0:00:02 > 0:00:05Now, the mere name of my next star guest from the States conjures up
0:00:05 > 0:00:08a whole era of pop, rock and beat music,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11over which he has reigned king for so long.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15The name, ladies and gentlemen, is Neil Sedaka!
0:00:15 > 0:00:18# Is this the way to Amarillo
0:00:18 > 0:00:21# Every night I've been hugging my pillow
0:00:21 > 0:00:24# Dreaming dreams of Amarillo
0:00:24 > 0:00:27# And sweet Marie who waits for me...#
0:00:27 > 0:00:32# And solitaire's the only game in town
0:00:33 > 0:00:38# Every road that takes him takes him down...#
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Between 1958 and 1962, Howie Greenfield and I
0:00:43 > 0:00:45sold 25 million records.
0:00:45 > 0:00:4710 hits in a row.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50# Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
0:00:50 > 0:00:54# I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl... #
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Howie and I sat down and we wrote Oh! Carol in 1959,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02which sold 3.5 million copies.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05# Oh! Carol
0:01:05 > 0:01:09# I'm so in love with you... #
0:01:09 > 0:01:14I've written about 800 songs in 61 years.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16# And breaking up is hard to do...#
0:01:16 > 0:01:17# Love
0:01:17 > 0:01:20# Love will keep us together...#
0:01:20 > 0:01:23# Happy birthday, Sweet Sixteen
0:01:23 > 0:01:27# Ooh, I hear laughter in the rain
0:01:27 > 0:01:31# Walking hand in hand with the one I love...#
0:01:31 > 0:01:35I went from the beginning of rock'n'roll,
0:01:35 > 0:01:41through the whole schmear, and was able to...sustain.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46# I miss the hungry years
0:01:48 > 0:01:56# I miss the hungry years. #
0:02:00 > 0:02:03APPLAUSE
0:02:03 > 0:02:11I was born with a musical gift, so music to me has been my whole life.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16My parents tell me that when I was an infant I wouldn't eat
0:02:16 > 0:02:19until the radio was playing music.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23MUSIC: "Brighton" by Neil Sedaka
0:02:23 > 0:02:31# Walking alone, along the boardwalk in Brighton
0:02:35 > 0:02:43# The sun is high and so am I, I feel enlightened...#
0:02:44 > 0:02:48The area was very peaceful after World War II.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50You could leave your door open,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53neighbours would drop in for coffee and cake.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59There was hardly any crime, hardly any drugs and times were very,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03very happy, very carefree and naive.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05But very happy.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15they were all in the Brooklyn area.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17These guys might as well have been growing up in Europe.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Their families, many of them came from Europe,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23or certainly they were maybe just a step removed from it.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28The communities were almost like little European villages.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34We were poor. My father drove a taxi cab in New York for 30 years.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40My mother had to take a job to buy the first piano
0:03:40 > 0:03:42when I was nine years old.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Because a teacher in school noticed that I had musical ability.
0:03:46 > 0:03:52It seemed like every Jewish home in Brooklyn had an upright piano because
0:03:52 > 0:03:58getting their children trained in music was very important culturally.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I started with a private piano teacher for one year.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Then he came to my father and mother and said,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07"I can't teach him anymore,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10"let him audition for the Juilliard prep school."
0:04:10 > 0:04:14So at nine I got a scholarship for the piano.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17I practised for five, six hours a day.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I remember my father throwing a baseball mitt at me saying,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24"Go out and play!" Because I would practise for hours and hours,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26it was my great love.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30In the same building as I lived Howie Greenfield,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and his mother heard me practising Chopin and Bach.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36She was the one that got us together.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40She thought that her 16-year-old son would be
0:04:40 > 0:04:44a good lyricist for my 13-year-old tunes.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49They started writing at least one song a day for 500 days,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51for almost two years.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53And most of it behind his mother's back,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56because she didn't want him listening to rock'n'roll or writing
0:04:56 > 0:05:00any kind of music other than doing his classical training.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05The allure of popular culture for these kids was just overwhelming.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So that even someone like Neil Sedaka,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12who's kind of good enough a piano player to eventually go to
0:05:12 > 0:05:18Juilliard, is also hearing another kind of siren call in his ear.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21I listened very, very attentively to the radio.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Nat King Cole, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Johnny Ray, Les Paul and Mary Ford.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It was something about what America was right then.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Not something somebody wrote 300 years ago,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39but something somebody wrote yesterday, a subway ride away,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42that was suddenly on the radio and was a gigantic hit.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49When I was 15 or 16 I wrote a rock'n'roll song called Mr Moon.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56And I played it in the school auditorium for an amateur show.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And the response from the kids was phenomenal.
0:06:01 > 0:06:07I realised then I liked the attention that I would get,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10rather than playing a Chopin etude.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13They would snicker when I played a Chopin etude,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16but when I wrote my first rock'n'roll song,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I was the school celebrity.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21And immediately all the girls surrounded me.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I knew then I wanted to be famous.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Things were changing pretty fast in the US in the '50s.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30There's post-war, the economy was good,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35there were a lot of teenagers around, there was a baby boom.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37The country felt young.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43When Howie Greenfield and I started writing in 1952, I would write the
0:06:43 > 0:06:49melody first, the complete melody, and he would then write the lyrics.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52We wrote song after song after song
0:06:52 > 0:06:58and then we rode the subway to New York City from Brooklyn,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and I auditioned and played songs for Atlantic Records.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07It was in R&B, mostly Afro-American singers.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11I had some R&B hits with Clyde McPhatter and LaVern Baker.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15# I waited too long
0:07:15 > 0:07:18# And now we're apart
0:07:18 > 0:07:23# I never told you
0:07:23 > 0:07:27# What I feel in my heart...#
0:07:27 > 0:07:29It came from listening to Ray Charles.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35PLAYS A SLOW BLUESY TUNE
0:07:35 > 0:07:36That feel.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40# I waited too long
0:07:40 > 0:07:44# And now we're apart
0:07:44 > 0:07:47# I never told you
0:07:47 > 0:07:52# What I feel in my heart... #
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It's the feel of Ray Charles.
0:07:54 > 0:08:00And I remember saying to Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"I'm thrilled that you're giving these songs to your artists
0:08:03 > 0:08:05"and they're making recordings,"
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and some of them were big R&B records, "but what about my voice?"
0:08:10 > 0:08:13They said, "No, it's too high, it's too unusual.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15"We'll take the songs
0:08:15 > 0:08:19"but we don't think you're going to be a recording artist as a singer."
0:08:19 > 0:08:25I went into the Brill Building and we played songs and were rejected,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Howie and I were rejected, they didn't like any of the songs.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33I met Mort Shuman there, who I went to school with, I went to
0:08:33 > 0:08:39high school with Mort Shuman, who wrote for Elvis and The Drifters.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41He said, "There's a new publishing firm across the street,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43"why don't you try them?"
