eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
Marvin Glassman / Special To The CJN
Neil Sedaka, now 72, has sold more than 60 million albums during his 50-plus years in music, but he isn’t resting on his laurels.
Instead, Sedaka continues to create. Currently, he is working on a musical based on his life in music titled Laughter in the Rain, which he hopes will debut in London’s West End in 2012.
Sedaka, who will performing in Toronto on Aug. 26 at the CNE Bandshell, hopes the musical can shed light on his life and the music business, much like Jersey Boys did for singer Frankie Valli.
“You can call the musical “the Jewish Jersey Boys” because it is about my real life and Jewish roots. The story has a lot of drama that makes it more than a feelgood story,” said Sedaka in a phone interview. “My mother had an affair that almost damaged our family, and much is revealed about what was wonderful, and what was not, about working in the music business back in the 1950s and through the years. My songs are used to move the story along, and the musical ends with me going up on stage to perform the music of my life.”
Sedaka is hoping the new musical will not suffer from poor reviews as did the musical based around his songs Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, which was at Stage West Mississauga in 2009.
Aside from this shoddy musical, the rest of Sedaka’s life is a testimony to his talent and dedication to his career.
Born in Brooklyn to Sephardi Jewish parents Eleanor and Mac, young Neil played classical music on the piano and was awarded a scholarship from the Juilliard School of Music by age 13.
His mother wanted him to be a classical pianist, but Sedaka preferred to write pop standards. At age 13, he teamed up with 16-year-old Howard Greenfield, who lived in the same Brighton Beach apartment building as he did. The duo wrote songs together until Greenfield’s death in 1986.
“I always had the love of other genres, but back in the late ’50s I was hired for these songs. Together with Howard, we wrote wonderful songs that endured, as did our partnership.”
The hits included his signature Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Calendar Girl and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen. The duo wrote hits for Connie Francis (Where The Boys Are) and other artists when Sedaka was no longer featured on Top 40 radio.
Sedaka and his family moved to England in the 1970s, and he found a reversal of fortune when Laughter in the Rain was released in 1975, followed by a ballad version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do in 1976. His 1980 duet with daughter Dara, Should Have Never Let You Go, also became a hit. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.
Sedaka’s family has been involved in all aspects of his music. He has been married for 49 years to Leba, who has been his manager for most of his career. Last year, Sedaka recorded the CD Waking Up Is Hard To Do with his two grandchildren singing backup, featuring his famed songs with lyrics made for children.
Sedaka paid tribute to his late mother by recording albums of classical and Yiddish music. His performances of the music from the albums drew raves in Chicago and New York.
“My mother would have been proud because she very much wanted me to be a classical pianist and I loved the Yiddish songs that she taught me.”
Source: CJN
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Even though Neil Sedaka’s father was Sephardic, his mother was not, as we see from the fact that he learned Yiddish songs from her. In fact, he was most influenced by his mother’s Ashkenazi culture, and his music reflects it. He is a talented singer and musician, but there isn’t much Sephardic about him except his last name.
R