Sedaka Comes to Town

Neil Sedaka

On Monday, September 12, Neil and Leba Sedaka will come to Bowling Green for the Kentucky premiere of his piano concerto, Manhattan Intermezzo. The concert will also include the world premiere of Charles W. Smith's The Morningstar Photos, Leonard Bernstein's Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, and crooner Steve Lippia, singing the Frank Sinatra songbook. I will discuss the latter compositions in a future blog. For tickets and more information, call (270) 846-2426 or visit our website.

I'll let Mr. Sedaka explain his composition:

"Manhattan Intermezzo is a journey through the musical diversity of Manhattan. As a lifelong New Yorker, I wanted the audience to feel the spirit of the city, exploring its melting pot of nationalities. I tried to incorporate the sounds of the city where I was born; Latin, Asian, Russian, Broadway, and the New York of today and yesterday. Having studied at the Juilliard School, I was exposed and inspired by many different composers. I wanted to write something that was clearly American, in style and feel, but still keeping it distinctively Neil Sedaka. Writing pop songs is one thing. But, composing a serious piece gave me much more creative freedom. I am very proud of this work.

"In addition to composing a piece, it takes a great artist's interpretation to bring it to musical fruition. I would like to acknowledge Jeffrey Biegel for his dedication to Manhattan Intermezzo. We share a unique bond, having both studied under Adele Marcus at The Julliard School of Music in New York. Mr. Biegel's impeccable performing of the piano part is in the tradition of the great Romantic concerti. Mr. Biegel’s adaptation of Manhattan Intermezzo not only enhances my composition, but also proves he understands my work and our roots." 

For more information on pianist Jeffrey Biegel, visit his website.

Presenting the Kentucky premiere of Sedaka's piece is quite an honor for Orchestra Kentucky. The history of Rock N’ Roll would be incomplete without the innumerable contributions of Neil Sedaka. For over fifty years, Neil has written, performed, produced, and inspired countless songs, and his canon of compositions will continue to stand the test of time.

Here is Sedaka's bio, courtesy of the artist:

"Neil Sedaka was born on March 13, 1939. Neil’s interest in music began at the young age of four, when he would listen to The Make-Believe Ballroom. But, it was not Rock and Roll, but Classical music that would shape Neil into the musician he is today. By the time he was eight years old, he had already begun his intensive classical piano training at the prestigious Julliard School of Music. At 16, Arthur Rubinstein voted Neil as one of the best New York High School pianists. Though Neil considered pursuing a Doctorate in music, Neil’s next choice became his chosen vocation.

Eager to gain acceptance from his peers at Abraham Lincoln High School, Neil began performing Rock N Roll outside of his classical training. At this time, he would form the Doo-Wop group The Tokens, in which they would record two singles that would go on to be regional hits. But, it was his introduction to his young neighbor Howard Greenfield, by Greenfield’s mother, that began one of the most prolific songwriting partnerships of the last half century that sold forty million records between 1959-1963.

Sedaka and Greenfield became one of the original creators of the “Brill Building” sound in the late fifties and early sixties when they were the first to sign with Don Kirshner and Al Nevins at Aldon Music. Aldon Music would go on to sign Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Paul Simon among many others, and they became the center of the pop world.

Sedaka catapulted into stardom after Connie Francis recorded his "Stupid Cupid." She then sang the theme song Neil and Howard had written for the 1960 MGM spring break classic, Where the Boys Are, which would be her biggest hit. Rhythm and blues stars Clyde McPhatter and LaVern Baker also scored hits with his songs. As a result of these hits, Sedaka was able to sign a contract with RCA as a writer and performer of his own material. Sedaka soon recorded chart toppers "The Diary," "Oh! Carol," " Stairway to Heaven," "Calendar Girl," "Little Devil," "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," "Next Door To An Angel," and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," songs that have become a part of peoples' lives and can instantly take listeners back to special moments. His music became distinguished for a unique recording style involving multi-tracking his own voice to achieve a rich sound. This was merely the first act in a career that has not ceased to evolve and entertain.

In 1964, the direction of American music changed drastically when The Beatles launched The British Invasion. It became very hard for most male solo artists to continue to pursue their career in music. Due to his many talents as a songwriter, Neil was able to prevail, writing hit songs for such artists including Frank Sinatra (The Hungry Years), Elvis Presley (Solitaire),  Tom Jones (“Puppet Man”), The Monkees (When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door), and The Fifth Dimension (Workin’ on a Groovy Thing).

Neil’s journey continued in the UK with the release of his album “Emergence” in 1972. This was the first step of redefining himself as a solo artist. It was Elton John who decided to sign Neil to his up and coming record label Rocket Records and begin to re-introduce Neil to American audiences. The two albums he recorded for the Rocket label, Sedaka's Back in 1974 and The Hungry Years in 1975, both became top selling albums around the world. His comeback was further heralded by two of his songs co-written with Phil Cody, "Bad Blood" and the quintessential "Laughter in the Rain," both reaching the #1 position on the music charts. In Rolling Stone Magazine, Sedaka was hailed as "the new phenomenon." The song "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" was re-released as a ballad in 1975, and made music history when it reached #1 on the charts, becoming the first song recorded in two different versions by the same artist to reach the Number One. During this time, Sedaka also helped to launch the career of the Captain and Tennille with their version of his "Love Will Keep Us Together," which won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year for this worldwide, number one hit.

