Neil Sedaka!

For some reason, this song popped into my head this morning.

Elton John and Neil Sedaka teamed up for this hit from 1975...

Whenever I hear Neil Sedaka, I'm reminded of England.  He was popular during the years we lived there.  I was a little kid in those days.  It seems like so long ago, yet it also doesn't seem like that much time has passed.  I think of what life was like in the 1970s.  Of course it would be different for me back then because I was a small child.  At the same time, it doesn't seem so long ago that I was a child.  

Neil Sedaka is well know for his hit, "Breakin' Up Is Hard to Do"...  He had a fast version and a slow one.

His slower version...

"Breakin' Up Is Hard to Do" was also covered by The Carpenters.

I like what Karen and Richard did with this.

Neil Sedaka used to open concerts for The Carpenters, but apparently Richard fired him for being "too good" and stealing their show.  He also allegedly introduced Tom Jones, who was at a Carpenters concert, as a special guest.  Richard was supposedly upset about that because it's customary for headlining acts to introduce special guests.  I read about the incident in Ray Coleman's 1994 book The Carpenters: The Untold Story, which was an authorized biography.  You can also read about it on Wikipedia.  

Despite the firing, Karen and Richard went on to record Sedaka's "Solitaire".  It's one of my favorite songs by them.  I also like what Neil did with it.

Neil Sedaka sings "Solitaire".

"Calendar Girl" is another one of Sedaka's best known songs.  Every time I hear it, I'm reminded of commercials.  There was a time in the 70s and 80s when it was used in jingles.

Of course, being a child of the 70s and 80s, "Laughter In The Rain" was a part of the soundtrack of my youth.  I actually really like this song.

"Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" always reminds me of the show Rags to Riches, which aired on NBC in the late 80s and was set in the 60s.  The girls on that show sang this song.

The pilot for Rags to Riches.

Neil and Dara Sedaka sing "Should've Never Let You Go".  Dara is Neil's daughter.

It's been a long time since I last thought about Neil Sedaka.  He was quite the star back in the 60s and 70s.  

My dad had this album.  Apparently, it was released on Elton John's label.  Listen to this song and you'll hear 70s era Elton all over it.