Updated on: February 27, 2026 / CBS/AP
Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter whose catalog included hits such as “Laughter in the Rain,” “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” and “Calendar Girl,” has died at 86, a representative confirmed to CBS News. “Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” the family said in a statement. “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.” A cause of death was not immediately available.
A central figure in the Brill Building songwriting world, Sedaka teamed with lyricist and childhood neighbor Howard Greenfield to write songs that captured the teen spirit of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their collaborations included “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl” and “Oh! Carol,” the latter written for his high school sweetheart, Carole King.
Born in Brooklyn to a Jewish taxi driver, Sedaka began performing as a child. Encouraged by a second-grade teacher, his mother bought him a piano, and by age 9 he was studying classical piano at Juilliard. At 16 he won a contest judged by pianist Arthur Rubinstein as the city’s top high school piano student and performed on a classical radio program. That year he also discovered rock and roll and began performing songs he wrote with Greenfield, including “Mr. Moon,” while at Abraham Lincoln High School.
Sedaka signed with RCA Victor in 1958 at 19; his first single, “The Diary,” had modest success. He promoted his songs through television appearances on shows like American Bandstand and Shindig! and worked in the Brill Building alongside writers such as Carole King, Neil Diamond and Paul Simon. From 1959 to 1962 he placed 10 records in the Top 10, including “Calendar Girl,” “Oh! Carol,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” and “Next Door to an Angel.”
The British Invasion and shifting musical trends sidelined the Brill Building sound in the mid-1960s, a period Sedaka later called 13 years “in the wilderness.” He reemerged in the 1970s with hits including “Laughter in the Rain” and “Bad Blood.” The Captain & Tennille’s 1975 cover of his “Love Will Keep Us Together” topped the charts, and Elton John helped revive Sedaka’s U.S. profile by signing him to Rocket Records and supporting the album Sedaka’s Back.
Sedaka achieved the unusual feat of taking “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” to No. 1 twice—first with the original uptempo 1962 version and again with a slower ballad re-recording in 1975. He was nominated for five Grammys, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and remained a prolific performer, playing dozens of concerts a year well into his 80s. Despite campaigns by fans, he was never inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
His songs were recorded by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to The 5th Dimension and Nickelback. He also wrote hits for others, including Connie Francis’ “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are.” Sedaka often spoke about the compulsion to perform, telling The Associated Press, “Once a performer, always a performer. It’s that adrenaline rush.” He acknowledged the effects of aging on his voice but called himself a “working legend.”
He is survived by his wife, Leba Strassberg, whom he married in 1962, and their two children, Dara and Marc.