Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

August 1962

Neil Sedaka is one of those names I've heard a lot, but I never really had a clear idea of who he was, and I think I've been confusing him with Neil Diamond. But of course I know this song—I just never could put a face to it.



I'm not gonna lie, as corny as it is, I think this is a great song. Sure, this topic has been done a million times—singer begs for S.O. not to leave him—but musically it's totally fresh and likable. The song's selling point is the recurring vocal riff, doubled on guitar throughout the song. It drives the song and gives it a sort of main idea, over which the details are lain. Another thing that strikes me here is the strong echo of the Everly Brothers in those vocal harmonies. And maybe, as a New Yorker myself, there's just something endearing about this Brooklyn Jew. His world is not too far from my own.

Although Howard Greenfield is listed as co-writer for this, and many other of Sedaka's hits, it is my impression that Greenfield was the lyricist, while the music was written by Sedaka; not an uncommon way to organize a songwriting team. They had a number of hits around this period, although I won't bother linking to them since they are, unfortunately, disappointing in comparison. The most notable thing about them is that they seem to be weirdly preoccupied with 16-year-old girls, which was pretty common in songs from around this time, but still a little uncomfortable, being that both songwriters were in their mid 20s.

Anyway, Neil Sedaka is going to disappear from this project until his comeback in the 70s, where he has a couple more entries. Also, in 1975 he released a different version of this very same song, which hit #8, but lost the things that made it good in the first place. I'll stick with the original.

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