Neil Sedaka Net Worth – 2023

Neil Sedaka Net Worth:

$100 Million

How Much Is Neil Sedaka Net Worth?

Neil Sedaka is an American pianist, singer, songwriter, and record producer with a $100 million net worth. Sedaka amassed his net worth through his numerous hit albums, gigs, and work as a co-composer of hit songs for several recording artists. He has written or co-authored over 500 songs and sold millions of CDs; Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody were his most frequent songwriting partners.

Neil has released more than 25 studio albums, including “Emergence” (1971), “All You Need Is the Music” (1978), “Come See About Me” (1983), and “The Music of My Life” (2010). He is known for hits such as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “Laughter in the Rain,” and “Solitaire.” In 1982, Sedaka wrote “Laughter in the Rain: My Own Story,” his autobiography. Since late 2019, Neil has presented the monthly Sirius XM radio program “In The Key of Neil.”

Early Years

Neil Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 13, 1939. His mother, Eleanor, was an Ashkenazi Jew of Russian-Jewish and Polish origin, while his taxi-driver father, Mordechai, was a Sephardi Jew from Lebanon. Neil was reared in Brighton Beach, and in the second grade, his choir teacher advised that he take piano lessons. Eleanor worked part-time for six months in a department shop to pay for a used piano. In 1947, Neil was awarded a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music’s Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on weekends. When Neil Sedaka was 13 years old, a neighbor overheard him playing the piano and connected him to her son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring lyricist. Together, Neil and Howard began creating songs and soon became songwriters at the Brill Building in Manhattan. Sedaka attended and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1956.

Career

Neil Sedaka departed the Linc-Tones to seek a solo career in 1957, shortly after forming the band the Linc-Tones with a few old classmates. The group enjoyed a few regional hits before Sedaka left to pursue a solo career. He received a recording contract with RCA Victor, and his debut song with the label, “The Diary,” achieved #1 on the Italian pop charts and #14 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 list in 1958. His second song, “Oh! Carol,” reached #5 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 in 1959. The single’s title was inspired by Neil’s high school relationship with Carole King. In the early 1960s, Sedaka had multiple singles, including as “Stairway to Heaven,” “You Mean Everything to Me,” “Calendar Girl,” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” Neil Sedaka released his debut studio album, “Rock with Sedaka,” in 1959. Subsequently, he released “Circulate” (1961), “Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits” (1961), and “Workin’ on a Groovy Thing” (1969). He also recorded “Three Great Guys” (1963) with Paul Anka and Sam Cooke. In the 1970s, Sedaka released the albums “Emergence” (1971), “Solitaire” (1972), “The Tra-La Days Are Over” (1973), “Laughter In The Rain” (1974), “Sedaka’s Back” (1974), “Overnight Success” (1975), “Steppin’ Out” (1976), “A Song” (1977), and “All You Need Is the Music” (1978). Neil performed backup vocals for Elton John’s No. 1 hit “Bad Blood” in 1975, while Captain & Tennille’s rendition of his song “Love Will Keep Us Together” was the best-selling record in the United States that year.

In the 1980s, Sedaka produced “In the Pocket” (1980), “Neil Sedaka: Now” (1981), “Come See About Me” (1983), and “The Good Times” (1986), followed by “Classically Sedaka” (1995) and “Tales of Love” (1998). (and Other Passions). During the second season of “American Idol” in 2003, he participated as a guest judge and mentor, and runner-up Clay Aiken later recorded a cover of Neil’s 1972 classic “Solitaire.” Aiken’s rendition of “Solitaire” topped the “Billboard” Hot Singles Sales list and was the best-selling single of 2004. In the 2000s, Sedaka published “Brighton Beach Memories — Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish” (2003), “The Miracle of Christmas” (2005), “Waking Up Is Hard” (2009), “The Music of My Life” (2009), “The Real Neil” (2013), and “I Do It for Applause” (2015). (2016). During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began giving free mini-performances on his social media platforms in April 2020; he had to take a pause in December while he recovered from COVID-19, but he resumed the concerts in January 2021. Sedaka stated in December 2021 that he had joined Cameo and was “eager to deliver unique video messages for you and your loved ones.”

Personal Life

On September 11, 1962, Neil wed Leba Strassberg, and the couple welcomed daughter Dara in 1963 and son Marc in 1967. Marc is a scriptwriter, and Dara sang on Sedaka’s 1980 song “Should’ve Never Let You Go” Neil had a small skin growth removed from his nose in March 2021. In an interview with the “Daily Mail” in 2017, Sedaka claimed, “I’ve never really loved drugs. The smoking made me crazy, and the cocaine made me feel as if I were in a dentist’s office, with that awful taste in my mouth. I’m a boozer. Give me a shot of vodka and a glass of wine with my meal, and I’ll be OK.”

Honors and Candidatures

Best Performance By A “Top 40” Artist (1959), Best Rock & Roll Recording for “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” (1962), Song Of The Year for “Love Will Keep Us Together” (1975), Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for “Bad Blood” (1975), and Song Of The Year for “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” (1976). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1983) and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006), and he earned the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters’ Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award in 2013. Neil was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.