Some of the best pop songs ever have been written by this legendary singer-songwriter. Despite the fact that some thought he looked more like an accountant than a rock star, he managed to win the hearts of many teenage ladies. This former heartthrob’s life has drastically changed since he became 84.

Nobody knew that the one and only Neil Sedaka and then-16-year-old Howard Greenfield would go on to write some of the most famous songs ever, including Connie Francis’ Stupid Cupid and Captain & Tenille’s Love Will Keep Us Together.

Sedaka once recalled the band’s early days, saying, “We had a cubicle with a piano and a bench but no window. The two were earning $50 a week and the singer said, “You only got a room with a window once you’d had a big song. Every day from 9 am to 5 pm, we would write and then perform our work for representatives from record labels. Although challenging, it was excellent training.

Oh! Carol, a smash tune that peaked in the top 10 of the charts, arrived in their windowed room.

Greenfield and Sedaka collaborated until the middle of the 1970s. Sadly, Greenfield, an openly gay man, passed away from AIDS. Around that time, Sedaka quit the Tokens, the band that grew out of the Linc-Tones, the band from his school. He accomplished this in 1961, which many people believe to be the year of their greatest popularity thanks to the singles Tonight I Fell in Love and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

He proceeded to perform as a solo singer, having success with songs like Calendar Girl and The Diary.

During a performance at the now-defunct Esther Manor resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York, Sedaka first saw Leba Strassberg and instantly fell in love. The establishment’s co-owner, her mother, detested the thought of her daughter dating a subpar musician. But compared to Sedaka’s mother Eleanor, who made his life a living hell, Leba’s mother’s persecution of the relationship was nothing.

Sedaka’s mother would ride roller coasters to induce miscarriage even while she was carrying Sedaka. Additionally, she wanted him to become a classical pianist rather than a pop star.

My father was a cab driver and never made more than $10,000 a year, so when I received a royalty check for “Stupid Cupid” at $62,000, she quickly changed her mind, according to Sedaka. Unfortunately, he made a mistake by allowing his mother and her boyfriend to manage his funds.

“After the initial shock, I also learned about him and accepted him because of my father. In a way, I even understood it. My dad was very frugal, whereas the other man bought her jewelry and furs and took her to lovely places, and my parents shared two rooms with nine other family members. Only they were enjoying the good life while using my money, he said. Thousands of thousands of dollars were spent by them. Nothing, not even my taxes, could I pay. We had to start from scratch, my wife and I.

Eleanor nearly overdosed on drugs “because she couldn’t stand to see her son and her lover at odds,” and Sedaka sacked his mother’s lover as a result. Sedaka’s wife then took over as his manager.

Sedaka was overshadowed by The Beatles, who arrived on the scene just as it appeared he would make it even bigger.

He relocated to London with his wife and their two children and continued to write songs for other people. With the release of Sedaka’s Back, the first of three albums he worked on with Elton John, Sedaka rose to fame once more.

In 1983, Sedaka received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Over the years, his music has brought joy to many people. However, as much as he enjoys doing so with his fans, his family comes first in his list of priorities.

I was born married, the singer-songwriter says about the love of his life. If you’re fortunate enough to have a friend who does it for you, that’s a wonderful gift.

He and his wife have three grandchildren now, and they enjoy playing the grandfather and grandma.

If I had been more controversial, I could have had a bigger career, he says, reflecting on his past. I avoided drug use and wrecking balls. There were no controversies in my personal life.You cannot say that I didn’t achieve fame because I had talent and a hunger for it.

We think Neil Sedaka has accomplished a lot and should be proud of it.