Neil Sedaka Top Ten: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (#8)

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A few years ago I did a countdown of people I felt should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Neil Sedaka topped the list. it’s odd, then, that it’s taken me so long to count down my favorite Sedaka songs. Here’s another hit. #8: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do During his 70s comeback he did a ballad version of this, making it the first song to ever hit the top ten twice by the same artist with two different versions! And, believe it or not, he said that he originally wrote the song as a ballad. RCA (his record label in the 50s and 60s) didn’t think a ballad was in keeping with Sedaka’s upbeat image (which he identified in the title of a 70s album from England: The Tra-La Days Are Over), so they coerced him into doing it as a peppy tune. In his comeback era, he had the version he wanted as a hit. And, when I saw him in 2016, he did BOTH versions! Talk about having your cake and eating it too? He owned the bakery! Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield From Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits, 1962 Don’t say that this is the end: