Neil Sedaka, 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do' Hitmaker, Dies at 86
The legend had been taken to a hospital early Friday after reporting he felt unwell
February 27, 2026
Neil Sedaka has died at 86.
The legendary singer-songwriter, who got his start nearly 70 years ago, was taken to an L.A. hospital early Friday. Several hours after that was reported, TMZ broke the news that he had died.
His official site announced:
“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka. 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.”
Born March 13, 1939, in NYC, Sedaka, who was of Jewish descent, grew up in Brighton Beach.
Though his was not a family of means, they struggled and got him an upright piano when he showed great promise from childhood. By 1947, he had won a piano scholarship to Juilliard’s children’s division.
He initially studied to be a classical pianist, but demonstrated that he had an infallible ear for pop. Even as a teen, he was already known as a songwriter in NYC’s famous Brill Building.
Fresh out of high school, he formed the Linc-Tones (later the Tokens) with pals and went professional right away, releasing a string of local hits.
In 1957, he left to pursue a solo career, one that was launched with the non-hits “Laura Lee,” “Ring-a-Rockin’” and “Oh, Delilah!” During this time, he showed up on American Bandstand and sold RCA Victor on his potential. He was signed.
He wrote “The Diary” based on Connie Francis’s closely guarded journal, going to no. 14 on the charts with it, good enough for his label. Next was “I Go Ape,” “Crying My Heart Out for You.” These failed to connect, so he put himself through a crash course in pop songwriting by listening to the radio.
“Oh! Carol” (1959), named for his ex-girlfriend Carole King, was a Top 10 smash for him, saving him from being dumped by his record company.
Sedaka became an unlikely teen heartthrob, churning out successful singles and hitting his peak with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” a no. 1 hit in 1962 and “Next Door to an Angel,” which went Top 5 that same year.
When not writing his for himself, he was doing the same thing for other artists, notably “Stupid Cupid” (1958) and “Where the Boys Are” (1960) for Connie Francis.
Sedaka just performed a live version of the latter on social media last year, 65 years after it hit the Top 5, to honor Francis upon her death.
Sedaka’s popularity waned under the onslaught of the British Invasion, but he had a comeback in the U.S. in the mid-’70s thanks to a three-record deal with Elton John, powered by 1973’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” (a no. 1 hit for Captain & Tennille in 1975) and his 1974 album and single Laughter in the Rain and his Sedaka’s Back album the following year.
Oddly, though he was by then an ex-teenybopper in his mid-30s, Sedaka’s biggest-ever year was 1975. Buoyed by the album The Hungry Years, he hit no. 1 with “Bad Blood” and his slowed-down “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”
Sedaka’s Steppin’ Out became his final Elton John-era album, and offered the unforgettable rocker “Love in the Shadows” (1976).
He continued recording, but his last Top 40 hit was 1980s’s “Should’ve Never Let You Go” with his daughter Dara.
The 1983 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame never stopped being creative musically or touring, and was also active socially. I saw him around NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen looking many years younger than his true age.
He is survived by his wife Leba of 60+ years, their two children and their three grandchildren.