The bright, boyish voice that helped define early rock ’n’ roll has fallen silent, with US singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka dying aged 86.
Sedaka, whose string of hits included Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and Laughter in the Rain, died on Saturday AEDT. No further details were immediately available.
“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” his family said in a statement. “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.”
A key architect of the Brill Building sound in New York, Sedaka forged a prolific partnership with lyricist and boyhood neighbour Howard Greenfield. Together they wrote songs that captured the sweetness and longing of teenage romance in the post-Elvis, pre-Beatles era – including Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Calendar Girl and Oh! Carol, the latter inspired by his high school sweetheart, Carole King.
At the famed songwriting hub, Sedaka and Greenfield worked alongside emerging talents such as Neil Diamond, Paul Simon and King – artists who would go on to reshape popular music.
King paid tribute following news of his death. “Neil Sedaka was so talented, and he inspired me to follow my dream of being a songwriter,” she wrote on Facebook. “With love and gratitude and condolences to his family.”
Micky Dolenz of The Monkees remembered Sedaka as “one of those rare songwriters who could do it all”.
Between 1959 and 1962, Sedaka placed 10 songs in the US Top 10, among them Next Door to an Angel and Calendar Girl. But as the British Invasion led by The Beatles swept the charts and protest and psychedelic music followed, the Brill Building style faded. Sedaka later described the next 13 years as time spent “in the wilderness”.
His fortunes changed in the mid-1970s after a chance meeting with Elton John. Having relocated his family to England, Sedaka was signed to John’s fledgling Rocket Records label in the US. The resulting album, Sedaka’s Back, sparked a remarkable renaissance.
Working with new lyricist Philip Cody, he returned to the top of the charts with Bad Blood and the buoyant Laughter in the Rain. In a rare feat, Sedaka twice took Breaking Up Is Hard to Do to No.1 — first in 1962 as an upbeat pop gem, then again in 1975 as a tender ballad.
He released five albums between 1972 and 1976, including songs such as Standing on the Inside, That’s Where the Music Takes Me and Our Last Song Together, a poignant reflection on the end of his partnership with Greenfield, which had begun when Sedaka was just 13.
His songwriting endured beyond his own recordings. Captain & Tennille scored a chart-topping hit in 1975 with his Love Will Keep Us Together.
Though inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Sedaka never gained entry to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, despite a fan petition campaign.
Sedaka married his wife, Leba, in 1962. They had two children. In 1980, he recorded a father-daughter duet, Should’ve Never Let You Go, with daughter Dara, which became a hit. His son Marc later pursued a career as a film and television writer.
For generations who slow-danced to his melodies or found solace in his aching refrains, Neil Sedaka’s songs were the soundtrack to first loves and last goodbyes – simple, heartfelt tunes that now carry an added note of farewell.
Images: Wikimedia Commons
