Save this article for later<\/p>\n
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n
Got it<\/p>\n
AAA<\/p>\n
Neil Sedaka, the classically trained piano prodigy who conquered the pop charts in the 1960s and 1970s, has died. He was 86.<\/p>\n
The legendary singer-songwriter passed away on Friday in Los Angeles after the pop pioneer was rushed to a local hospital by ambulance earlier that morning.<\/p>\n
![\"Neil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/c83c94c51674231074f1bdc1f8b018022a9a21f4.jpeg\")
Neil Sedaka in New York in 2012.AP<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather,\u201d the Sedaka family confirmed in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Monkees\u2019 Micky Dolenz took to social media on Friday to mourn the songwriter. Sedaka, he said, was \u201cone of those rare songwriters who could do it all\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave the world so many great hits of his own, and Monkees fans will know his work, too – he co-wrote When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door with Carole Bayer Sager, along with a few other songs that found their way into our world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carole King paid tribute to her former high school beau: \u201cNeil Sedaka was so talented, and he inspired me to follow my dream of being a songwriter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Brooklyn in 1939, Neil Sedaka studied classical piano at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music prep school in Manhattan from the age of nine. However, his life took a sharp turn toward the recording studio in the late 1950s when he and his neighbour, longtime collaborator Howard Greenfield, began crafting songs that would define the era.<\/p>\n
![\"Neil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/f7bbeff4ef09365e700e7e22078cd68a0b036c36.jpeg\")
Neil Sedaka at the piano in 1979.<\/p>\n
He kept their music making secret from his mother, who had much higher aspirations for him.<\/p>\n
In 1958 at age 19, he and Greenfield had a massive hit with Stupid Cupid, sung by Connie Francis, the success of which catapulted him into a solo career. During the early 1960s, Sedaka became a fixture on the Billboard charts with upbeat melodies as Oh! Carol, written for Carole King as well as Calendar Girl, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, and his first No. 1 hit, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.<\/p>\n
Sedaka\u2019s career stagnated with the arrival of Beatles, but he managed to orchestrate one of the most successful comebacks in music history during the 1970s with the support of Elton John, who had signed him to Rocket Records.<\/p>\n
He returned to the hit parade with Love Will Keep Us Together for Captain & Tennille.<\/p>\n
Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and continued to perform well into his 80s, even hosting mini-concerts from his living room for fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Sedaka said performing was the engine that kept him going.<\/p>\n
Related Article![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772265490_906_149c09b8b29fd24271273049f6cf3ae2e823016a.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n