Coordinates	38°53′51.61″N77°2′11.58″N
Official name	City of Wheeling, West Virginia
Settlement type	City
Nickname	The Friendly City, Your Place to Play
Postal code type	ZIP code
Postal code	26003
Image seal	WheelingSeal.png
Map caption	Location in Ohio County in the State of West Virginia
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	West Virginia
Subdivision type2	Counties
Subdivision name2	Ohio, Marshall
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Andy McKenzie
Leader title1	City Manager
Leader name1	Robert Herron
Leader title2	Police Chief
Leader name2	Robert Matheny
Leader title3	Fire Chief
Leader name3	Larry Helms
Established title	Settled
Established date	1769
Established title2	Established
Established date2	1806
Established title3	Incorporated
Established date3	1836
Area total km2	41.0
Area total sq mi	15.8
Area land km2	36.0
Area land sq mi	13.9
Area water km2	4.9
Area water sq mi	1.9
Area water percent	12.07
Population as of	2010
Population note	metro pop'n. as of 2007
Population total	28,486
Population density km2	814.7
Population density sq mi	2110.1
Population metro	145454
Timezone	Eastern
Utc offset	-4
Timezone dst	EDT
Utc offset dst	-4
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates type	region:US_type:city
Elevation m	209-396
Elevation ft	687-1300
Website	http://www.wheelingwv.gov/
Area code	304
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	54-86452
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	1548994

Wheeling is a city in northern West Virginia. The city lies in Ohio and Marshall Counties. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 28,486 (31,059 in Ohio County, 360 in Marshall County).

Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British Colony of Virginia and later an important city in the Commonwealth of Virginia until 1861 when the western counties of Virginia seceded from the state. Wheeling was the location of the Wheeling Convention, which established the state of West Virginia, and was the first capital of West Virginia. The capital moved so often in its early years that it was nicknamed the "floating capital". In 1870, the State Legislature designated Charleston as the capital city. In 1875, the Legislature reversed their decision and voted to return the Capital to Wheeling. This was appealed by the citizens of Charleston and finally settled by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in favor of Wheeling. In 1877 the Legislature ordered an election to be held for the citizens of West Virginia to select a permanent location for the capital, choosing between Charleston, Martinsburg and Clarksburg. By proclamation of the governor, the official move took place eight years later, and in 1885 the capital moved from Wheeling to Charleston, where it has remained.

History

Discovery

The origins of the name "Wheeling" are disputed. One of the more credible explanations is that the word comes from the Lenni-Lenape phrase "wih link", which meant "place of the head." This supposedly referred to a white settler who was scalped and decapitated. His severed head was left on display at the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River. Originally explored by the French, Wheeling still has a lead plate remnant buried by Celeron de Bienville in 1749 at the mouth of Wheeling Creek. Later, Christopher Gist and even George Washington surveyed the land in 1751 and 1770, respectively.

Establishment

During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area and established claim to the land via "tomahawk rights" (a process of deadening a few trees near the head of a spring, and marking the bark with the initials of the name of the person who made the claim). He returned the following spring with his wife, Elizabeth, and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas, and established the first permanent settlement in the Wheeling area. The settlement was called Zanesburg. Other notable families joined the settlement, including the Shepherds (see Monument Place), the Wetzels, and the McCollochs (see McColloch's Leap). In 1793, Ebenezer Zane divided the town into lots, and Wheeling was officially established as a town in 1795 by legislative enactment. The town was incorporated January 16, 1805. On March 11, 1836, the town of Wheeling was incorporated into the city of Wheeling.

By an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 27, 1797, Wheeling was named the county seat of Ohio County.

Fort Henry

Originally dubbed Fort Fincastle in 1774, the fort was later renamed Fort Henry in honor of Virginia's American Governor Patrick Henry. In 1777, Native American of the Shawnee, Wyandot and Mingo tribes joined to attack settlements along the Ohio River. Local men later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd (in Elm Grove) and Fort Holliday defended the fort. The native force subsequently burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock.

During the first attack of the year, Major Samuel McColloch led a small force of men from Fort Vanmetre along Short Creek to assist the besieged Fort Henry. McColloch was separated from his men and was chased by attacking Indians. Upon his horse, McColloch charged up Wheeling Hill and made what is known as McColloch's Leap down its eastern side.

In 1782, a native army along with some British soldiers attempted to take Fort Henry. During this siege, Fort Henry's supply of ammunition was exhausted. The defenders decided to dispatch one of its men to secure more ammunition from the Zane homestead. Betty Zane volunteered for the dangerous task. During her departing run, she was heckled by both native and British soldiers. Upon successfully reaching the Zane homestead, she gathered a table cloth and filled it with gunpowder. During her return, she was fired upon but was uninjured. It is believed that one bullet did, in fact, pierce her clothing. As a result of Zane's heroism, Fort Henry remained in American control. The City Manager serves as Chief Executive and Administrative officer for the city. The current Mayor of Wheeling is Andy McKenzie, and the current City Manager of Wheeling is Robert Herron. The current members of City Council are Gloria Delbrugge (1st Ward), Vernon Seals (2nd Ward), Robert E. "Herk" Henry (3rd Ward), James Tiu (4th Ward), Don Atkinson (5th Ward), and Vice-Mayor Eugene Fahey (6th Ward). and naming the State.