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Aldon Music had just opened up in 1650 Broadway.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52I played songs with Howie and one of them was Stupid Cupid.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Al Nevins and Don Kirshner were the presidents of Aldon Music.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02They said, "Oh, that song sounds good for Connie Francis."
0:09:02 > 0:09:06That was a typical 12 bar blues.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12There were many rock'n'roll songs with that.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16# Stupid Cupid, you're a real mean guy... #
0:09:16 > 0:09:18I got a phone call from a struggling song publisher
0:09:18 > 0:09:20friend of mine, Donny Kirshner.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23He said, "I've got two kids that write, they are geniuses."
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I said, "Well, who are these two geniuses?"
0:09:26 > 0:09:29He said, "Well, one of them is Howie Greenfield, he's an errand boy
0:09:29 > 0:09:33"or a gopher at a music publishing company, and the other one
0:09:33 > 0:09:36"is Neil Sedaka, he's a Juilliard student with a scholarship."
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I said, "OK, bring these two geniuses to my house."
0:09:39 > 0:09:43And they drove me to Connie Francis' home.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I played my best ballads because she was a ballad singer.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51She had Who's Sorry Now?, which was a number one ballad.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54And she passed, passed, passed, didn't like it, was on the phone,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57was bored, was writing in her diary.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59I said, "Keep going, I can do two things at the same time,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01"keep playing, fellas."
0:10:01 > 0:10:03And they played and they played and they played
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and I was really falling asleep.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I said, "Fellas, I don't know how to tell you this.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10"I mean, your music is beautiful but it's too educated.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12"The kids don't dig this kind of stuff any more."
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I said, "You guys are putting me to sleep.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16"Don't you have something a little more lively?"
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Then I whispered to Howie, "We're losing her."
0:10:19 > 0:10:21So I said, "I'm going to play Stupid Cupid,"
0:10:21 > 0:10:23which was not her style at all.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27So finally Neil played, "Da-da-da-da-da-dah!
0:10:27 > 0:10:29"Stupid Cupid you're a real mean guy."
0:10:29 > 0:10:32And I started jumping up and down in delight!
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I said, "That's it, that's it! Howie said, "What's it?"
0:10:35 > 0:10:39I said, "That's my next record, you guys have got my next record!"
0:10:39 > 0:10:42And she recorded it in 1958.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46There were no girls on the hit parade for many, many years, about five
0:10:46 > 0:10:50or six years at the beginning of the '50s, no girls on the hit parade.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54And this sounded like it would be the first female rock'n'roll hit,
0:10:54 > 0:10:55which is what it became.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01MUSIC: "Stupid Cupid" by Connie Francis
0:11:03 > 0:11:06# You got me jumping like a crazy clown
0:11:06 > 0:11:09# And I don't feature what you're putting down
0:11:09 > 0:11:13# Since I kissed your loving lips of wine
0:11:13 > 0:11:16# The thing that bothers me is that I like it fine
0:11:16 > 0:11:19# Hey hey, set me free
0:11:19 > 0:11:23# Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me
0:11:24 > 0:11:26# Hey hey, set me free
0:11:26 > 0:11:30# Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me. #
0:11:30 > 0:11:34And that was on the radio all the time. I was thrilled.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39When I met Leba, my wife-to-be, I wanted to show off.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I said, "I'm a songwriter." She said, "A songwriter?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44"I've never heard of songwriters."
0:11:44 > 0:11:48He said to me, "Hello, my name is Neil Sedaka.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51"I wrote a song for Connie Francis called Stupid Cupid."
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Now I really didn't like him!
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Because why would I know someone that would even write songs?
0:11:59 > 0:12:02She was 16, I was 19.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05I said to the trumpet player, my friend Normie, I said,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08"She is a beautiful girl, I'm going to marry this girl."
0:12:08 > 0:12:09And then I heard it on the radio
0:12:09 > 0:12:13and they announced that Neil Sedaka wrote that song.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17We started to date and we were engaged for three years
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and then got married.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20In 1962.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28So after Stupid Cupid, once again I asked about my voice.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33And they said, "Well, we'll have you audition for RCA Victor Records."
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Steve Sholes was the head of RCA Victor.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And I played a lot of songs,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43including The Diary, for Steve Sholes.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48He said, "Yes, I like it because it's very musical,
0:12:48 > 0:12:53"I like the melodies and your voice is very unusual.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57"It's very androgynous. It's...
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"It could be a girl singing or a boy singing."
0:13:00 > 0:13:03He saw the potential in that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06# When it's late at night
0:13:06 > 0:13:08# What is the name you write?
0:13:08 > 0:13:14# Oh, what I'd give if I could see
0:13:14 > 0:13:19# Am I the boy that you care for?
0:13:21 > 0:13:23# The boy who's in your diary. #
0:13:26 > 0:13:27When I was writing in my diary,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Neil said, "Can I take a little peek?"
0:13:29 > 0:13:31I said, nobody looks into my diary.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34It's in shorthand, but names and places
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and things like that are in long hand, so nobody peeks into my diary.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41"Just a little peek?" I said, "No, I'm sorry."
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Neil had been trying for a long, long time to come up with a hit record.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49He was signed to RCA Victor. They kept coming up dry.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51When they went home that night they wrote,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53"Oh, how I'd like to look into that little book,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"the one that has the lock and key."
0:13:55 > 0:13:58That's how Neil got his first gold record.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Every rock'n'roll song had the same four cords.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05PLAYS SIMPLE MELODY
0:14:05 > 0:14:08In 1, 6, 2, 5.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So I'm in the key of G, E minor, A minor, D.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15# How I'd like to look
0:14:15 > 0:14:17# Into that little book
0:14:17 > 0:14:22# The one that has the lock and key
0:14:24 > 0:14:27# And all the boys... # Then you vary it
0:14:27 > 0:14:29# That you care for
0:14:29 > 0:14:35# The boy who's in your diary... #
0:14:35 > 0:14:37And you go back to 1, 6, 2, 5.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39My father was a record buyer
0:14:39 > 0:14:43and he used to bring home 45s for me to go through.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47One of them was a story song called The Diary.
0:14:47 > 0:14:54I put it on and I thought to myself, here is a song by a young guy
0:14:54 > 0:14:58who is in love with a girl and is afraid to tell her.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00I thought it was a terrific song.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04I told my father about it and he ordered it for his stores.
0:15:04 > 0:15:12And sure enough, it went to almost the top 10. It went to number 14.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16I sold 600,000 records with The Diary, me singing
0:15:16 > 0:15:20and playing my own song, Howie Greenfield's lyric.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21That's what pop music was like.
