And so, farewell, another 1970s legend...
Mr Neil Sedaka, one of the most unlikely of pop stars - definitely no heartthrob - yet one of the most talented hitmakers of his generation, has tinkled his last ivories and joined a growing rosta of talent gracing "The Crooners' Stage" at the Fabulon Tiki Lounge.
His dominance of the music scene in the 50s, 60s and 70s was a phenomenon. As a songwriter (of the "Brill Building" school), he gave Captain & Tennille their signature tune Love Will Keep Us Together, he wrote Solitaire for The Carpenters (a hit here for Andy Williams), (Is This the Way to) Amarillo that was a huge hit for Tony Christie, Connie Francis's Stupid Cupid and her iconic "gay standard" Where the Boys Are, Eruption's One Way Ticket, and the English-language lyrics for Abba's first hit Ring Ring.
Among his own classic hits were Oh! Carol, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Calendar Girl...
...and these:
We had the great pleasure of seeing him hold the 40,000-strong crowd at Proms in the Park in the palm of his hand back in 2010, and enjoyed every moment.
He's a great loss.
RIP, Neil Sedaka (13th March 1939 – 27th February 2026)
Hmmm, maybe I should have seen the Proms show you saw, but I always thought he was sort of insipid. For a long time I had him confused with Barry manilow.
ReplyDeleteWe saw Barry, too, at the previous year's Proms in the Park! Both stalwarts of the "middle-of-the-road" territory occupied by the likes of the 5th Dimension, the Carpenters, Perry Como and so on - yet utterly perfect for a late summer's evening in the park, with an audience mostly consisting of people "of a certain age". I wouldn't want to listen to either of them for very long at home, of course. Jx
DeleteHe went to my high school (long before I arrived in Brooklyn) and started out with The Linc-Tones. He went solo after they became the Tokens, who were mostly my high school friend’s brothers. I always expected him to one day come out as gay.
ReplyDeleteI always thought he "batted for our team", too! However, it turns out he married Lena Strassberg in 1962, had kids, and they stayed together until his death. Jx
DeleteHis songs were in every coffee bar juke box, but I never had any of his records.
ReplyDeleteMy mother did. She loved him! Jx
DeleteA great talent and a great loss but his music will live on.
ReplyDeleteClassics never die! Jx
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