Music Stars   Elton John  

Sedaka releases 'Definitive Collection'

Sedaka releases 'Definitive Collection'
Howard Hughes  |  by jam.canoe.ca. All rights reserved. 9.04 | 7:33

Singer Neil Sedaka and his wife, Leba, arrive at the induction ceremony for 35th annual National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, June 10, 2004. (AP/Louis Lanzano)

With unforgettable hits like "Calendar Girl," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," and "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," the 68-year-old singer-songwriter is widely known as one of the original creators of the head-bopping "Brill Building Sound" from New York City. It took decades to build that legendary identity, though, and Sedaka recalls a time when he wasn't a recognizable face or name.

"It was very funny because the name Sedaka had an international ring and it was helpful. They thought I was Italian perhaps, they thought I was Japanese perhaps," he said in a recent telephone interview. "As a matter of fact, there was a big billboard on the Ginza strip in Tokyo before I made my first appearance (there) and they slanted my eyes on the (drawing).

I let it be. Before they saw me they heard the record and they thought perhaps I was an American-born Oriental." For the record, Sedaka's grandparents were from Istanbul but he was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he studied classical music before going on to create over 50 years of songs.

His golden anniversary in showbiz is celebrated on his new "The Definitive Collection" CD, due out April 24. Sedaka said he wanted to show versatility with the 22-track disc, which contains the first U.S.

release of some of his new recordings, as well as rarities and demos, including "It Hurts to Be in Love," written by his longtime songwriting partner Howard Greenfield and Helen Miller in the late 1960s. The voice on the popular original is that of Gene Pitney, but Sedaka was the one who put all the arrangements together. "Where the Boys Are," which was made famous by pop singer Connie Francis as a slow song in the 1960s, is on the disc as an up-tempo version featuring Sedaka's vocals over a piano.

There's also his version of "Love Will Keep Us Together," which he and Greenfield wrote before it was made famous in 1975 by Captain Tennille. "It was impossible to put them all on because they didn't want a double-CD," he said of the process of choosing which tracks to include on the album. "I've had many, many songs over the years - I've written over a thousand - and maybe 70 or 80 have made the charts at one time or another, so it was difficult.

" Sedaka started writing songs when he was just 13 and studied classical piano at the Juilliard School of Music before forming a 30-year songwriting relationship with Greenfield, who was once his neighbour. Working under several labels, including Elton John's Rocket Records, Sedaka wrote for artists including Tom Jones and The Monkees and earned a place in the U.S.

Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He also dated singer Carole King, got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and saw a street named after him in Brooklyn. These days, Sedaka said he's still writing tunes and often sits down at the piano with his three grandchildren.

He spends his time between his two homes - one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles - with his wife and 16-year-old parrot, Echo. Among his celebrity friends, Sedaka counts Bette Midler, Neil Diamond, Keely Smith and Elton John - and he's keeping his eye on "American Idol," on which he was a guest judge in 2003. That season, Sedaka was excited about Clay Aiken, who performed Sedaka's song, "Solitaire," on the show.

This season, he's praising the talents of contestant Melinda Doolittle. Asked what he thinks of "Idol" contestant Sanjaya Malakar, an endearing but dreadful singer who somehow manages to get through each round this season, Sedaka laughed and said, "The hair is pretty. That's all I'll say.

Read more on by jam.canoe.ca. All rights reserved.
Keywords: New York, Definitive Collection, Elton John
Related news
Post comments
Name
Place
5 + 6 =
Comments