0:15:21 > 0:15:29It was like a reflection of your inner life as, you know, 12-, 13-,
0:15:29 > 0:15:3514-year-old kid, discovering girls and discovering the world, really.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40Pop music was the rabbit hole down which you jumped.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I had a fear of being a one-shot wonder.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47And the second and third records were flops.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50The Diary was a ballad, a rock'n'roll ballad.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54And I Go Ape was Jerry Lee Lewis pounding piano.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57# I go ape every time I see you smile
0:15:59 > 0:16:02# I'm a ding dong gorilla, carry on caveman-style...#
0:16:02 > 0:16:05And the audience in America said, "What the hell is that?
0:16:05 > 0:16:09"How could he go from... he was such a good ballad singer."
0:16:09 > 0:16:13They didn't see that I wanted to be diversified.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15RCA records wanted to dump him.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17He was writing notes like,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21"Oh, my goodness, I'm a 19-year-old has been."
0:16:21 > 0:16:24So his manager said to Neil, "You've got one more chance, mate.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25"You'd better make this work."
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Billboard had a page called the Hits of the World.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33I bought the number one record in almost every country
0:16:33 > 0:16:36in the world and analysed it.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38I took the beat from this one,
0:16:38 > 0:16:43I took the drum from this one, I took the guitar licks from this one,
0:16:43 > 0:16:48I took the harmonic rhythm from this one, like a designer would do.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Don Kirshner, who was his publisher, went to him
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and said, "Write a song with a girl's name in the title."
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I must do something to save this career.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02I don't want to be a one-shot wonder.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05And I listened to Little Darlin' by The Diamonds.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07# Little darlin'
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# Little darlin'
0:17:11 > 0:17:12# Oh! Carol
0:17:13 > 0:17:16# I am but a fool
0:17:16 > 0:17:19# Darlin' I love you
0:17:19 > 0:17:22# Though you treat me cruel... #
0:17:22 > 0:17:27More melodic than Little Darlin', a bit different, but the same...
0:17:27 > 0:17:30SINGS ALONG TO THE JAUNTY RHYTHM
0:17:32 > 0:17:34# Oh! Carol
0:17:34 > 0:17:37# I am but a fool
0:17:37 > 0:17:41# Darling, I love you
0:17:41 > 0:17:45# Though you treat me cruel... #
0:17:45 > 0:17:51A friend called me from the studio to say, "Boy, this is the worst song.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53"Wait until you hear this."
0:17:53 > 0:17:56And she held the phone up and said,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59"Is that the worst thing you ever heard?"
0:17:59 > 0:18:01She was wrong!
0:18:01 > 0:18:04# Darling, there will never be another
0:18:05 > 0:18:08# Cos I love you so
0:18:08 > 0:18:11# Don't ever leave me
0:18:11 > 0:18:15# Say you'll never go
0:18:15 > 0:18:20# I will always want you for my sweetheart
0:18:20 > 0:18:22# No matter what you do
0:18:22 > 0:18:26# Oh! Carol
0:18:26 > 0:18:29# I'm so in love with you...#
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Oh! Carol sold 3.5 million copies.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37I went to the mailbox and took out a cheque,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40my first check for Oh! Carol.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44I read it quickly and I said, "Oh, 4,200!"
0:18:44 > 0:18:47I ran up to my mother and father and showed it to them.
0:18:47 > 0:18:54My mother said, "You misread it, you left out a zero. It's 42,000."
0:18:54 > 0:18:58My father made 10,000 a year as a cab driver.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02It changed my world, it changed my life.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05My mother, who was a little leery of it,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09because I was taking away time from classical piano to write popular
0:19:09 > 0:19:14music, she said, "I think you should continue," after seeing the cheque!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17"I think you should continue doing this."
0:19:17 > 0:19:21My only indulgence was buying a new car every year.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23That was my big indulgence.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27I gave all the money to my mother and father.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29He would change his car.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33He didn't smoke, but the expression, he'd change the car
0:19:33 > 0:19:37when the ashtray got dirty.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Between 1958 and 1962, Howie Greenfield
0:19:40 > 0:19:43and I sold 25 million records.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45He couldn't be stopped.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Elvis Presley was the only one in the country,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53probably the world, that sold more records than Neil Sedaka.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56# I'll build a stairway to heaven
0:19:56 > 0:20:00# I'll climb to the highest star... #
0:20:00 > 0:20:03# You're out to break-a my heart
0:20:03 > 0:20:06# But just before you do
0:20:06 > 0:20:12# Hey, little devil, I'm going to make an angel outta you... #
0:20:12 > 0:20:18# You turned into the prettiest girl I've ever seen
0:20:18 > 0:20:23# Happy birthday, Sweet Sixteen...#
0:20:23 > 0:20:27# I'm living right next door to an angel
0:20:27 > 0:20:31# And I'm going to make that angel mine...#
0:20:31 > 0:20:34# I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl
0:20:34 > 0:20:38# Each and every day of the year...#
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Howie Greenfield and I
0:20:40 > 0:20:45mastered the art of the two and a half minute single.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48We could tell a whole story from beginning to end
0:20:48 > 0:20:50in two and a half minutes.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52# January
0:20:52 > 0:20:54# You start the year off fine
0:20:54 > 0:20:55# February
0:20:55 > 0:20:58# You're my little Valentine
0:20:58 > 0:20:59# March
0:20:59 > 0:21:02# I'm gonna march you down the aisle
0:21:02 > 0:21:03# April
0:21:03 > 0:21:06# You're the Easter bunny when you smile
0:21:06 > 0:21:09# Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
0:21:09 > 0:21:13# I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- # Every day - Every day
0:21:16 > 0:21:17- # Every day - Every day
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- # Of the year - Every day of the year.- #
0:21:20 > 0:21:25When you hear Calendar Girl, they just sound like...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Exactly the way pop music is supposed to sound, which is that
0:21:28 > 0:21:31it sounds like it was written in five minutes.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Because it just sounds like it could not be any other way.
0:21:35 > 0:21:41But a lot of work goes into making it seem that...
0:21:41 > 0:21:45That perfect a pop product.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49- # May! - # Maybe if I ask your dad and mom
0:21:49 > 0:21:53# They'll let me take you to the Junior Prom
0:21:53 > 0:21:55# June!
0:21:55 > 0:21:58What is it? I forgot it!
0:21:58 > 0:22:00# You steal the show
0:22:00 > 0:22:03# Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Come on!
0:22:05 > 0:22:07# I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- # Every day - Every day
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- # Every day - Every day
0:22:11 > 0:22:13# Of the year. #
0:22:13 > 0:22:15It's supposed to sound easy,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and you're not even supposed to notice it really.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20But it's hard to do.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22# I love, I love, I love my calendar girl... #
0:22:22 > 0:22:25And we could never figure out endings to these songs
0:22:25 > 0:22:31so the only thing was to fade it out, fade away, fade away...
0:22:32 > 0:22:34They were songs that the first time you heard them,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37the next time you heard them you were singing along.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42There was an immediate kind of accessibility and appeal to them.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47# I beg of you, don't say goodbye
0:22:47 > 0:22:51# Can't we give our love another try?
