Neil Sedaka DEAD

[lolly]

Probably a bigger story in the US than here, but he racked up loads of hits himself and as a songwriter for others. I'll never not have time for Captain and Tennille's 'Love Will Keep Us Together' and particularly the Carpenters' 'Solitaire'. He also provided the English lyrics for Abba's 'Ring Ring'.

 

[Jark]

his patented puzzles are QUITE DIFFICULT to solve. RIP!

 

[GNL]

'Solitaire' is a stunner of a song.

 

[Joseph]

I didn’t realize he was still around.

Amarillo is my Sedaka song of choice

 

[Iguana]

Great voice. RIP

 

[Marina Salty]

Rip with the angles now

 

[Doris]

Oh, I was just listening to Ring Ring as I was getting ready for bed. And I had no idea Solitaire was one of his, I always thought it was a Carpenters song.

 

[funky]

His career highlight will still be getting namechecked as a guest at Eddy's fashion show in the Ab Fab pilot

NAMES NAMES NAMES DARLING

rip

 

[ManicKangaroo]

Oh no!

He was always my mum's favourite

 

[lolly]

His career highlight will still be getting namechecked as a guest at Eddy's fashion show in the Ab Fab pilot

NAMES NAMES NAMES DARLING

rip

Did he? I've always missed that.

 

[lolly]

Oh, I was just listening to Ring Ring as I was getting ready for bed. And I had no idea Solitaire was one of his, I always thought it was a Carpenters song.

I knew of it originally from the earlier Andy Williams cover version as my grandmother was a big fan. That was a considerably bigger hit in the UK than the Carpenters version a couple of years later.

But then it was included on their second GH compilation which was huge and that my mother bought, and it was one of my father's all time favourite songs, so it feels like a significant song from my childhood.

Don't really remember Sedaka's version, but then I've never liked his voice.

 

[jyxz]

‘Happy birthday sweet 16’ lands squarely in the ick category

He recalled in 2025 how someone had spotted him on the street during this time period and said "Hey, you used to be Neil Sedaka!" Sedaka brusquely retorted "I still AM Neil Sedaka, you bitch!"

 

[lolly]

And now I'm listening to Shirley Bassey's version of Solitaire. By her standards, it's relatively restrained. But the difference between her vocal stylings and Karen Carpenter's are almost aural whiplash.

 

[lolly]

‘Happy birthday sweet 16’ lands squarely in the ick category

I don't know what on earth you mean

Tonight's the night I've waited for
Because you're not a baby anymore
You've turned into the prettiest girl I've ever seen
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
What happened to that funny face?
My little tom boy now wears satin and lace
I can't believe my eyes, you're just a teenage dream
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
When you were only six
I was your big brother
Then when you were ten
We didn't like each other
When you were thirteen
You were my funny valentine
But since you've grown up
Your future is sewn up
From now on you're gonna be mine

 

[octophone]

The main thing I remember about him is that our local radio station seemed inordinately fond of him when I was growing up i.e. late 70s into the 80s.

 

[Finn]

I don't know what on earth you mean

Tonight's the night I've waited for
Because you're not a baby anymore
You've turned into the prettiest girl I've ever seen
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
What happened to that funny face?
My little tom boy now wears satin and lace
I can't believe my eyes, you're just a teenage dream
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
When you were only six
I was your big brother
Then when you were ten
We didn't like each other
When you were thirteen
You were my funny valentine
But since you've grown up
Your future is sewn up
From now on you're gonna be mine

Just off to CTRL + F "Sedaka" in The Epstein Files

 

[jyxz]

There's a later section where he says he also her big brother ?

 

[Doris]

But then it was included on their second GH compilation which was huge and that my mother bought, and it was one of my father's all time favourite songs, so it feels like a significant song from my childhood.

Was that the one with the gold sleeve? My dad got that one, so the songs included on that one are really familiar to me (more so than tracks like Close To You, which wasn’t on that one), and Solitaire especially is one I can remember my dad singing around the house.

 

[lolly]

Was that the one with the gold sleeve? My dad got that one, so the songs included on that one are really familiar to me (more so than tracks like Close To You, which wasn’t on that one), and Solitaire especially is one I can remember my dad singing around the house.

That's the one. Volume One had the brown sleeve.

 

[Art Decade]