Music fans continue to be saddened over the recent passing of Neil Sedaka. The hit-making singer-songwriter died on Friday, February 27, at age 86.
Sedaka emerged as a hugely successful pop star in the late 1950s, releasing more than a dozen Top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1958 through 1963. Neil’s popularity waned after The Beatles conquered the pop world starting in 1964. Then, in the mid-1970s, Sedaka made a huge comeback after he signed a deal with Elton John’s Rocket Records.
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[RELATED: 4 Great Songs Co-Written by the Late Neil Sedaka That Were Hits for Other Famous Artists]
In a May 2025 interview with the TalkShopLive website, Neil reflected on his comeback and discussed how Elton helped reignite his career. He also chatted about the chart-topping song on which they collaborated around that time.
The interview was arranged in conjunction with the vinyl reissue of Neil’s hit 1974 compilation Sedaka’s Back, which was his first album released on the Rocket label. Sedaka’s Back was compiled from tracks featured on three recent studio albums that were only released in the United Kingdom—Solitaire (1972), The Tra-La Days Are Over (1973), and Laughter In The Rain (1974).
As Neil explained in the interview, “I was off the charts for 12 years, and I met Elton backstage at a Bee Gees concert. And he said he was a big fan, bought all of my early records. He said, ‘I’m gonna make you No. 1 in America.’ I had already started to have some hits in the UK. And the rest is history.”
John’s pledge to Sedaka came true. The romantic ballad “Laughter In The Rain” was released as a single from Sedaka’s Back and topped the Hot 100 in February 1975.
More on Sedaka’s Comeback and Working with Elton John
Reflecting on his 1970s comeback, Sedaka said, “I had to develop and grow, and reinvent Neil Sedaka. ‘Laughter In the Rain’ is quite different from [his 1961 doo-wop smash] ‘Calendar Girl.’”
At the time he signed Sedaka to his label, John was at the height of his popularity. Discussing why Elton was interested in helping Neil revive his career, Sedaka said, “Well, we were both pianists, both writers, and we were very much the same in many, many musical ways.”
Sedaka’s Back also features another successful single, “The Immigrant.” Neil co-wrote that song about John Lennon and his issues with the U.S. government, which was trying to deport the former Beatle at that time. In addition, Sedaka’s Back also included Neil’s own versions of his compositions “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Solitaire,” which were respective hits for Captain & Tennille and The Carpenters.
Songfacts: Love Will Keep Us Together | Captain & Tennille
Nickelback recorded a cover of this song in 2001 for the Andrew Denton Breakfast show’s Musical Challenge on Sydney radio station triple M. (thanks, Lynne – Sydney, Australia)
A follow-up to Sedaka’s Back, The Hungry Years, was released in 1975. That album included “Bad Blood,” which featured an uncredited Elton on backing vocals. The funky tune also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, spending three weeks atop the chart in October 1975.
Sedaka told TalkShopLive host Steve Harkins about how that collaboration happened.
“[Elton] wanted to do a duet with me,” Neil explained. “He was supposed to come [to the studio] at 1 p.m., and he showed up at 3 p.m. And I was having a conniption. I said, ‘Oh, he’s not gonna come.’ But he showed up with all the regalia, all the bling and ‘blung.’ And I played him three songs, as I remember. And he said, ‘no,’ ‘no.’ The third song was ‘Bad Blood,’ me singing with no background. So he said, ‘That’s the one I want to sing.’ And it worked. [It took] two, three takes.”
Elton John’s Tribute to Sedaka
After recording what became his third release for Rocket, 1976’s Steppin’ Out, Sedaka left the label and signed with Elektra. Neil and Elton apparently were not close for many years after that, but they eventually made up.
John wrote the foreword to Sedaka’s 2013 memoir, Neil Sedaka: Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivor.
After Sedaka’s death, Elton wrote a tribute on his Instagram Stories page, which was reposted by Showbiz411.com.
“Neil Sedaka’s passing is very sad news,” the message reads. “He was a dear friend and I loved working alongside him at Rocket Records in the 1970s, and was thrilled at his renaissance. He was a truly great artist. Alongside [lyricist] Howard Greenfield, he wrote some of the most iconic pop songs ever. He deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My deep condolences to [his wife] Leba and the entire family.”
(Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)