0:22:51 > 0:22:55# Come on, baby, let's start anew
0:22:55 > 0:22:58# Cos breaking up is hard to do... #
0:22:58 > 0:23:01The thing that caught my attention about that song was
0:23:01 > 0:23:04the chorus is pretty simple.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06PLAYS A SIMPLE MELODY
0:23:06 > 0:23:08But when it goes to the bridge...
0:23:08 > 0:23:14PLAYS MORE SOPHISTICATED MELODY
0:23:14 > 0:23:15I mean, it just gets so musical.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17I thought, "Wow!
0:23:17 > 0:23:20"A pop song with all these chords and movements and all that."
0:23:20 > 0:23:22It really grabbed my attention.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27# They say that breaking up is hard to do
0:23:27 > 0:23:32# Now I know, I know that it's true
0:23:32 > 0:23:36# Don't say that this is the end
0:23:36 > 0:23:38# Instead of breaking up
0:23:38 > 0:23:40# I wish that we were making up again...#
0:23:40 > 0:23:43That was one of the first pop songs that kind of drew me
0:23:43 > 0:23:45into that world where I sort of thought, "Wow,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48"I'm probably never going to be a great classical pianist,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52"maybe this pop arena is a good place for me."
0:23:52 > 0:23:54And that was one of the defining songs for me.
0:23:54 > 0:24:01I was 23 years old by the time I sold 25 million records.
0:24:01 > 0:24:0310 hits in a row.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05With me singing our songs.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09I was like the poster boy for the all-round, wholesome,
0:24:09 > 0:24:16clean-cut American, wearing the preppy clothes.
0:24:16 > 0:24:22Unfortunately, after five years, it changed.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25And as Neil later sang, "The Tra-La Days" were over.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who I adored,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33killed the solo American singer.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36It wasn't just Neil Sedaka who couldn't get his records played.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It was Bobby Rydell, Connie Francis, Bobby Darin,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45just about every other American pop singer who got swept away.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47So many people in America, pop stars,
0:24:47 > 0:24:52just immediately overnight looked old-fashioned. They just...
0:24:52 > 0:24:55I mean, the Beatles really changed everything.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58To America, the idea of an English band playing rock'n'roll,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01that was a tremendous novelty.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05And one that really captured people's imaginations.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09My mother, who I was very close to, I was a mama's boy,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14was managing my career with...
0:25:14 > 0:25:17her lover,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19who was an air-conditioning salesman,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21knew nothing about the music business.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25His mother had hired an unscrupulous gentleman
0:25:25 > 0:25:28that she was having a love affair with
0:25:28 > 0:25:30to be his manager.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And between the two of them, they had misplaced
0:25:33 > 0:25:37most of his royalties over the years.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41My mother and Ben stole a lot of money.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44So when times got tough for Neil Sedaka
0:25:44 > 0:25:46in the '60s and he was married
0:25:46 > 0:25:49with a couple of children, there was no money left
0:25:49 > 0:25:51from all the records he sold.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55His mother and her lover had spent it all.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58We did what we had to do, by that point
0:25:58 > 0:26:01we had two small children.
0:26:01 > 0:26:07We were living in Brooklyn and Neil is
0:26:07 > 0:26:12probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest person I know.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14He does what he has to do.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16He went from playing the Copacabana, which is maybe
0:26:16 > 0:26:20the most popular and infamous club
0:26:20 > 0:26:23in America, in New York City,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27to playing before 12 people in Montreal.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Neil did studio sessions, he did demo sessions,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33for 50.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36He'd go into the studio
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and people would walk in and they'd...
0:26:39 > 0:26:42"Neil Sedaka, what are you doing here?"
0:26:42 > 0:26:44He said, "I'm the piano player."
0:26:44 > 0:26:48It was a terrible shock to the ego.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50In America they sort of drop people so quick.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52So people we think are legendary...
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Johnny Cash, before he was reborn with some of those great albums
0:26:56 > 0:26:58he made at the end of his career,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01the likes of Johnny Cash couldn't get a record deal.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04In America, those people we venerate and think are fantastic,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07they're just..."Oh, well, they're yesterday's people."
0:27:07 > 0:27:11I would walk somewhere in the street in New York
0:27:11 > 0:27:16and people would say, "Didn't he used to be Neil Sedaka?
0:27:16 > 0:27:17"Whatever happened to him?"
0:27:17 > 0:27:20# Gone with the morning
0:27:20 > 0:27:24# Where did the feeling go?
0:27:24 > 0:27:29# What was here is here no more
0:27:29 > 0:27:40# We are shadows of the night before...#
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Now is the time of Cat Stevens,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Carole King's Tapestry...
0:27:47 > 0:27:49The singer-songwriter was born.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It changed a lot of things, really.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56And the concentration went from the hit single onto the album.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Neil had never really been thought of as an album artist.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01He was a hit singles artist.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Emergence was the first.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08RCA Victor and I thought it would be the comeback, 1970,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11but the audience did not go for it.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Up till that point, Howie did write on occasion with other people
0:28:15 > 0:28:18because Neil was travelling so much.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Howie Greenfield was a genius
0:28:20 > 0:28:25but I needed a new-sounding lyric.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I needed a lyric that painted pictures.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31I had just recorded my own album
0:28:31 > 0:28:34and it was a sensational flop.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36I think my parents bought a couple of copies
0:28:36 > 0:28:41and that was about it and I was really depressed.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Somehow Neil happened to get hold of a copy
0:28:44 > 0:28:46and he thought I actually wrote good lyrics
0:28:46 > 0:28:51and he was probably one of five people who did.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56He came into my office and said, "Phil Cody, Phil Cody, I'd like to write with you."
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Howie was devastated.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01He came back
0:29:01 > 0:29:05with a song called Our Last Song Together.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08And if you listen to the lyric of that song,
0:29:08 > 0:29:09it says it all.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13# Days of devils, kings and clowns
0:29:13 > 0:29:18# Angel's songs and birthday tunes
0:29:18 > 0:29:22# Valentines and wishing wells
0:29:22 > 0:29:26# Magic stairways, moons and Junes
0:29:26 > 0:29:30# Silly rhymes, monkey shines
0:29:30 > 0:29:34# Pictures on a stage
0:29:34 > 0:29:39# Round and round the records go
0:29:39 > 0:29:45# Time to turn a page
0:29:45 > 0:29:48# This will be our last song together
0:29:48 > 0:29:52# Words will only make us cry
0:29:52 > 0:29:56# This will be our last song together
0:29:56 > 0:30:01# There's no other way
0:30:01 > 0:30:05# We can say goodbye... #
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Cody couldn't have been more different from Neil Sedaka.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14He was a hippy if there ever was one.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18He describes Sedaka as "looking like somebody who just walked off
0:30:18 > 0:30:20"the tennis court at Wimbledon".
