, he maintained a fruitful creative relationship with that crew. Their next album together, 1973's The Tra-La Days Are Over, yielded "Love Will Keep Us Together," which later became a #1 hit for Captain & Tennille. His song "Ring Ring" became an early hit for ABBA. Around the time of 1974's Laughter In The Rain, Sedaka made his pop-chart comeback.
In 1973, Sedaka met Elton John, who signed Sedaka to his Rocket Records and helped him relaunch his career in the US. The 1974 Sedaka's Back compilation, including music from several of his recent albums, brought Sedaka back into the spotlight. "Laughter In The Rain" became his second #1 hit, and he returned to the peak of the Hot 100 with "Bad Blood" in 1975. After leaving Rocket for Elektra, Sedaka landed one more top 40 hit, "Should've Never Let You Go."
Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1983 and later got a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He continued to tour, record, and pop up across pop culture for many decades to come. Check out some of his hits below.
