[[quoteright:224:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/neilsedaka_3450.jpg]]

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939) is a [[SingerSongwriter singer/songwriter]] active from 1957. He mostly writes his own songs and frequently collaborates with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.

He has written many well-known songs including "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8_oucBYblI Stupid Cupid]]" (sung by Connie Francis), "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqLLDZvbG-U Is This the Way to Amarillo]]" (sung by Tony Christie), "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Music/CaptainAndTennille, and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pz8WDI-DhI Oh! Carol]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzh4_W1KQ0 Breaking Up is Hard to Do]]" (sung by himself).

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!!Neil Sedaka provides examples of:
* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: Partial aversion, as his father was Turkish-Jewish. His last name is clearly a non-Ashkenazi name, being a variation on the Hebrew ''tz'daka'' ‘charity’.
* AnswerSong: "Oh Neil!" was Music/CaroleKing's answer to "Oh! Carol"; the pair dated briefly and remained good friends for decades after.
* AscendedExtra: His backing band on the albums ''Solitaire'' and ''The Tra-La Days Are Over'' renamed themselves [[Music/TenCC 10cc]] and became stars shortly afterwards.
* BoDiddleyBeat: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9zMo-BPADU Bad Blood]]" uses this in the unusual context of midtempo SoftRock, giving it an unexpected {{Funk}} flavoring.
* BreakUpSong: Many, but the self-explanatory "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" is one of the definitive examples.
-->Don't take your love away from me\\
Don't you leave my heart in misery\\
If you go then I'll be blue\\
'Cause breaking up is hard to do
* CallBack: "Our Last Song Together", which really was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the final song Sedaka wrote with Howard Greenfield]], is loaded with lyrical references to Sedaka's early hits.
* CaughtInTheRain: "Laughter in the Rain".
-->Strolling along country roads with my baby\\
It starts to rain, it begins to pour\\
Without an umbrella we're soaked to the skin\\
I feel a shiver run up my spine\\
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: In "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", the narrator sings about being attracted to his childhood friend now that she turned 16.
* TheCoverChangesTheGender: His own version of his song "Stupid Cupid", which was originally performed by Connie Francis.
* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: The SofterAndSlowerCover of his own "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." The original was an uptempo look at a broken teen romance; the 1976 ballad version was a reflection years later of that same breakup, and realizing there was still a lot of good that could be taken from that relationship from years earlier. Both were major hits – No. 1 in 1962, top 10 (as well as #1 adult contemporary) in 1976.
%% * DooWopProgression: "Oh! Carol".
* TheFifties: When he began his pop music career (1957).
%% * GirlNextDoor: "Next Door to an Angel".
* GroupieBrigade: "Queen of 1964", about an old groupie who used to claim, amongst other things, that she once 'had' Music/MickJagger (getting a kick and a black eye from Bianca Jagger for it).
* IWasQuiteALooker: Jenny, the Queen of 1964.
* LarynxDissonance: Has a very high tenor timbre, especially obvious in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsYIiY2wnyU&feature=related "Laughter in the Rain".]]
%% * LoveGoddess: In "Stupid Cupid".
* LoveMartyr: The premise of "Oh! Carol".
-->Oh! Carol\\
I am but a fool\\
Darling, I love you\\
Though you treat me cruel
* LyricalDissonance: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a cheerful-souding song about the pain of breaking up. The later slower and darker cover is a better match.
* ObsessionSong: "Betty Grable", although a pretty benign and innocent one.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: "Wheeling, West Virginia" is sung from the point-of-view of a [[Creator/SteveMcQueenActor [=McQueen=]-esque]] movie star who's bored with the Hollywood life and pines for his hometown.
%% * OneWomanSong: "Oh! Carol".
* PrecisionFStrike: "The bitch is in her smile" from "Bad Blood". Fairly mild, but still shocking coming from a guy with such a clean-cut image.
* ProtestSong: "The Immigrant", which was written about Music/JohnLennon's deportation struggles, as well as his own family's migration to America from persecution in Eastern Europe.
* RearrangeTheSong: The first version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is [[LyricalDissonance fast and upbeat]]. The re-released version is a SofterAndSlowerCover.
* RecordProducer: Most of his early hits were produced by Al Nevins and [[Music/TheMonkees Don Kirshner]], who were also his music publishers. Most of his later career saw him produce or co-produce his material, though 1977's ''A Song'' went the "big name" route and was produced by George Martin (though, ironically, rather than becoming The George Martin for Sedaka, they just worked together on that one album).
* SecretDiary: "The Diary", which is about the singer wanting to look into a girl's diary to see if she writes about him in it. [[InspirationForTheWork The song was written after]] he asked Connie Francis (who he wrote songs for) for permission to see her diary for inspiration and she refused.
* SelfBackingVocalist: He sang harmony with himself very often in his early days. Examples can be heard "Breaking Up is Hard to Do", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", "Little Devil", "Samson and Delilah" and "Our Last Song Together".
** The early single "Laura Lee"/"Snowtime" goes even farther, with Sedaka becoming his own vocal quartet.
* TheSeventies: When he emerged from his hiatus and had a revival in popularity.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Subject of the song "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Next Door To an Angel".
%% * SillyLoveSongs
* TheSixties: When some of his well-known songs came out. Took a hiatus when Music/TheBeatles emerged.
* SofterAndSlowerCover: In 1976, he released a slow ballad version of his 1962 hit "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". It reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making him the first solo artist to reach the Top 10 with two different versions of the same song. [[note]](The first artist to do so was The Ventures, who re-recorded their 1960 #2 hit "Walk, Don't Run" as "Walk, Don't Run '64" for a #8 hit in 1964.)[[/note]] This version also hit #1 on the ''Billboard'' adult contemporary chart.
* SpecialGuest: Music/EltonJohn's backing vocal on "Bad Blood" is so prominent that the song is, for all intents and purposes, a duet.
* TenorBoy: He's one of the most prominent male high tenors in pop music, and his classic hits often had him in the role of the gee-whiz GuyNextDoor.
%% * TitleOnlyChorus: "Betty Grable".
* TruckDriversGearChange: In many of his songs.
** "Hey Little Devil", from F major to G-flat (or F-sharp) major at the end.
** In Tony Christie's version of "Amarillo", the last chorus goes from A major to B-flat major.
* TwelveBarBlues:
** "Stupid Cupid", popularised by Connie Francis.
%% ** "I Go Ape".
* UsedToBeATomboy: The subject of "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen".
-->What happened to that funny face\\
My little tomboy now wears satins and lace