Updated on: February 27, 2026 / CBS/AP
Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter behind hits including “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 key figure in the Brill Building songwriting scene, Sedaka partnered with lyricist and childhood neighbor Howard Greenfield to craft songs that captured the teen innocence of the late 1950s and early 1960s, including “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl” and “Oh! Carol,” written for his high school sweetheart, Carole King.
Born in Brooklyn to a Jewish taxi driver, Sedaka began performing as a teen. A second-grade teacher urged his mother to buy 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 best high school piano student and performed on a classical radio station. That same year he discovered rock ‘n’ roll and performed “Mr. Moon,” a song he wrote with Greenfield while at Abraham Lincoln High School.
Sedaka signed with RCA Victor in 1958 at age 19; his first single, “The Diary,” had modest success. He promoted his work through TV appearances on programs such as Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and Shindig!, and at the Brill Building worked alongside writers including 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 changing musical trends in the mid-1960s pushed the Brill Building sound off the charts, and Sedaka described the following years as 13 years “in the wilderness.” He later reemerged in the 1970s with hits such as “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. career by signing him to his Rocket Records label, leading to the album Sedaka’s Back and renewed chart success.
Sedaka achieved the rare 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 into his 80s. Though fans campaigned for his inclusion, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame never inducted him.
His songs sold millions worldwide and were covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to The 5th Dimension and Nickelback. He also helped shape other artists’ careers, writing hits for Connie Francis such as “Stupid Cupid” and “Where the Boys Are.” The Captain & Tennille even shouted “Sedaka’s back!” at the end of their hit as a nod to him.
Sedaka often spoke about the drive to perform. “Once a performer, always a performer. It’s that adrenaline rush,” he told The Associated Press. He acknowledged aging’s effects on his voice but said he was fortunate it had held, calling himself a “working legend.”
He is survived by his wife, Leba Strassberg, whom he married in 1962, and their two children, Dara and Marc.