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Married to the love of his life for almost 61 years, Neil Sedaka doesn\u2019t have a lot of experience<\/strong>\u00a0to say that \u201cBreaking Up is Hard to Do<\/a>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Recently celebrating his 84th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday, the handsome \u201cdown doobie do down down\u201d singer who melted hearts with his vocals, is bursting with love for his grandchildren and gushes that he was \u201cborn married to his wife.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n How could anyone not love Neil Sedaka? He\u2019s given us so much \u2013 the exceptional singer has delighted us with his voice and presence for many years.<\/p>\n A natural talent, Neil Sedaka \u2013 who\u2019s written and recorded some of the catchiest tunes in pop history \u2013 said that when he was a child, he was embarrassed to sing in front of an audience.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I had a remarkable voice, but I was embarrassed because it was so high,\u201d\u00a0Sedaka shared<\/a>. \u201cBut when I sang at my bar mitzvah the rabbi was in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n When he was only 13, the classically trained pianist, who attended a Saturday scholarship program at Julliard\u2019s Preparatory for Children, formed a partnership with 16-year-old Howard Greenfield, and together they composed songs for Sedaka\u2019s school band the Linc-Tones, a band that would later become the Tokens.<\/p>\n Working from New York\u2019s historic Brill Building, the duo went on to write chart-topping hits like Sedaka\u2019s \u201cBreaking up is Hard to do,\u201d\u00a0Captain & Tenille\u2019<\/a>s \u201cLove will keep us Together\u201d and\u00a0Connie Francis<\/a>\u2019 \u201cStupid Cupid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a cubicle with a piano and a bench but no window. You only got a room with a window after you\u2019d had a hit song,\u201d\u00a0Sedaka said<\/a>, adding the pair were earning $50 a week. \u201cEvery day from 9am to 5pm we\u2019d write and then we\u2019d play what we\u2019d written to people from record labels. It was hard but it was wonderful training.\u201d<\/p>\n He was the first at the building who recorded his own songs, and also the first to reach the Top 10 with his hit song \u201cOh! Carol\u201d (1959), which was inspired by his high school girlfriend Carole King.<\/p>\n Greenfield and Sedaka collaborated until the mid 70s, and Greenfield, who was openly gay, died from complications from AIDS in 1986.<\/p>\n As for Sedaka, at 19 he left The Tokens before the band hit its pinnacle of fame in 1961 with \u201cThe Lion Sleeps Tonight\u201d and \u201cTonight I Fell in Love.\u201d<\/p>\n Performing solo, his first three releases failed to make the charts, but one song did earn him a spot on\u00a0American Bandstand<\/em>\u00a0with Dick Clark, and soon after he landed a recording contract.<\/p>\n His first hit single was \u201cThe Diary\u201d\u2013a song inspired by Connie Francis\u2019 diary because Sedaka really wanted \u201cto look into that little book\u201d\u2013that peaked at 14 in the Billboard Top 100 in 1958. In 1960, Sedaka released \u201cCalendar Girl,\u201d his sixth hit in two years, and his popularity was reaching massive heights.<\/p>\n In 1962, he married Leba Strassberg, whom he met while performing at the now abandoned Esther Manor resort in the Catskills Mountains, NY.<\/p>\n The resort was co-owned by Leba\u2019s mother, Esther, a businesswoman who wasn\u2019t fond of her daughter being courted by a lowly musician.<\/p>\n Despite Esther\u2019s disapproval, the couple stayed together, all the while dealing with another meddling mom, Eleanor Sedaka.<\/p>\n Earlier confessing that she rode rollercoasters when she was pregnant with him, hoping to miscarry, Eleanor was also pushing her son into pursuing a career as a classical pianist, and not as a pop star.<\/p>\n \u201cShe soon changed her mind when I got a royalty cheque for $62,000 for \u201cStupid Cupid.\u201d My father was a taxi driver and never made more than $10,000 a year,\u201d\u00a0Sedaka said<\/a>, adding that he made the mistake of giving the money to his mom, who along with her lover later controlled most of his rights as an artist, including his royalties and finances.