Neil Sedaka's Girlfriend Sings Oh Neil In Response To Oh Carol

My favorite singer in the 50's and 60's was Neil Sedaka. He wrote "Oh Carol" about Carole King who he dated at the time. Little known is that she responded with her own rendition, "Oh Neil".

It's interesting how we all get started in life with our careers. When Neil Sedaka was a child he used to scratch out the name of the singer on records and write in his own name to see what it looked like.

His focus on that became a reality, but for good reason. He's a graduate from the Julliard Scholl of Music. He's a great singer and songwriter and a brilliant piano player. Not many know that he was a concert pianist at the Julliard.

I liked listening to him sing because he was one of a few who sang in a way that I could actually hear and understand the lyrics. Some singers either let the music overpower their voice, or the voice track simply wasn't clear.

Maybe it's just me. I find that this problem still exists today with a lot of songs where I have trouble understanding some lyrics.

Oh! Carol

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Anyway, as I was saying, Neil is one I could hear and understand. And I loved the lyrics of his songs. As a romantic, even at that age, I especially liked "Oh! Carol" and I memorized the lyrics and sang it over and over myself.

"Oh! Carol" was actually a dedication to Carole King, who was Neil's girlfriend at the time. Did you ever hear the dedication to Neil by Carole? I have a surprise for you... but that comes later. First I hope you enjoy listening to Neil's song about Carole. Maybe it will bring back memories.

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Neil Sedaka was born on March 13, 1939 in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York. His father was the son of Turkish immigrant and his mother was of Polish-Russian descent.

He wrote songs together with Howard Greenfield, who was his next-door neighbor and childhood friend. When Howard's mother overheard Neil playing the piano, she introduced her son to him. Neil was 13 at the time. Howard, who was 16, became an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two of them continued to write lyrics together.

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Around the same time period when Neil was always rising on the charts, I had been watching the Mr. Ed TV series. Remember the talking horse?

Well, did you ever think about how Niel Sedaka looked so much like Alan Young? Alan played Wilbur, Mr. Ed's owner.

Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do

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I'm not sure if Neil wrote this song when he broke up with Carole King. But I know how strong feelings can make one become creative with the need to talk about it. Or sing about it as Neil had done.

See how young he was in this video? Time has surely flown by for all of us.

When you watch this, keep an eye on the girls in the back just for the fun of it. They may have been stand-ins hired for the photo shoot. They must have been happy to have had the opportunity to be on stage with Neil. They seem to be glad to be watching Neil from so close up.

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This video of Neil Sedaka singing Calendar Girl was strangely made. At one time he is playing the piano as he sings. At another time he is standing with the girls. Then suddenly he is playing a completely different piano!

After watching this a few times I suddenly realized the color of the piano changed to represent the different days of the calendar. Notice how the days of the calendar behind him have different colors. And the piano changes between white to red. I guess they only had two pianos to do that video.

It was unusual for a video to be in color at that time. It was one of a few that used color technology already.

The sexy models really add a nice touch to the video. And their costumes are great. Looks like Neil is enjoying himself singing with all those girls.

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"Tonight's the night I've waited for. Because you're not a baby anymore."

Possible Translation: You're not jail bait anymore.

It was such an innocent time back in the 50's. With the way we think today, that song takes on a totally different meaning. Or maybe he did mean it the way we interpret it.

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Solitaire was not very well known. He recorded this one in a music-special in 1982 when he was older.

Notice the different style of his singing. This video shows his experience as a concert pianist at the Julliard Scholl of Music.

Neil has always been a great piano player and here he plays and sings. There are so many times where I just saw him sing to the music without playing the piano.

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Neil's daughter, Dara Sedaka, acquired a lot of his talent by singing with him. It has been a rare opportunity to see Neil sing with his daughter.

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If you want to hear one more from Dara Sedaka, Neil and his talented daughter sing this memorable Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song.

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Neil has three grandchildren. Twin girls and a grandson. And they all love his old songs.

Neil was on Huckabee on Fox News and he talked about how his grandchildren inspired him to rewrite the lyrics to some of his songs. He changed the words just for the kids.

These new songs are selling on Amazon and are fun gifts for your own kids. We grew up with Neil. Now your little ones can hear the same melodies with lyrics all for them. Such as "Lunch Will Keep Us Together," "Where The Toys Are," and "Waking Up Is Hard To Do."

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Isn't it amazing what creative ideas come to us when we have children to focus on? I think this is priceless.

Carole King sings "Oh Neil"

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Did you ever hear the song by Carole King that she wrote in response to Neil's song - Oh Carol? He wrote Oh Carol back in 1959, around the time they dated.

A year later Carole wrote and sang a tribute to Neil that she called "Oh Neil."

I promised a surprise for you. Here it is.

Neil Sedaka in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

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I find it odd that Neil Sedaka hasn't been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. His fans believe it's time for him to be inducted.

I had fun compiling this information and writing about Neil Sedaka. It brought back memories of me listening to his songs early in my childhood. I hope it brought some enjoyable memories back for you too. Thanks for visiting.

Copyright © 2011 Glenn Stok

★★★ See Glenn Stok's profile for his other articles ★★★