Neil Sedaka, the legendary singer-songwriter behind timeless classics like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Love Will Keep Us Together,” has died. He was 86 years old.
“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather,” 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.”
Through his long career, pumping out hits for the legendary “Brill Building” songwriting group, Sedaka enjoyed three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and nine more that sat comfortably in the Top 10.
Sedaka enjoyed a career that spanned more than six decades. In that time he collected his fair share of accolades. The singer earned five Grammy nominations – including one in the show’s second-ever outing in 1959 – and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 while earning his Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1978.
His first Billboard hit was “Oh, Carol,” – which was written about his once-girlfriend and future music legend in her own right, Carole King. He stacked up subsequent popular tunes “Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” after that before striking Billboard gold again with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”
Sedaka was born in Brooklyn in 1939 and displayed a musical aptitude from an early age that was eventually parlayed into a stint studying at Juilliard. But it was an introduction to Howard Greenfield when he was only 13 years old that would prove to be the spark plug for his career. Together, the two would write a number of Billboard sensations over the next 25 years.
He and Greenfield eventually wrote tunes for famed singers like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Monkees, The Fifth Dimension and more when their own career began to flounder amid the British Invasion.
A resurgence of nostalgia for the 1950s and ’60s brought on by ’70s rock-and-rollers like Chuck Berry and Rick Nelson brought Sedaka back to the spotlight after some time as a solo artist in Australia and the U.K. His ballad “Laughter in the Rain” hit No. 1 in early 1975 and, later that year, Captain and Tennille covered his song, “Love Will Keep Us Together.” It became the biggest single of the year and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.
Later in his career, Sedaka earned another surge of success when “American Idol” contestant Clay Aiken performed his song “Solitaire” on the show. Sedaka later guest judged on the program. In 2007, a concert at New York’s Lincoln Center honored his 50 years in the business.
Sedaka officially retired in 2022 and sold his song catalog to Primary Wave Music in 2024.
He is survived by his wife, Leba Strassberg, and their children, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for commercials, and Marc, a TV writer and film editor.