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father knew about him and accepted him so after the initial shock so did I. I even understood it, in a way. My parents lived in two rooms with nine other relatives and my dad was very thrifty whereas the other man bought her jewels and furs and took her to nice places.\u201d He continued, \u201cOnly they were living the high life on my money. They went through hundreds of thousands of dollars. I couldn\u2019t pay my taxes, nothing. My wife and I had to start from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n Firing his mother\u2019s boyfriend, Sedaka explained that Eleanor almost overdosed on sleeping pills \u201cbecause she couldn\u2019t stand to see her son and her lover at odds. She said she didn\u2019t realise it was my money they were spending. I didn\u2019t speak to her for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n It was in that time that his loyal wife became his new manager.<\/p>\n Just as he was poised to make some money, The Beatles came around and disrupted Sedaka\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n Though he continued writing music for others, his waning chart appeal in the U.S. motivated him to move Leba and their children, Dara and Marc, to London, the hot spot of hit makers.<\/p>\n Referring to his slide in fame,\u00a0Sedaka said<\/a>: \u201cWell, I used to walk down the street and people asked, \u2018Didn\u2019t you used to be Neil Sedaka?\u2019 I said, \u2018well, I\u2019m still Neil Sedaka, you haven\u2019t heard the last of me.\u2019 I had to change my style. It was the early \u201870s, and I met a guy by the name of Elton John. Did you ever hear of him?\u201d<\/p>\n Sedaka, who met the singer of \u201cI\u2019m Still Standing\u201d at a London party, said he was asked to sign with John\u2019s former label, the Rocket Record Company.<\/p>\n And, as the label suggests, Sedaka\u2019s fame skyrocketed with 1974\u2019s album \u201cSedaka\u2019s Back\u201d\u2013the first of three albums with Elton John\u2013and the singer was again charting hits in the U.S.<\/p>\n In 1983, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n In 2003, he appeared as a guest judge on\u00a0American Idol<\/em>, where season two runner-up Clay Aiken later recorded and released Sedaka\u2019s 1972 song \u201cSolitaire,\u201d that became the top selling single of 2004.<\/p>\n During COVID, Sedaka started releasing mini concerts through his social media to keep fans entertained, and last September for his 60th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary with Leba, he shared a special concert with three songs he composed for her. The heart-warming tribute\u00a0reads<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019d like to dedicate today\u2019s mini-concert to my beautiful wife, Leba. In September, we will be celebrating our 60th Anniversary. Here are three songs especially written for Leba!\u201d<\/p>\n In early May, Sedaka posted a video on his\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, announcing that he joined the Cameo family. He shared that he looks forward to taking requests for birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion where he can deliver a special message. He ended the short clip with a few bars of \u201cBreaking Up is Hard to Do,\u201d and fans praised him. One said, \u201cBeen listening to your songs since I was a teenager, I\u2019m now 75 and love your music! Please don\u2019t stop!!\u201d<\/p>\n Another fan wrote a thoughtful message that many can relate: \u201cDear Neil, your songs brighten up the day. I often find myself humming melodies you created\u2026as if they have become a part of me. Thank you for the joy you bring to the world!\u201d<\/p>\n While he continues to bring joy to everyone who hears his music, Sedaka is mostly focused on his wife and family.<\/p>\n \u201cI was born married\u2026 if you\u2019re lucky to have that companion that does it for you, that\u2019s a great gift,\u201d\u00a0said Sedaka<\/a>, a devoted grandfather of three, including\u00a0one set of twins<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for their kids, Dara (born 1963) is an actress and singer known for movies like\u00a0Where the Boys Are<\/em>, and Marc (born 1967) is a writer and editor for TV and film.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n