The accolades showered on Neil Sedaka have been numerous. Among the honors he has received, Sedaka has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, has had a street named after him in his hometown of Brooklyn, and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With a career spanning six decades, a rare feat in the entertainment world, Sedaka never ceases to amaze. He shows no signs of slowing down. Neil has appeared on FOX’s hit Television show American Idol, as a guest judge – in which Clay Aiken would perform Neil’s Solitaire, which saw an inevitable release, reaching #4 on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and was one of the Top Selling Singles of 2004.

On June 10 2004, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Popular Music / Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization's 35th annual induction and awards ceremony in New York. Named for the former President of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, this award is given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in furthering the successes of songwriters.

In 2006, Neil concluded a 10 city tour of the United Kingdom, where he filmed a Live Concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall for PBS (which was released as Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On – Live at the Royal Albert Hall). During this historical evening, Neil was presented with The Guinness Award for his song “(Is This the Way to) Amarillo”, as the best selling single of the 21^st century in the UK, a song that was originally performed by Tony Christie over thirty-five years ago.

On April 24, 2007, Neil released “The Definitive Collection”, a career-spanning retrospective released in honor of his 50^th Anniversary in show business. “The Definitive Collection” debuted at #22 on the Billboard Chart, marking the first time Neil has appeared on the chart since 1980.

On October 26, 2007, Neil was honored with a tribute at Avery Fisher Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center. “Neil Sedaka: 50 Years of Hits”, a benefit for The Elton John AIDS Foundation, showcased Neil’s songs, with performances by Connie Francis, Dion, Paul Shaffer, Natalie Cole, Clay Aiken, Renee Olstead, and Captain and Tennille. The evening was hosted by Cousin Brucie Morrow and David Foster. Sir Elton John and Barry Manilow sent video tributes in their absence.

Sedaka has been married for forty-eight years to his wife, Leba, and they have two children: daughter Dara is a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials, and son Marc is a successful screenwriter in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Samantha, made Neil a grandfather, for the first time in 2003 with the birth of twins, Amanda and Charlotte, and for the second in 2005 with the birth of Michael Emerson.

Inspired by his grandchildren, Neil released “Waking Up is Hard to Do”, a collection of Neil Sedaka Hits that have been reinvented as children’s songs. “Waking Up is Hard to Do” was a family collaboration, in which Neil’s son Marc adapted four of his father’s classic songs, and Neil’s five year old grand-daughters made their recording debut as his backup vocalists.

In addition to his extensive tour schedule, Neil has just released “The Music of My Life”, a CD of brand new Sedaka material, including his first ever Salsa song, “Do You Remember”, produced by Grammy Award Winner David Foster. “This is my best collection of songs in 57 years of songwriting. It might be my last set of pop songs, as I feel I cannot top these”, said Neil.

In May 2010, Neil was awarded The Special International Award from The Ivors, honoring excellence in songwriting. On October 8^th, Neil was the Variety Club’s recipient of The Silver Heart Award, for his outstanding service to the music industry and his charitable work.

Neil has returned to his classical roots, composing his first symphonic piece “Joie De Vivre”, and his first piano concerto “Manhattan Intermezzo”. In October 2010, Neil recorded these two pieces with the London Philharmonic at the famed Air Studios in London.

“Laughter in the Rain”, the critically acclaimed musical that chronicles Neil’s rise, fall, and rise again, just concluded its tour through the United Kingdom. Produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, “Laughter in the Rain” garnered exceptional reviews for Philip Norman’s book and Wayne Smith’s star-making performance as Neil. Neil is very hopeful it will be launched this year in The West End.

All of these ventures will no doubt add to his legend – that of a consummate musician, an extraordinary vocalist, and an ageless songwriting talent."

           

Piano Men-Part 4

Stevie Wonder

The last "piano man" featured in Orchestra Kentucky's Piano Men concert (Friday & Saturday, August 12 & 13), is Stevie Wonder. If you don't have tickets yet, visit http://www.OrchestraKentucky.com or call (270) 846-2426.

The thing that strikes me about Stevie Wonder is that his harmonic language is much more complex than other pop composers. His music is definitely influenced by the jazz world. The harmonic richness, coupled with great tunes, makes his songs some my favorites.

Now, let's get some background information on him, courtesy of wikipedia.com:

Stevland Hardaway Morris (previously Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.

Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Well known albums also include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.

Early Life

Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950, being the third of six children to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Owing to his being born six weeks premature, the blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front and their aborted growth caused the retinas to detach. The medical term for this condition is retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, and while it may have been exacerbated by the oxygen pumped into his incubator, this was not the primary cause of his blindness.

When Stevie Wonder was four, his mother left his father and moved herself and her children to Detroit. She changed her name back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris, partly because of relatives. Morris has remained Stevie Wonder's legal name ever since. He began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, drums and bass. During childhood he was active in his church choir.

Discovery and early Motown recordings

Ronnie White of The Miracles gives credit to his brother Gerald White for persistently nagging him to come to his friend's house in 1961 to check out Stevie Wonder. Afterward, White brought Wonder and his mother to Motown Records. Impressed by the young musician, Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label with the name Little Stevie Wonder. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave Wonder his trademark name after stating "we can't keep calling him the eighth wonder of the world". He then recorded the regional Detroit single, "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues", which was released on Tamla in late 1961. Wonder released his first two albums, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and Tribute to Uncle Ray, in 1962, to little success.

Of course, all that changed....

Watch a live performance of Isn't She Lovely and Sunshine of My Life.

Piano Men-Part 3

Billy Joel

Today's article is about the Piano Man himself, Billy Joel. Not many artists have had his staying power. He has had hits for much of the last 40 years.

I saw him in concert a few years ago and was impressed with his pianistic abilities. He is no lightweight when it comes to "tickling the ivories". In fact, just explore his earliest albums, like Piano Man, and you will discover some of his best work (The Ballad of Billy the Kid is the first thing that comes to mind).

As usual, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll let Wikipedia provide a short biography of Mr. Joel:

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, Piano Man, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006) and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame (2009). In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Joel at number twenty-three. With the exception of the 2007 single All My Life, Joel discontinued recording new material after 1993's River of Dreams but continues to tour.

Listen to a music video of Piano Man from the '70s.

Piano Men-Part 2

Rather than continue with a discussion of Elton John, as promised, I decided that we should first look at the other artists whose music will be featured in our upcoming Piano Men concert. After that, we will look at some of their individual songs.

Today's featured artist is Carole King. I first discoverd her music, courtesy of my sister, who wore out King's Tapestry album. Here is a short bio and information on the album Tapestry, taken from www.wikipedia.com:

Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King's album Tapestry topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks, in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.

She was most successful as a performer in the first half of the 1970s, although she was a successful songwriter long before and long after. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961, at age 18, with Will You Love Me Tomorrow, which she wrote with Gerry Goffin. In 1997, she co-wrote The Reason for Celine Dion.

In 2000, Joel Whitburn, a Billboard Magazine pop music researcher, named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955–99, because she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry. Her most recent non-compilation album is Live at the Troubadour, a collaboration with James Taylor, which reached No.4 on the charts in its first week, and has sold over 400,000 copies.

She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting. In 2009, Carole King was inducted into the "Hit Parade" Hall of Fame. She holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female to remain on the charts--306 weeks--and the longest time--15 consecutive weeks--for an album by a female to hold the No.1 position, both for Tapestry.
Tapestry features minimal production by Lou Adler. Tapestry has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and on July 17, 1995 was certified diamond in the United States by the RIAA for 10 million copies sold in the US. Additionally, out of all the albums by female artists to earn that distinction, it was the first released. In 1972 the album also garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year (It's Too Late), and Song of the Year (You've Got a Friend). Three songs from the album, I Feel The Earth Move, It's Too Late, and You've Got A Friend, all reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after Tapestry's release. Altogether, four songs on the album were at one point #1 hits, all of which were written or co-written by King. In 2003, the album was ranked number 36 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Production

King wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, several of which had already been hits for other artists such as Aretha Franklin's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (in 1967) and The Shirelles' Will You Love Me Tomorrow (in 1960). Three songs were co-written with King's ex-husband Gerry Goffin. James Taylor, who encouraged King to sing her own songs, and who also played on Tapestry, would have a #1 hit with You've Got a Friend. Two songs were co-written with Toni Stern: It's Too Late and Where You Lead.

Reception

The album was well received by critics; Robert Christgau felt that her voice, raw and imperfect, free of "technical decorum", would liberate female singers; while Jon Landau in Rolling Stone felt that King was one of the most creative pop music figures and had created an album of "surpassing personal-intimacy and musical accomplishment".

In 2003, the album was ranked number 36 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2001, the VH1 TV network named Tapestry the 39th greatest album ever. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Various artists combined to re-record all the original tracks for more than one tribute album; the first, released in 1995, entitled Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King, which was certified gold, and the second, released in 2003, entitled A New Tapestry — Carole King Tribute.

Cover art

The picture used for the cover of Tapestry was taken in the living room of Carole King's house in Laurel Canyon, California. It shows her sitting near old Indian print curtains and holding a tapestry she hand stitched herself. Also in the picture is her cat Telemachus.


Listen to a live performance of King's Jazzman, one of the songs to be performed at Orchestra Kentucky's Piano Men concert on Friday and Saturday, August 12 & 13. Call (270) 846-2426 or visit www.OrchestraKentucky.com for tickets.