Neil Sedaka: Singer-Songwriter of Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Dies at 86

Neil Sedaka was an American singer, songwriter and pianist who was a top hitmaker of the late 1950s and early 1960s and made a major comeback in the 1970s. Born on March 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, he won a piano scholarship to the Juilliard preparatory division as a child.

Sedaka's hits include "The Diary" (1958), "Oh! Carol," "Calendar Girl," "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," which hit No. 1 in 1962. In 1975 "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" both reached No. 1. He wrote or co-wrote more than 500 songs, including "Love Will Keep Us Together" for Captain & Tennille.

Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He married Leba Strassberg in 1962 and had a daughter and a son. He retired from songwriting in 2022. He died in Los Angeles on February 27, 2026, at age 86, of cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.

Achievements: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (No. 1, 1962), "Laughter in the Rain" (No. 1, 1975), over 500 songs, Songwriters Hall of Fame (1983).

Birth: March 13, 1939 - Brooklyn, New York.

Profession: Singer-songwriter and pianist.

Interesting Facts: He co-wrote the English lyrics for ABBA's "Ring Ring." He dated Carole King in high school.