0:30:20 > 0:30:25The lyrics forced me to write different kinds of melodies.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28We sat down on an afternoon and we wrote
0:30:28 > 0:30:32three songs, one of which was Solitaire.
0:30:33 > 0:30:39# And solitaire's the only game in town
0:30:39 > 0:30:44# Every road that takes him takes him down... #
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Kirshner, his publisher,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49didn't like Solitaire when they played it for him.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53They said, "Who'll do that song? Nobody will do that song."
0:30:53 > 0:30:55"Why don't you write something that will sell?"
0:30:55 > 0:30:59And the reaction to that song caused turmoil within his relationship
0:30:59 > 0:31:01with Don Kirshner
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and sort of propelled Neil to Great Britain.
0:31:04 > 0:31:05He had to find a way to earn a living
0:31:05 > 0:31:08and his manager, Dick Fox, said,
0:31:08 > 0:31:10"I can get you work in England.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13"I can get you work in the clubs in England.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16"Why don't you move there for a few years?"
0:31:16 > 0:31:18So I went to England in 1970,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20I lived there for 3½ years,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23with my wife and children.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27He played in workingmen's clubs where they'd just as soon
0:31:27 > 0:31:28throw a beer bottle at you
0:31:28 > 0:31:31than give you a big hand.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35It was a very sobering experience.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38My wife, Leba, worked the lights
0:31:38 > 0:31:40in these little, small clubs,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42she did the announcement
0:31:42 > 0:31:45backstage on a microphone,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49they would talk during the performance.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52He worked the Wooky Hollow, the Golden Garter,
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Batley Variety Club,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57all perfectly wonderful clubs
0:31:57 > 0:32:01with lovely, lovely people - if they liked you.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04So he goes to places like the Batley Variety Club,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07a whole host of these workingmen's clubs up north,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10which is kind of our equivalent, I suppose, of Las Vegas.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Not quite so many lights and stuff
0:32:12 > 0:32:14but they would have huge names there.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16They were big places,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18massive numbers of people would go.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21They could afford to put on the likes of Shirley Bassey
0:32:21 > 0:32:23and Neil Sedaka.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26And he did well doing that,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28play his songs and be ignored
0:32:28 > 0:32:31while everybody chats and drinks pints and eats their scampi
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and chips. He went through all of that.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37He was never somebody who was going to walk off the stage
0:32:37 > 0:32:39into retirement or something.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42He was going to find ways to still matter.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45A million other people would have just said,
0:32:45 > 0:32:47"I'm going to try to earn a living another way,"
0:32:47 > 0:32:49but Sedaka wouldn't give up.
0:32:49 > 0:32:55# Give me one more chance at the Midway
0:32:55 > 0:32:59# Let me dance with my feet off the ground
0:32:59 > 0:33:02# Give me back the world I remember
0:33:02 > 0:33:05# One more ride on the merry-go-round... #
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I was very driven, I was very ambitious.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Besides the gift, you need the drive.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14There are very talented people
0:33:14 > 0:33:19walking around. They don't have the confidence and the drive I did.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22I wanted to develop and grow, change,
0:33:22 > 0:33:25do something that I've never done before,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27so I did like a calypso/reggae.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29# Anyone who's played on a record date
0:33:29 > 0:33:32# Will remember Stagedoor Jenny
0:33:32 > 0:33:33# Well, I saw her last night
0:33:33 > 0:33:37# Man, she looked like she wasn't getting any... #
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And there's a line about Mick Jagger.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42# When it came to a superstar
0:33:42 > 0:33:45# Jenny was a bragger
0:33:45 > 0:33:48# She spread it all around to everyone in town
0:33:48 > 0:33:51# That she once had Mick Jagger
0:33:51 > 0:33:53# But there's no doubt when the truth comes out
0:33:53 > 0:33:56# True love will always conquer
0:33:56 > 0:33:58# She didn't get Mick but she got a kick
0:33:58 > 0:34:01# And a black eye from Bianca
0:34:01 > 0:34:04# She was the queen of 1964
0:34:04 > 0:34:09# What a pity she became a shadow of the girl she was before
0:34:09 > 0:34:12# She passed her prime
0:34:12 > 0:34:14# It seems a shame somehow
0:34:14 > 0:34:19# But nobody wants an over-age groupie now... #
0:34:19 > 0:34:21He wanted to record an album
0:34:21 > 0:34:25that they could put out in the UK
0:34:25 > 0:34:28because they were playing his old songs
0:34:28 > 0:34:31and some of his new songs in the UK.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35And he recorded an album with a group called 10cc
0:34:35 > 0:34:36backing him up.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Their manager saw me at the Batley Variety Club and said,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43"I think you should record with the 10ccs."
0:34:43 > 0:34:48"Why don't you check out these guys at Strawberry Studios in Stockport?"
0:34:48 > 0:34:50He's up north, playing these workingmen's clubs,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53so he goes along there, meets the guys who would later become
0:34:53 > 0:34:5510cc.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57I thought I'd do a couple of songs with them...
0:34:57 > 0:35:01And they helped give Neil a new sound,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03a singer-songwriter sound, an album sound.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09James Taylor writing Fire & Rain about a friend of his who committed suicide,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13those kinds of themes became important.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18Solitaire is a song that seemed very suited to dealing with themes
0:35:18 > 0:35:22like isolation and sadness.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25All of that was very much on the front burner at that point.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29The Solitaire album came out, did nothing in America,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32but got a lot of recognition in the UK.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35The Carpenters had one of their biggest hits with Solitaire.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37As did Andy Williams.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39And Neil didn't.
0:35:39 > 0:35:44But I think, as a songwriter, Neil would be very happy
0:35:44 > 0:35:45to have hits in the top ten,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48whether it be by The Carpenters, Andy Williams...
0:35:48 > 0:35:52I never really wrote for anyone, I always did the original.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55But some covers were better than mine.
0:35:55 > 0:36:01# And keeping to myself I play the game
0:36:01 > 0:36:07# Without your love it always ends the same
0:36:07 > 0:36:11# While life goes on around me everywhere
0:36:12 > 0:36:18# I'm playing solitaire... #
0:36:18 > 0:36:23Sadness wasn't Neil Sedaka's strong suit, necessarily, as a writer,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25but yearning is.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27It really cuts deep emotionally.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32And I think you have to give a lot of credit to the lyrics on that song.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35It just paints such a picture and it's a beautiful combination
0:36:35 > 0:36:39of the right lamenting music
0:36:39 > 0:36:43and the pierce-your-heart lyric.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46It just works. Brings me to my knees.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I said, "Write a lyric that will make me cry."
0:36:49 > 0:36:51And it made me weep...
0:36:51 > 0:36:55because it was about this very lonely man who
0:36:55 > 0:36:59lost his love and all he did was play solitaire.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I said, "You did it, you're making me cry!"
