Neil Sedaka dies at 86

Neil Sedaka, the hit-making singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and brilliant melodies made him a prime act within the early years of rock ‘n’ roll and led to a second run of success within the Nineteen Seventies, has died.

Sedaka, whose hits included Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and Laughter within the Rain, died Friday at age 86.

“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” his household mentioned in an announcement. “A 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.”

No different particulars of his dying have been instantly out there.

A key member of the Brill Building songwriting manufacturing facility, Sedaka teamed with lyricist and boyhood neighbour Howard Greenfield on songs that mirrored the teenager innocence of the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles period of the late Fifties-early Nineteen Sixties, together with Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Calendar Girl and Oh! Carol, a lament for his highschool sweetheart, Carole King.

After a protracted dry spell, he re-emerged with such smashes as Laughter within the Rain and Bad Blood. The Captain & Tennille’s cowl of his Love Will Keep Us Together was a chart-topper in 1975.