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Neil Sedaka, Singing Craftsman of Memorable Pop Songs, Dies at 86
Neil Sedaka, Singing Craftsman of Memorable Pop Songs, Dies at 86
He sang and co-wrote some of the definitive teenage anthems of the 1950s and early ’60s, including “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” and then reinvented his career in the ’70s.
Neil Sedaka performing onstage in London in 1977. He intersected in his career with a remarkably diverse array of musicians. Michael Putland/Getty Images
By Peter Applebome
Published Feb. 27, 2026
Updated Feb. 28, 2026, 10:23 a.m. ET
Neil Sedaka, who went from classical music prodigy to precocious songwriter to teenage idol to pop music fixture in a celebrated career that spanned seven decades, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 86. ... His son, Marc, said Mr. Sedaka, who lived in West Hollywood, was taken to a hospital earlier Friday and died there. He said the cause was not immediately known.
Mr. Sedaka co-wrote and sang some of the definitive teenage anthems of the late 1950s and early ’60s, hits of the pre-Beatles rock ’n’ roll era that include “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” ... He also co-wrote hits like “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are” for Connie Francis and, years later, “Love Will Keep Us Together” for the Captain and Tennille.
Mr. Sedaka intersected in his career with a remarkably diverse array of musicians — the classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein and the violinist Jascha Heifetz as well as Carole King and Elton John, to name just a few.
He combined a genius for melody, the commercial instincts of a pop savant, a boyish high tenor and an unabashed enthusiasm for performing onstage. And he had a story that was both universal and indelibly rooted in a specific place: the Brooklyn of the 1950s and its Jewish culture, which played a disproportionate role in the early history of rock ’n’ roll.
Mr. Sedaka in 1975 with Elton John, whom he credited with reinventing his career by bringing him to his label, Rocket Records. Michael Putland/Getty Images
{snip}
Ash Wu contributed reporting.
A correction was made on Feb. 27, 2026: An earlier version of this obituary misspelled the surname of a classical pianist who selected a young Mr. Sedaka in 1956 to perform on the classical-music radio station WQXR in New York. He was Arthur Rubinstein, not Rubenstein.
He sang and co-wrote some of the definitive teenage anthems of the 1950s and early ’60s, including “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” and then reinvented his career in the ’70s.
Neil Sedaka performing onstage in London in 1977. He intersected in his career with a remarkably diverse array of musicians. Michael Putland/Getty Images
By Peter Applebome
Published Feb. 27, 2026
Updated Feb. 28, 2026, 10:23 a.m. ET
Neil Sedaka, who went from classical music prodigy to precocious songwriter to teenage idol to pop music fixture in a celebrated career that spanned seven decades, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 86. ... His son, Marc, said Mr. Sedaka, who lived in West Hollywood, was taken to a hospital earlier Friday and died there. He said the cause was not immediately known.
Mr. Sedaka co-wrote and sang some of the definitive teenage anthems of the late 1950s and early ’60s, hits of the pre-Beatles rock ’n’ roll era that include “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” ... He also co-wrote hits like “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are” for Connie Francis and, years later, “Love Will Keep Us Together” for the Captain and Tennille.
Mr. Sedaka intersected in his career with a remarkably diverse array of musicians — the classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein and the violinist Jascha Heifetz as well as Carole King and Elton John, to name just a few.
He combined a genius for melody, the commercial instincts of a pop savant, a boyish high tenor and an unabashed enthusiasm for performing onstage. And he had a story that was both universal and indelibly rooted in a specific place: the Brooklyn of the 1950s and its Jewish culture, which played a disproportionate role in the early history of rock ’n’ roll.
Mr. Sedaka in 1975 with Elton John, whom he credited with reinventing his career by bringing him to his label, Rocket Records. Michael Putland/Getty Images
{snip}
Ash Wu contributed reporting.
A correction was made on Feb. 27, 2026: An earlier version of this obituary misspelled the surname of a classical pianist who selected a young Mr. Sedaka in 1956 to perform on the classical-music radio station WQXR in New York. He was Arthur Rubinstein, not Rubenstein.