0:37:01 > 0:37:03HE LAUGHS
0:37:03 > 0:37:07I wasn't really trying to make a song that had a particular meaning
0:37:07 > 0:37:09for anybody,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12I was just trying to take what Neil was giving me melodically
0:37:12 > 0:37:15and attaching it to my own emotions.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18And my emotions at the time were really sad.
0:37:18 > 0:37:24And partially, there was a time in my life just prior
0:37:24 > 0:37:29where I had been through a divorce and I was living by myself in a hotel
0:37:29 > 0:37:31in mid-town Manhattan
0:37:31 > 0:37:34and what I would do in my afternoons is sit at a little table
0:37:34 > 0:37:36in the hotel room
0:37:36 > 0:37:38and play solitaire.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40I remember thinking,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44"This is the saddest-assed existence you could possibly ask for."
0:37:44 > 0:37:49# And keeping to himself he plays the game
0:37:51 > 0:37:57# Without her love it always ends the same
0:37:58 > 0:38:04# While life goes on around him everywhere
0:38:04 > 0:38:09# He's playing solitaire... #
0:38:11 > 0:38:13It's not necessarily fashionable to say it,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17but Karen Carpenter is an amazing singer.
0:38:17 > 0:38:23And there is a 100% investment
0:38:23 > 0:38:25by her in that performance.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Shirley Bassey's Solitaire...
0:38:28 > 0:38:30is magnificent.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31It's a blockbuster.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38# Solitaire's the only game in town
0:38:40 > 0:38:45# And every road that takes him takes him down
0:38:47 > 0:38:51# While life goes on around him everywhere
0:38:55 > 0:38:59# He's playing
0:38:59 > 0:39:08# Solitaire. #
0:39:08 > 0:39:11I've even done a web page where I've tried to collect
0:39:11 > 0:39:13every version of Solitaire there is.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17I'm right now bordering... I think I've got
0:39:17 > 0:39:19close to 60.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21The Tra-La Days Are Over was the second album
0:39:21 > 0:39:23with the 10ccs.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27It had Standing On The Inside,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Love Will Keep Us Together,
0:39:29 > 0:39:30some wonderful songs,
0:39:30 > 0:39:34and again it was a hit in the UK
0:39:34 > 0:39:36and not in America.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39In the UK, the albums became very popular
0:39:39 > 0:39:43and before long Sedaka had four or five hits.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45I got a gig at the Albert Hall
0:39:46 > 0:39:50where I was able to sing my new songs
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and who should take notice? Elton John,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55who was starting Rocket Records,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57who was a fan of Neil Sedaka.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Neil decided to throw a big party at his flat
0:40:00 > 0:40:04and all the rock'n'roll royalty in England
0:40:04 > 0:40:06came to this party - Paul McCartney,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Rod Stewart,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Elton John, Elton's partner, John Reid.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14The Carpenters were in town, they came to the party,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16and it was a huge success.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21And Neil got Elton and John on the side,
0:40:21 > 0:40:25and said, "You are starting a record company
0:40:25 > 0:40:28"and I have this album.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33"And I would love the opportunity to have
0:40:33 > 0:40:35"a release in the United States."
0:40:37 > 0:40:42And I don't remember if it was John or Elton that said,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46"Oh, my. This is like giving us gold bricks."
0:40:46 > 0:40:52Elton took some of The Tra-La Days Are Over songs
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and some of LA sessions
0:40:54 > 0:40:57with Laughter In The Rain, that I did in LA,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59combined them
0:40:59 > 0:41:01and put out an album in America
0:41:01 > 0:41:03called Sedaka's Back.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09When Neil teams up with Elton John,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13there's a sense in which he's suddenly moving a bit more
0:41:13 > 0:41:14in that world,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17where the songwriting is a little bit more personal.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Phil Cody came up with a marvellous lyric
0:41:19 > 0:41:22about a couple who were caught in the rain,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25they had no umbrella, they were soaked to the skin.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27I wanted one chord
0:41:27 > 0:41:30specifically to give it a lift.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32HE PLAYS PIANO
0:41:36 > 0:41:38So I started writing the song from there.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41So I started with the pentatonic.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47And eventually I wanted to get...
0:41:47 > 0:41:49MUSIC LIFTS
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Ah! It's a beautiful chord,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54a beautiful change, a lift of emotion.
0:41:54 > 0:41:55He would play the melody
0:41:55 > 0:42:00and I could actually see the words in the melody he was playing.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02I think it was a good move for Neil to record his vocals live
0:42:02 > 0:42:04and to get that energy.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07He had just come from five years of probably not recording
0:42:07 > 0:42:09and five years of just doing live shows,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12so he really knew what live felt like.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15And I think that was inspiring to all of us.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17It was me at the piano, singing live,
0:42:17 > 0:42:19no overdubs,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22except for my second, harmony voice.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24That was probably pretty painful
0:42:24 > 0:42:27for the guy recording, Robert Appere,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29and co-producing the record,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31to have Neil have the microphone right here as he's playing,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33the piano bleeding into the vocal mic,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35the vocal mic bleeding into the piano.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38And you have to get it right.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44# After a while we run under a tree
0:42:44 > 0:42:49# I turn to her and she kisses me
0:42:49 > 0:42:54# There with the beat of the rain on the leaves
0:42:54 > 0:42:59# Softly she breathes and I close my eyes
0:42:59 > 0:43:05# Sharing our love under stormy skies... #
0:43:05 > 0:43:07- Here it is... - HE PLAYS PIANO TRILL
0:43:07 > 0:43:10# Ooh, I hear laughter in the rain
0:43:10 > 0:43:14# Walking hand-in-hand with the one I love
0:43:15 > 0:43:19# Ooh, how I love the rainy day
0:43:19 > 0:43:20# And the happy way... #
0:43:20 > 0:43:24- SINGS:- I'm back to the original key.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Laughter In The Rain came in at about 95 on the chart,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29and he thinks, "Well, that's a start."
0:43:29 > 0:43:30HE LAUGHS
0:43:30 > 0:43:33And then gradually, over the weeks, it goes up a little bit,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35another seven here, another eight this week.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38He and his wife, Leba, who
0:43:38 > 0:43:42are waiting to go out to a gig
0:43:42 > 0:43:45that he's doing, it's kind of a comeback gig,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47and he's probably a bit nervous and things,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and he's listening to the legendary Casey Kasem on
0:43:50 > 0:43:51American radio,
0:43:51 > 0:43:53and he hasn't heard his record
0:43:53 > 0:43:55as the top ten is played.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57And Kasem goes,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00"Finally, we have a new number one...
0:44:00 > 0:44:02"Neil Sedaka and Laughter In The Rain."
0:44:02 > 0:44:03And he and Leba
0:44:03 > 0:44:06looked each other in the eyes
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and started dancing to it
0:44:08 > 0:44:09and crying.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12It took 16 weeks and it went to number one.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16After 12 years of not being on the charts at all,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Neil Sedaka was back.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20"Comeback? There's no comeback, I never left.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22"I was still out there making records,
0:44:22 > 0:44:26"I was still out there touring. You guys were the ones that left, not me."