Wheeling is home to Centre Market, formerly Wheeling's market house. Built in 1853, the market house and the surrounding area are today home to shops and restaurants.

The first, official memorial monument to Vietnam War veterans in the state of West Virginia was dedicated to Wheeling-area Vietnam veterans. The monument sits before the flagpole, in the turnaround near the main shelter of Bethlehem Community Park in the village of Bethlehem, just southeast of Wheeling. The granite memorial consists of a large, bronze dedication plaque with the names of KIAs from the Wheeling/Ohio Co. region. Below the dedication plaque is a bronze map of South Vietnam, complete with names of 28 major cities. The memorial was dedicated with full honors in a Memorial Day, 1986 ceremony.

Parks and Recreation

Wheeling features several municipal parks including Oglebay Resort & Conference Center and Wheeling Park. Ohio County is also home to six golf courses including designs by renowned golfer Arnold Palmer and architect Robert Trent Jones. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, which was once the longest suspension bridge in the world, connects downtown Wheeling to Wheeling Island.

In October 2007 the City of Wheeling opened the State's first concrete skateboard park. The facility was designed and built by world-renowned skatepark builder, Grindline, of Seattle, Washington. The park consists of 60% bowls and 40% street elements and is located within the Chambers Ballfield Complex in the Elm Grove section of the City. An addition to the street section of the park was completed by Grindline in November 2009 and a covered shelter, restrooms, and webcam are scheduled to be installed in early 2010. The park is lighted and open 24/7.

Education

K–12

As elsewhere in West Virginia, K–12 schools are organized at the county level of government. The public school system, Ohio County Schools, consists of 14 schools. There are nine elementary schools, four middle schools, which include Triadelphia Middle which has been nominated for the blue ribbon school award, and Wheeling Park High School. There also exist several parochial and private schools, including Wheeling Central Catholic High School and the Linsly School.

Colleges and Universities

Wheeling is the hub of higher education in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. Wheeling Jesuit University, a private Jesuit university and the only Catholic college in the state of West Virginia, is located in Wheeling. The main campus of West Virginia Northern Community College has recently been expanding throughout downtown Wheeling and focuses on job training and community development. Also located within close proximity to the city are West Liberty University (formerly West Liberty State College), a four-year university, and private Bethany College, giving area residents a wide variety of educational options.

Entertainment

Music

Wheeling has an old-style theater named the Capitol Theatre. The Capitol, opened in 1928, featured a 2,450 seat auditorium. The Capitol was home to a popular radio program in the early forties, It's Wheeling Steel, featuring musical performances by workers at a local steel plant. The Capitol also featured country artists such as Johnny Cash, June Carter-Cash, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and the Joneses. Currently, the Capitol welcomes musical performances of all types. It is, once again, the performance hall of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, having returned on September 25, 2009. It has also served as the home for Jamboree USA. The Capitol is the largest theatre in the state of West Virginia, with some 2,500 seats. The then-Capitol Music Hall was sold by Clear Channel Communications to LiveNation in the Spring of 2005. After LiveNation purchased the Capitol, it remained largely dormant although a few limited engagements were held. Moreover, in August 2007, the Capitol was closed due to several fire and building code violations. On February 5, 2009, the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) announced that it would purchase the then-Capitol Music Hall from Live Nation at a cost of $615,000. The purchase was finalized on April 3, 2009.

Wheeling is also home to the Victoria Theater, which is the oldest theater in West Virginia. The Victoria is a 700 seat Victorian style theater. It served as home to the WWVA Jamboree program from 1933–1936, and was recently home to the "Wheeling Jamboree", a local initiative started in 2009 and modeled after the original WWVA Jamboree (which changed its name in the 1960s to Jamboree U.S.A.). The original WWVA Jamboree ran from 1933–2007, making it the second longest running country radio program and a variety show in the country after the Grand Ole Opry.

Held in nearby Belmont County, Jamboree In The Hills draws over 100,000 country music fans to the Wheeling area every July.

During the summer months the Wheeling Heritage Port is the home to numerous festivals, concerts, movie nights, celebrations, a regatta and numerous visits from the Delta, Mississippi and American Queens. It holds over 8,000 spectators and has become a focal point to the City.

Theater

Fans of theater have several options in Wheeling. The Capitol Theatre hosts numerous touring musical performances. In addition, the Oglebay Institute's Towngate Theatre in Center Wheeling has, for over 35 years, produced and shown plays. Located across the street is the Independent Theatre Collective, which performs at the former Second Presbyterian Church.

Sports

Wheeling is also home to the Wheeling Nailers hockey team. The Nailers play in the WesBanco Arena (formerly the Wheeling Civic Center), and participate in the North division, American Conference of the ECHL. High school football and soccer are played at Wheeling Island Stadium. Formerly home to the Ohio Valley Greyhounds, Wheeling became home to a second team in 2009. The team, known as the Wheeling Wildcats, played in the Continental Indoor Football League but folded after the 2009 season.

Live Racing and Gaming

Wheeling is the home of Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack located on Wheeling Island. Formerly known as Wheeling Downs, the facility features live greyhound racing, slots, poker games, and casino-style table games.

Table Gaming

In accordance with House Bill 271 adopted on March 8, 2007, Ohio County and Jefferson County held special elections on June 9, 2007, to approve the legalization of table games within the respective counties. The Ohio County measure passed, but the Jefferson County one failed. A similar measure was successfully adopted in Hancock County on June 30, 2007.

Media

Due to its close proximity to Pittsburgh, Wheeling is heavily influenced by that city's broadcast media outlets, which are easily received in the area. Besides broadcast stations Wheeling's cable providers also carry Fox Sports Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh-centric news/talk channel PCNC as its "home" sports and information sources.

In addition to the Pittsburgh outlets the Wheeling television market is served by CBS affiliate WTRF-TV Channel 7, PBS affiliate W41AA Channel 41, and NBC affiliate WTOV-TV Channel 9 in nearby Steubenville, Ohio. The city is served by cable television provider Comcast and parts of the city are also served by Centre TV.

Wheeling is home to WWVA 1170 AM, the state's only 50,000 watt AM station that can be heard throughout the East Coast at night. WVLY 1370 AM and WKKX 1600 AM provide local news, sports, and talk. On the FM dial WVKF 95.7, WKWK 97.3, WOVK 98.7 and WEGW 107.5 provides the area with various music genres. The Wheeling area is also the home of WVJW-LP, a listener supported commercial-free station which also serves as the local Pacifica affiliate. Pittsburgh's radio stations also provide Wheeling with coverage. A number of translators and repeater stations provide NPR and American Family Radio networks.

The city is home to The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register newspapers. Both papers are owned by Ogden Newspapers Inc., which is also based in Wheeling. The Intelligencer is published weekday mornings and Saturdays, while the News-Register is published weekday afternoons and Sundays. The Times-Leader of Martins Ferry, Ohio, another Ogden Newspapers Inc. paper, also covers Wheeling issues. In Wheeling magazine is published quarterly and covers society and events in Wheeling.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and bridges

Interstate 70 and its spur Interstate 470 run through the city east-west and link it with suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the east and Ohio to the west. U.S. Route 40/National Road links downtown with residential neighborhoods to the east. West Virginia Route 2 connects Wheeling with Moundsville to the south and Weirton to the north. U.S. Route 250 also runs through the city.

The Fort Henry Bridge and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge carry I-70 and I-470 respectively over the Ohio River. The historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge, ca. 1849, which was part of National Road (see early pic.), now carries cars and light trucks as well as pedestrian traffic between downtown and Wheeling Island. The Wheeling Tunnel provides carries I-70 through Wheeling Hill.

Bus transportation

Bus transportation to points throughout North America is available from Wheeling through Greyhound Lines. The bus terminal, the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center, was built with $11.1 million in federal funds.

Regional transportation through West Virginia and Eastern Ohio is provided by the East Ohio and Ohio Valley Regional Transit Authorities, which shares the Intermodal Transportation Center as its hub for its Hub-and-Spoke routes throughout the area.

Air transportation

The city is served by the Wheeling Ohio County Airport

Companies based in Wheeling

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Global Operations Center)

WesBanco Banks

Stone & Thomas (defunct department store chain formerly headquartered in Wheeling)

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel

Swisher International Group (makers of Mail Pouch tobacco)

Marsh Wheeling (America's oldest cigar manufacturing plant)

Notable People from Wheeling

Brad Paisley, country singer

Leon "Chu" Berry, jazz saxophonist

Leo Brady, playwright, novelist, and director

Adelbert R. Buffington, United States Army general

Bobby Campo, actor

Jack Canfield, motivational speaker

John Corbett, actor

Billy Cox, Bassist

Rebecca Harding Davis, author

Faith Daniels, network broadcaster

Joyce DeWitt, actress

Joanne Dru, actress

William L. Elkins, 19th Century business tycoon

Doug Fetherling, writer

Walter L. Fisher, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Kelsy Fowler, Broadway actress

Gene Freese, baseball player

Jack Glasscock, Major League Baseball player

Chuck Howley, football player

Keith Maillard, writer

Bill Mazeroski, Hall of Fame second baseman

Alvan Macauley, president of Packard 1916-1939

Darvin Moon, 2009 World Series of Poker main event finalist

Cy Morgan, a Major League Baseball pitcher

Bob Ney, former U.S. Representative from Ohio

Tim O'Brien, bluegrass musician

Walter Reuther, labor leader

Eleanor Steber, American operatic soprano associated with the Metropolitan Opera

Nan Wynn, big-band singer and actress

John Yarnall, naval officer during War of 1812

Wheeling in fiction

In the 2005 movie, "Walk the Line," Johnny Cash and June Carter performed at the Capital City Music Hall in downtown Wheeling while on tour. Both singers were having marital problems and rumors about their relationship were starting to surface. In one scene, Johnny and June are in a Wheeling five and dime store (Imperial Display?) buying something for one of their kids (a fishing pole) and June mentions that some people in Wheeling have been making snide comments about her reputation.

Wheeling is referred to in as the nearest large town to Hope Falls, where the story takes place. It is also the home of the mysterious 'Institute', representatives of which come to capture the protagonist in the show's finale just moments too late.

Wheeling is referred to in an episode of The Waltons, called "The Deed", set in and around Schuyler, Virginia, when Richard Thomas' character "John Boy" travels to the 'Big City' of Wheeling in 1934 (during the Great Depression) to help raise $200 for his family to gain a deed to prove ownership of their mountain property. During his stay, John Boy rooms at a boarding house on Market Street.

Wheeling is referred to in an episode of the sitcom Family Ties, set in Columbus, Ohio, when Michael J. Fox's character Alex P. Keaton says, "let's go down to Wheeling, West Virginia," because the legal drinking age in West Virginia at the time was eighteen, while in Ohio the drinking age had been raised to twenty-one.

Billy Joel's hit song "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" identifies the birthplace of the ballad's antagonist as Wheeling.

In Season 2 of The West Wing, the episode "In This White House" names Wheeling as a location where two would-be assassins purchased firearms in their mission to kill the show's President, Josiah Bartlett. NBC later apologized for the reference and agreed to make two other mentions of Wheeling in a more positive light. One included a reference as a flyover location in a scene set on Air Force One.

John Corbett's character, Chris Stevens (Chris in the Morning), in Northern Exposure is from Wheeling. John Corbett is from Wheeling in real life, and would often briefly mention something about Wheeling on the show. "Uncle Roy Bauer", "Chuck Vincent" and "Earl P. Duffy" are character names Chris Stevens refers to on Northern Exposure. They also happen to be real people Corbett grew up with. Roy Bauer was a high school friend, Earl P. Duffy was the Dean of Discipline at Wheeling Central Catholic High School (the school Corbett attended).

The 1971 film Fools Parade both takes place and was filmed in Moundsville, West Virginia which is a few miles down river from Wheeling. In the movie a fancy dressed hired killer, played by Morgan Paull, declares that after they finished that nights work he was, "Going to Wheeling to sing on the radio!"

"Life in the Iron Mills", a short story by Rebecca Harding Davis, was set in the factory world of nineteenth century Wheeling, Virginia, now Wheeling, West Virginia. It was her first published work, and it appeared anonymously in April 1861 in the Atlantic Monthly where it caused a literary sensation with its powerful naturalism that anticipated the work of Theodore Dreiser and Emile Zola. The story is emphatically on the side of the exploited industrial workers, who are presented as physically stunted and mentally dulled but fully human and capable of tragedy.

Whatever is a 1998 independent film, shot mostly in Wheeling, about teenagers facing the difficulties of growing up in Northern New Jersey.

A West Virginia–centric episode of Murder, She Wrote, "Coal Miner's Slaughter", has Megan Mulally's character passing the bar exam in Wheeling.

"Wheeling, West Virginia" was a hit song for Neil Sedaka in 1970. The song tells of an actor from Wheeling who works at MGM and has changed not for the better from the person who grew up there. The song was recorded in the Sydney, Australia suburb of Pyrmont. What is now the IGA Supermarket was previously the recording studios & offices of Festival Records. Some of the artist who recorded there include Normie Rowe, Billy Thorpe, Kylie Minogue, The Bee Gees, Ray Brown & The Whispers, Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays, Jimmy Little, Noelene Batley, Mike Furber, Olivia Newton-John, The Dave Miller Set, Johnny Young, Wild Cherries and Jeff St John.

"Eliza and the house that Jack built", a novel by Hungarian writer Albert Wass takes place in the Wheeling area, around the end of the 19th century. The story is about the pioneers and immigrants, who have settled there - about their struggle to build a new life through hard work.

Fort Wheeling, a comics series by the Italian comics author Hugo Pratt, deals with events taking place in the Wheeling area during the American revolution.

See also

List of cities and towns along the Ohio River

Further reading

Duffy, Sean, & Rinkes, Paul, Wheeling: Then & Now. Mount Pleasant, S. Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

Fones-Wolf, Ken, “‘Traitors in Wheeling’: Secessionism in an Appalachian Unionist City,” Journal of Appalachian Studies, 13 (Spring–Fall 2007), 75–95.

Minder, Mike. Wheeling’s Gambling History to 1976. Wheeling: Nail City Publishing, 1997.

Schramm, Robert W. The Linsly School. Mount Pleasant, S. Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

References

External links

City of Wheeling, West Virginia Official Site

Wheeling Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Memorials, monuments, statues & other outdoor art in & around Wheeling (with pictures)

The Highlands Shopping and Entertainment Complex

Listing of all major events in Wheeling WV, especially the Wheeling Heritage Port

Wheeling National Heritage Area

History of Ohio County, WV

Wheeling Area Genealogical Website

West Virginia Department of Transportation - Wheeling-Ohio County Airport

Wheeling Island

Website of the Wheeling Police Department

The Intelligencer and The News-Register

Ohio County Public Library

History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia compiled by the Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer

Creative Impressions Publisher of Wheeling Island: A Photographic History by Robert W. Schramm

Category:Populated places established in 1769 Category:Cities in West Virginia Category:Populated places in Marshall County, West Virginia Category:Populated places in Ohio County, West Virginia West Virginia Category:County seats in West Virginia Category:National Road Category:Wheeling metropolitan area

Coordinates	38°53′51.61″N77°2′11.58″N
Name	Neil Sedaka
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 13, 1939
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Instrument	Vocals, Multiple instruments
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, record producer
Years active	1955–present
Label	RCA Victor Records, MGM Records, Polydor Records, Rocket Records, Elektra Records, Razor & Tie Records
Url	www.neilsedaka.com

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter. His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.

Early life

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was of Sephardic Turkish Jewish descent. ("Sedaka" is a variant of tzedaka, the Hebrew word for charity. In Arabic, "Sedaka" also means charity.) Neil's mother, Eleanor Appel Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent. He grew up in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He is a cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.

He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. He also maintained an interest in popular music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two began writing together.

Early career

Rise to fame with RCA Victor

After graduating from Lincoln High School, Sedaka and some of his classmates formed a band called The Tokens. The band had minor regional hits with songs like "While I Dream", "I Love My Baby", "Come Back Joe", and "Don't Go", before Sedaka launched out on his own in 1957. However, after a few personnel changes, in 1961, The Tokens would hit #1 on the Billboard pop charts with the international smash "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Meanwhile, the very young Sedaka's first three solo singles, "Laura Lee", "Ring-a-Rockin'", and "Oh, Delilah!" failed to become hits (although "Ring-a-Rockin'" earned him his first of many appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand). But they demonstrated his ability to perform as a solo singer, so RCA Victor signed him to a recording contract.

His first single for RCA, "The Diary" (a song he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials), reached #14 on the Billboard charts in 1958-59. His second single, "I Go Ape", was a modest success at #42, and his third single, "Crying My Heart Out for You", was a flop at #111 (although it went to #6 on the pop charts in Italy). Desperate for a hit, he bought several hit singles and listened to them over and over, studying the chord progressions and lyrics to figure out what made them so popular. Based on that, he crafted a new song, "Oh! Carol", dedicated to his then-girlfriend and fellow pop star, Carole King. The song reached #9 on the American charts and #1 on the Italian charts, giving Sedaka his first #1 ranking. (Carole King would respond with the answer song, "Oh, Neil!" later that year.)

Sedaka kept churning out new hits from 1960 to 1962. The best known are "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1961); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); his signature song, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962); and "Next Door to an Angel" (#5, 1962). He also had modest successes with "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Run Samson Run" (#27, 1960); "Sweet Little You" (#59, 1961); and "King of Clowns" (#45, 1962). RCA issued four LPs in the US and Britain of his works during this period, and also produced Scopitone videos of "Calendar Girl" in 1961 and "The Dreamer" in 1963. He made regular appearances on such programs as "American Bandstand" and "Shindig" during this period.

Writing for Other Stars

Connie Francis

When Sedaka wasn't recording his own songs, he and Howard Greenfield were writing for other performers, most notably Connie Francis. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?". She was introduced to Sedaka and Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing in her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Sedaka suggested to Greenfield a song they had written that morning for a girl group. Greenfield protested because the song had been promised to the girl group, but Sedaka insisted on playing "Stupid Cupid". Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.

While Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary", his first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits, such as "Fallin'" and the theme to the film "Where the Boys Are", in which she starred.

Jimmy Clanton

Sedaka and Greenfield also wrote some of Jimmy Clanton's hits, such as "Another Sleepless Night", "What Am I Gonna Do", and "All The Words In The World". Sedaka himself recorded each of these three songs: "Another Sleepless Night" appears on his Rock With Sedaka debut album; "What Am I Gonna Do" was the B-side of "Going Home To Mary Lou" and appeared on his 1961 Little Devil album; and "All The Words In The World" was recorded, but was kept in the RCA vaults until 1977, when it was released on the album ".

Foreign-language recordings

Neil Sedaka was very popular in Italy. Many of his English-language records were released there and proved quite successful, especially "Crying My Heart Out For You" (Italian #6, 1959) and "Oh! Carol" (Italian #1, 1960).

In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian, starting with "Esagerata" and "Un Giorno Inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming". Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tu Non Lo Sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il Re Dei Pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I Tuoi Capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La Terza Luna" ("Waiting For Never"). "La Terza Luna" reached #1 on the Italian pop charts in April 1963. Cinebox videos exist for "La Terza Luna" and "I Tuoi Capricci". From a language standpoint, his recordings in Italian were flawless, with very little American accent, and most pronunciations were spotless.

Sedaka was to record the song "In Ginocchio Da Te", but that song was given to Gianni Morandi instead, who made a #1 hit out of it. However, Sedaka recorded an English-language version "In The Chapel With You", released as the B-side of "Let The People Talk" in 1964.

Sedaka also recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Japanese. He enjoyed popularity in Latin America for his Spanish-language recordings. Many of these were pressed onto 78 rpm discs.

Decline

Between 1960 and 1962, Sedaka had eight Top 40 hits, but after the success of "Next Door to an Angel," he would not see the Top 10 again in the 1960s. His singles for 1963 were modest successes: "Alice in Wonderland" (#17), "Let's Go Steady Again" (#26), "The Dreamer" (#47), and "Bad Girl" (#33). After the release of "Bad Girl", he wouldn't crack the US Top 40 again while with RCA Victor.

The British Invasion of 1964 eroded Sedaka's career further, and from then until 1966, only three of his singles made it into the Hot 100: "Sunny" (#86, 1964), "The World through a Tear" (#76, 1965), and "The Answer to My Prayer" (#89, 1965). It didn't help matters when RCA rejected his demo recording of "It Hurts to Be in Love", which Gene Pitney then took and, by merely removing Sedaka's lead vocals and inserting Pitney's, note-for-note and with full orchestration intact, made into a #7 hit for himself and his Musicor label. RCA Victor chose not to renew Sedaka's contract when it expired at the end of 1966, leaving him without a record label.

Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing," a Top 40 R&B; hit for Patti Drew in 1968 and a Top 20 pop hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album Timeless.

On an episode of the quiz show I've Got a Secret in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he played "Fantasie Impromptu" on the show. Panelist Henry Morgan made a point that the Russians, at least older ones, hated rock 'n' roll. Sedaka's participation in the competition, which Van Cliburn had won in 1958, was cancelled by the USSR because of Sedaka's rock 'n' roll connection.

Sedaka also made an appearance in the 1968 movie Playgirl Killer, with a scene of him performing a song called "The Waterbug."

The lean years

Sedaka worked to revive his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late 1960s, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. Years later he thanked Bob Rogers and Australia for standing by him, "... you know Bob, in my lean years, I called them the hungry years, it was Bob Rogers and Australia who welcomed me." He made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to #5 nationally in April 1969—giving Sedaka his first charting single in four years—and it also came in at #5 in Go-Set magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.

Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled Workin' on a Groovy Thing (released in the United Kingdom as Sounds of Sedaka) at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster.

The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling, West Virginia," reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield; the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager (who subsequently embarked on a successful collaboration with expatriate Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen).

In 1971, Sedaka released the album Emergence. Singles from that album included "I'm A Song (Sing Me)," "Silent Movies," "Superbird," and "Rosemary Blue." Emergence and the next year's Solitaire album were both released on the RCA Victor label, marking a short-lived reunion between Sedaka and RCA. Good friend and New York music impresario Don Kirshner attempted to make the U.S. release of Emergence a comeback for Sedaka, but the album and single releases had no appreciable success. After the failure of Emergence in the U.S., Sedaka left his hometown of New York and moved his family to the UK.

In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the Solitaire album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, working with the four future members of 10cc. As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams and The Carpenters, it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You," which also charted in America, Sedaka's first US chart appearance in ten years, but its minor performance did little to generate interest in restarting Sedaka's career.

The 1970s: "Sedaka's Back"

A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team, who had by then charted with their own debut 10cc album, to record The Tra-La Days Are Over for MGM Records, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (also a US #1 hit two years later for The Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together." They would reunite, however, and begin composing together again before Greenfield's death in 1986. From 1974 onward, Sedaka's records were issued in Europe and around the world on the Polydor label. His first album of new material with Polydor was "Laughter In The Rain".

In the United States, Sedaka's records were issued first on the Rocket label from 1974-77 and on the Elektra label from 1977-81. It was Sedaka's association with Rocket Records that helped resurrect his career in the States, for Elton John signed Sedaka to Rocket Records upon discovering that Sedaka had no formal U.S. recording contract. "We couldn't believe our luck," John remembered in Elizabeth Rosenthal's "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John." Sedaka returned to the U.S. album charts with the release of Sedaka's Back, a compilation of songs from three British albums he had already recorded in Britain, namely "Solitaire", "The Tra-La Days Are Over", and "Laughter In The Rain". It was only the second Sedaka album ever to chart in the U.S. Sedaka was known principally as a singles artist to that point, his only other American charting album being "Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits," a compilation of his early singles, according to Rosenthal's research.

Although the single was released in the autumn of 1974 and was slow in building, eventually Sedaka found himself once again topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with "Laughter in the Rain" in early 1975. Another well-known song from this period was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon, which recalled the bygone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status. The third consecutive Billboard Top 25 hit from Sedaka's Back was the uptempo "That's When the Music Takes Me" (US pop #25, US AC #7); this song has been Sedaka's standard curtain-call concert closer.

Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together", a No. 1 hit for The Captain & Tennille and the biggest hit for the entire year of 1975. Toni Tennille paid tribute to Sedaka's welcome return to music-business success with her ad lib of "Sedaka is back" in the outro while she was laying down her own background vocals for the track. "Captain" Daryl Dragon and Toni also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song the same year that cracked the top half of Billboard's Hot 100 chart ("Por Amor Viviremos," US pop #49).

In 1975, Sedaka was the opening act for The Carpenters on their world tour. According to The Carpenters: The Untold Story by Ray Coleman, manager Sherwin Bash fired Sedaka at the request of Richard Carpenter. The firing resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka publicly announced he was off the tour. This, however, was before Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire" which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show", stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager a short time after.

Also in 1975, Sedaka earned more chart success with the release of his second Rocket album, "The Hungry Years." This album was an American edition of Sedaka's British Polydor album "Overnight Success". Near the close of 1975 and lasting into early 1976, Sedaka would have another big single with "Bad Blood". The song stayed at #1 for three weeks and was certified gold by the RIAA, the most commercially successful single of his career. Elton John provided uncredited backing vocals for "Bad Blood" and has been credited by Sedaka as being responsible for his breakthrough back into the US pop music scene.

Another highlight from "The Hungry Years" was Sedaka's new version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." His 1962 original, a #1 hit single, was an upbeat pop song, while the remake was a ballad, based on a similar arrangement used by Lenny Welch when he recorded a version of it in 1970. Sedaka's ballad version hit #8 on the Hot 100 in early 1976, making him the second artist to hit the U.S. Top 10 twice with entirely different versions and arrangements of the same song (The Ventures were the first). Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in 1976. The same year, Elvis Presley recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by Sedaka's Top 20 hit "Love in the Shadows", also from 1976.

Later in 1976, Sedaka released a second (and final) collaboration with Elton John, with Elton once again on uncredited backing vocals on the title song to Sedaka's third and final Rocket album "Steppin' Out". While it would crack the Hot 100's Top 40, it would also signal the beginning of a slowdown in Sedaka's music sales and radio play not unlike what he experienced in 1964 when The Beatles and the "British Invasion" arrived. In this version of another fading of his music sales, it was the arrival of the disco era. In 1977, Sedaka, now with Elektra Records, released his next album "A Song" which had moderate success. While Sedaka attempted to release disco-themed music himself in the late 1970s, his album sales were weak and singles could not get a foothold on the radio. In 1980, Sedaka had his final Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go", which he recorded as a duet with his then 17-year-old daughter, Dara.

Throughout the 1970s, Sedaka's old record company, RCA, would re-issue his 1960s-era songs on several compilation LPs on the RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels, a practice which continues to this day. Sedaka also released one final album of new material with RCA, consisting of a live concert he gave in Sydney, Australia. The album was released on the RCA International label in Australia and Europe as Neil Sedaka On Stage in 1974. It saw a US release on the RCA Victor label in 1976 as Sedaka Live In Australia. The songs on the album were mostly cover versions of rock and pop songs from the previous twenty-five years, such as "Proud Mary", "Everything Is Beautiful", and "The Father Of Girls."

Into the 1980s

A change in record companies in the early 1980s also required him to, for the first time in his career, record cover versions of other artists' "oldies". Only two singles on two albums, spaced three years apart, managed to land on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart; none charted on the Hot 100 at all. Another duet with Dara, a remake of the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell 1967 Top 5 smash "Your Precious Love", placed high enough on the AC chart (making the Top 15) for one final album to be released. But the second album's only release did not fare well on the AC chart, barely cracking its Top 40, and by 1985, Neil Sedaka was once again without a recording contract. Concertgoers filled theatre seats while Sedaka created his own music label. That would assure that his catalog of hits would find the marketplace, and he released occasional CDs of self-produced new, original material.

