An accomplished student of the art of the hit, Neil Sedaka got his start as a teenager shilling his songs in New York’s famous Brill Building alongside icons like Carole King and Burt Bacharach. His first single to approach the top of the Hot 100, the jukebox-ready teen tune “Oh! Carol”, was actually inspired by King (and she recorded a response, “Oh! Neil”). With his youthful sound and doo-wop inflection, Sedaka continued to find success with his pop compositions, from “Stairway to Heaven” (no relation to the Led Zeppelin song, incredibly) to “Calendar Girl” to the sugary “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen”. The earworm “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”, with its harmonies and dooby-doos, became Sedaka’s first No. 1; his hot streak would be interrupted by the British Invasion, and so he spent much of the ’60s writing songs for other acts. Elton John signed Sedaka in the early ’70s, though, and helped revitalise his career with “Laughter in the Rain”, another hit that Sedaka eventually re-recorded with his daughter Dara, and “Bad Blood”, which John appeared on uncredited. Sedaka died in February 2026 at age 86.