0:44:26 > 0:44:28I think that's the way most artists feel.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32I went from making 30,000 a year
0:44:32 > 0:44:33to 6 million a year
0:44:33 > 0:44:35with one song,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Laughter In The Rain.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39When a pianist writes a song,
0:44:39 > 0:44:44it's so much different from when a guitarist writes a song.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47The melodies are so much easier for other people
0:44:47 > 0:44:49to record and make it their own.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01# Love, love will keep us together
0:45:01 > 0:45:04# Think of me, babe, whenever
0:45:04 > 0:45:07# Some sweet-talking girl comes along
0:45:07 > 0:45:09# Singing a song
0:45:09 > 0:45:12# Don't mess around, you just gotta be strong
0:45:12 > 0:45:15# Just stop, cos I really love you
0:45:15 > 0:45:19# Stop, I'll be thinking of you
0:45:19 > 0:45:25# Look in my heart and let love keep us together... #
0:45:25 > 0:45:30That is a combination of three styles -
0:45:30 > 0:45:32The Beach Boys had a song that went...
0:45:34 > 0:45:40PLAYS "DO IT AGAIN"
0:45:40 > 0:45:44I loved that kind of riff.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47And then I listened to the voice of Diana Ross,
0:45:47 > 0:45:49she had a certain timbre,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51and that inspired...
0:45:51 > 0:45:55HE SINGS
0:45:55 > 0:45:58And then Al Green
0:45:58 > 0:46:00used a lot of augmented chords.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02HE PLAYS AL GREEN-STYLE CHORDS
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Al Green...he's marvellous.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09# You better stop
0:46:09 > 0:46:11# Cos I really love ya
0:46:11 > 0:46:13# Stop
0:46:13 > 0:46:15# I'll be thinking of ya
0:46:15 > 0:46:18# Look in my heart and let love
0:46:18 > 0:46:21# Keep us together... #
0:46:21 > 0:46:23Back to The Beach Boys.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24HE LAUGHS
0:46:24 > 0:46:29America was going through a severe recession.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Watergate had just been settled
0:46:32 > 0:46:36and Jerry Ford had become president
0:46:36 > 0:46:37and he had pardoned Nixon.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40Nixon might have been the most-hated
0:46:40 > 0:46:43person in the country, if not the world.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Especially for the Vietnam War.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48It spoke to a lot of things.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52It spoke to a lot of hope and it reminded people
0:46:52 > 0:46:55that, "Hey, you know, we once had fun."
0:46:55 > 0:46:59It was possible to enjoy yourself.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02# Just stop, cos I really love you
0:47:02 > 0:47:03# Stop
0:47:03 > 0:47:06# I'll be thinking of you
0:47:06 > 0:47:08# Look in my heart and let love
0:47:08 > 0:47:11# Keep us together
0:47:11 > 0:47:14# Whatever... #
0:47:14 > 0:47:16It became not only number one,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20but it won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1975.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Within one year, Sedaka had three number ones,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25he had Laughter In The Rain,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27he had Bad Blood
0:47:27 > 0:47:29and he had the song that he had written
0:47:29 > 0:47:30that Captain & Tennille
0:47:30 > 0:47:34sang, Love Will Keep Us Together.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Not bad, three number ones in one year,
0:47:36 > 0:47:37for any songwriter.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39I don't think any other artist
0:47:39 > 0:47:42has cracked the top ten
0:47:42 > 0:47:45with two different versions of the same song.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47With Breaking Up Is hard To Do,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49the pop version in the 1960s,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53and then he thinks, "I could slow this down.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55"I'm sort of changing from pop to adult,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58"why don't I do a sort of adult version
0:47:58 > 0:47:59"of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02"kind of jazzy, slowed-down version?"
0:48:02 > 0:48:05And he has a hit again with that one.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06Instead of...
0:48:06 > 0:48:08# Remember when You held me tight... #
0:48:08 > 0:48:10HE PERFORMS IN A SLOWER, JAZZIER FASHION
0:48:10 > 0:48:12# Remember when... #
0:48:12 > 0:48:14A blues ballad.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17# You held me tight... #
0:48:17 > 0:48:20# And you kissed me
0:48:20 > 0:48:26# All through the night
0:48:26 > 0:48:33# Think of all that we've been through
0:48:33 > 0:48:38# And you know that breaking up is hard to do... #
0:48:38 > 0:48:41If you look at the changes in that song, the thing I love is...
0:48:41 > 0:48:42sure it starts out simple...
0:48:42 > 0:48:44HE PLAYS PIANO
0:48:44 > 0:48:46# Breaking up is... #
0:48:46 > 0:48:48But then it gets into this totally musical space...
0:48:48 > 0:48:50# They say that... #
0:48:50 > 0:48:52And here's where it goes...
0:48:52 > 0:48:56# Breaking up is hard to do... #
0:48:56 > 0:48:57And he doesn't even quit there.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59HE SINGS
0:48:59 > 0:49:00Then he goes again...
0:49:00 > 0:49:03# Some say that this is the end
0:49:03 > 0:49:09# Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again.. #
0:49:09 > 0:49:13I mean that is real, real.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18# Don't say that this is the end
0:49:20 > 0:49:23# Instead of breaking up
0:49:23 > 0:49:27# I wish that we were making up again
0:49:27 > 0:49:35# I beg of you
0:49:35 > 0:49:40# Don't say goodbye
0:49:40 > 0:49:45# Can we give our love just one more try?
0:49:47 > 0:49:55# Come on, baby, let's start anew
0:49:55 > 0:50:03# Cos breaking up is hard to do... #
0:50:04 > 0:50:06A good song is a good song,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08whether you change the tempo or not.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11A jazz musician could probably take that
0:50:11 > 0:50:15and you could make it like a...
0:50:15 > 0:50:18like Diana Krall could sing it.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22In fact, that's not a bad idea. She'd go...
0:50:22 > 0:50:26HE PLAYS JAZZY CHORDS
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I'm not a real jazz player but somebody could really take that song
0:50:47 > 0:50:49and have a day with it.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53The Hungry Years really wasn't my song. I just heard it
0:50:53 > 0:50:56and I go, "That sounds like a Howie song."
0:50:56 > 0:50:58I said, "You should give that to Howie."
0:50:58 > 0:51:00And he was right.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03The lovely thing is that relationship between Neil and Howie,
0:51:03 > 0:51:05it ended well.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08They wrote This Will Be Our Last Song Together
0:51:08 > 0:51:12and then later on they started writing songs together again
0:51:12 > 0:51:16in America, right up till the time of Howie's death.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20Howie married it beautifully
0:51:20 > 0:51:22and it was about a couple who were getting
0:51:22 > 0:51:25a divorce, who wanted to
0:51:25 > 0:51:28attain fame and fortune
0:51:28 > 0:51:30and they found they were drifting apart.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33They missed those hungry years when they were struggling.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35And it was...
