"Rock and roll legend" Neil Sedaka - famed for penning hits Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and Oh! Carol dies at 86 after being taken to LA hospital
The "rock and roll legend" Neil Sedaka has died at the age of 86 after being taken to hospital, his family has confirmed.
Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka - famed for penning hits including Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Oh! Carol and many more - has died, aged 86. The star's passing was confirmed on Friday (February 27) after Sedaka was taken to hospital in Los Angeles, though a cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Confirming the news, his family said: "Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka. A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed."
Born in 1939, Sedaka was a gifted musician from an early age, primarily playing the piano, and won a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School in New York at the age of nine.
But despite studying to become a concert pianist, as he entered his teenage years, his talent for pop melodies became clear and alongside neighbour Howard Greenfield, began writing songs. Sedaka and Greenfield would write tunes together for more than a decade, making Sedaka a teen idol, with hits including Oh! Carol in 1959 and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen.
He sold more than 25 million records between 1959 and 1963, and was nominated for a Grammy in 1962.
Through the 1970s, Sedaka was a major influence on the likes of emerging singer-songwriter, Elton John, and wrote hits for a string of other artists, including Connie Francis (Stupid Cupid) and Captain and Tennille (Love Will Keep Us Together), as well as Patsy Cline, Engelbert Humperdinck, the Carpenters and Cher, even joining forces with Abba in 1973 to write the English lyrics for Ring Ring.
He toured and performed, as well as writing, over a career spanning six decades and in 2012 told the Guardian: "Music is so much a part of me: my parents told me that when I was an infant, I wouldn’t eat unless the radio was playing music."