0:51:35 > 0:51:37HE SIGHS
0:51:37 > 0:51:39..so touching that when Howie and I finished it
0:51:39 > 0:51:42we brought Leiber in to hear it,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45and Howie's companion, Tory, and we all wept.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47We all wept.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54# We spun so fast we couldn't tell
0:51:54 > 0:51:57# A gold ring from a carousel
0:51:57 > 0:52:01# How could we know the ride would turn out bad?
0:52:01 > 0:52:05# Everything we wanted... #
0:52:05 > 0:52:06Listen to this...
0:52:06 > 0:52:10# Was everything we had... #
0:52:10 > 0:52:15It seemed more like the old-style Neil and Howie.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22# I miss the hungry years
0:52:22 > 0:52:25# The once-upon-a-time
0:52:25 > 0:52:28# The lovely long ago
0:52:28 > 0:52:32# We didn't have a dime
0:52:32 > 0:52:36# Those days of me and you
0:52:39 > 0:52:44# We lost along the way... #
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Patty Andrews of The Andrews Sisters,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51who had a tremendous success,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54but she never got along with her sisters
0:52:54 > 0:52:57after the success, they fought terribly...
0:52:57 > 0:52:59with all the number-one records,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01and when she heard it, she wept.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04She said, "I wish I could back to the hungry years
0:53:04 > 0:53:07"when we were struggling, we were so happy."
0:53:07 > 0:53:11# I miss the hungry years... #
0:53:11 > 0:53:14I worked very hard for the longevity.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19Topping, reinventing, raised the bar.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21I just wrote my first piano concerto,
0:53:21 > 0:53:23called Manhattan Intermezzo,
0:53:23 > 0:53:25orchestrated by Lee Holdridge,
0:53:25 > 0:53:27who's done several albums with me.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29And it's about Manhattan.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32The sounds of Manhattan, the ethnic groups of Manhattan,
0:53:32 > 0:53:36the Latin, the Oriental,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39the Russian, and musically, in a 20-minute
0:53:39 > 0:53:43piano concerto, I've tried to express that.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45HE PLAYS PIANO
0:53:51 > 0:53:56FULL ORCHESTRATION
0:54:21 > 0:54:24You have to go on.
0:54:24 > 0:54:25Have to go on.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28# When the day is dawning
0:54:28 > 0:54:31# On a Texas Sunday morning
0:54:31 > 0:54:34# How I long to be there
0:54:34 > 0:54:38# With Marie who's waiting for me there
0:54:38 > 0:54:41# Every lonely city
0:54:41 > 0:54:44# Where I hang my hat
0:54:45 > 0:54:48# Ain't as half as pretty
0:54:48 > 0:54:50# As where my baby's at... #
0:54:51 > 0:54:53I had written the tune
0:54:53 > 0:54:57around 1968/'69.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59I love this kind of suspension.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03HE PLAYS PIANO
0:55:06 > 0:55:08I was in New York, we had finished the song,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11and Harvey Lisberg came in
0:55:11 > 0:55:12to Donny Kirshner's office
0:55:12 > 0:55:16and he said, "Oh, I have a new singer named Tony Christie.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18"He sounds very much like Tom Jones."
0:55:18 > 0:55:20And we had just finished it. I played it.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24# Is this the way to Amarillo?
0:55:24 > 0:55:27# Every night I've been hugging my pillow... #
0:55:27 > 0:55:30He said, "I'll take it! Let's see what Tony Christie thinks."
0:55:30 > 0:55:33So he recorded it and it was a pretty good-sized hit,
0:55:33 > 0:55:35in many countries...
0:55:35 > 0:55:38# Is this the way to Amarillo?
0:55:38 > 0:55:42# Every night I've been hugging my pillow
0:55:42 > 0:55:45# Dreaming dreams of Amarillo
0:55:45 > 0:55:48# And sweet Marie who waits for me... #
0:55:48 > 0:55:52And, lo and behold, 35 years later,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55the same record was reissued...
0:55:55 > 0:55:58I never thought I would say this,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01but Tony Christie and Peter Kay are this week's number one.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03Peter Kay did a video for charity.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07It caught the imagination of the people.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10But the same record, 35 years later,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12sold almost two million copies.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15It was number one for seven weeks.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18# Is this the way to Amarillo?
0:56:18 > 0:56:22# Every night I've been hugging my pillow
0:56:22 > 0:56:26# Dreaming dreams of Amarillo
0:56:26 > 0:56:29# And sweet Marie who waits for me
0:56:29 > 0:56:33# Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la
0:56:33 > 0:56:36# Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la
0:56:36 > 0:56:39# Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la
0:56:40 > 0:56:43# And Marie who waits for me
0:56:43 > 0:56:47# Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la
0:56:47 > 0:56:50# Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la... #
0:56:50 > 0:56:51It's just a great song.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54It's wonderful to sing along to, everybody knows the words...
0:56:54 > 0:56:57And finally, Ministry of Defence computers
0:56:57 > 0:56:59were out of action for several hours
0:56:59 > 0:57:03after staff downloaded a spoof video from soldiers in Iraq...
0:57:03 > 0:57:06# Is this the way to Amarillo...? #
0:57:06 > 0:57:09Troops from the Royal Dragoon Guards recorded their version
0:57:09 > 0:57:11of the number-one Comic Relief single
0:57:11 > 0:57:13by Tony Christie and Peter Kay
0:57:13 > 0:57:15to e-mail friends back home.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19A guy like me writes songs that the whole world knows
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and a guy like Neil writes songs that the whole world sings.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24There's a big difference.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27This is somebody who really wanted to play music and loves it
0:57:27 > 0:57:29and loves his audience
0:57:29 > 0:57:31and that has sustained him
0:57:31 > 0:57:34through even very difficult periods.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38His melodies, I think, will last not only through this generation
0:57:38 > 0:57:40but generations to come.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42At least another hundred years.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44It was like flying.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47Somebody threw me up in the air
0:57:47 > 0:57:48and I just flapped my arms
0:57:48 > 0:57:50and I managed to stay up in the air for ten years.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54I've had a marvellous time singing my songs for you.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57As always, thank you, the United Kingdom...
0:57:57 > 0:58:01# You
0:58:01 > 0:58:06# You belong to me now
0:58:07 > 0:58:13# Ain't gonna set you free now
0:58:13 > 0:58:18# When those guys start hanging around
0:58:19 > 0:58:23# Talking me down
0:58:23 > 0:58:25# Hear with your heart
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# And you won't hear a sound
0:58:28 > 0:58:30# You better stop
0:58:31 > 0:58:35# Cos I really love ya
0:58:35 > 0:58:42# Stop, I'll be thinking of ya
0:58:42 > 0:58:47# Look in my heart and let love
0:58:47 > 0:58:50# Keep us together... #