Other successes

Sedaka is also composer of "Is This the Way to Amarillo?", a song initially recorded by Britain's Tony Christie when Sedaka had moved his family to the UK in the early 1970s. It reached only #18 on the UK charts in 1971, but then hit #1 for seven consecutive weeks on the UK singles charts when reissued in 2005, thanks to a music video starring comedian Peter Kay. It was Britain's most popular single for the year. Sedaka had also recorded and released the song in the US in 1977, when it became a #44 hit on Billboard's Hot 100, although the U.S. release was titled as the shorter "Amarillo." On April 7, 2006, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Sedaka was presented with an award from the Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums, as writer of the best-selling single of the 21st century (thus far) for "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" The interruption seemed to be quite a genuine surprise for Sedaka, because it occurred just before Sedaka was to begin "Amarillo" and Christie was to join Sedaka onstage for a duet of the song. The presentation and eventual duet appear on Sedaka's filmed DVD of the concert at the Royal Albert, subtitled "The Show Goes On."

Ben Folds, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as an inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday, despite the fact that Sedaka didn't actually publish his first song until he was 16.

In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime TV series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days Are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD.

In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994-2006.

A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

A biographical musical, Laughter in the Rain, produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield and starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley (in London, UK) on 4 March 2010. Sedaka attended the opening and joined the cast on stage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.

Sedaka in the 21st century: Popularity yet again

Sedaka maintains a rigorous concert schedule in the second decade of the 21st century, in the U.S. and around the world, despite having passed the age of 70. He was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1983, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was an October 2006 inductee of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. It has been suggested that he be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, due to his longevity, contributions to contemporary music, and hit songwriting for himself and other artists.

His 1972 song "Solitaire" found success again in the 21st century, when American Idol runnerup Clay Aiken sang the song when Sedaka appeared as a guest judge in the second season. Aiken explained the song was his mother's favorite, and she begged him to sing it when she learned that Sedaka would be on the show and that the remaining finalists would be singing songs from Sedaka's impressive songbook. After Aiken was awarded a recording contract, although it did not appear on his debut CD itself, he added "Solitaire" as the B-side to the single "The Way", whose sales were faltering. "Solitaire" was moved to the A-side, and radio airplay and single and download sales responded immediately. The single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart and was, in fact, was the top single in sales for all of 2004, and also hit the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100. Sedaka was invited back to American Idol to celebrate its success several times and continues to be seen in the audience on at least an annual basis--most recently on May 19, 2011, when host Ryan Seacrest had Sedaka stand and greet the audience on-camera during the Season 10 "Top 3" results show.

A concert performance on 26 October 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Guests included The Captain and Tennille, Natalie Cole, Connie Francis, Clay Aiken, music impresario David Foster, and many others.

During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life)." Sedaka also toured The Philippines for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

He continues to release recordings. His three most recent U.S. releases — The Definitive Collection, Waking Up Is Hard to Do, and The Music of My Life — all appeared on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, in May 2007, May 2009, and February 2010, respectively. None of his album releases had appeared on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart since In the Pocket in 1980, when his duet with daughter Dara, "Should've Never Let You Go," was a Top 20 hit on the Hot 100 singles chart.

The Definitive Collection reached the Top 25 of the albums chart, one of the highest-charting albums of his entire career. It is a life-spanning compilation of his hits, along with previously unreleased material and outtakes. Waking Up is a children's album, inspired by his three grandchildren, in which he takes his best-known songs and changes the lyrics to delight babies, toddlers, and their elders alike. Music is a new release of original material.

Also, in early 2010, his original uptempo version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (performed by a group of uncredited singers) was being heard as the impetus for a series of insurance TV commercials, featuring actor Dennis Haysbert assuring that TV viewers not insured by Allstate can break up with their current insurer without much ado at all.

On September 11, 2010, Sedaka performed to a public and TV audience at the Hyde Park, London, venue of the "Proms in the Park" for the BBC. The UK continues to be probably Sedaka's most welcoming nation, and has been since first moving his family there (temporarily) four decades ago. The irony of the place whose music scuttled his "first" career, namely The Beatles and the British Invasion, and yet has constantly welcomed him with open arms for more than 40 years, is not lost on him, he has stated in many interviews. Indeed, it was his work with the musicians who would, in a few years, become the hit-making group 10cc that brought him back to the U.S. as a major star with #1 hits and a number of other major Top 40 singles. The UK always takes up a major portion of Sedaka's touring year in the 21st century.

Personal life

Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba (Strassberg), since 1962. They have two children: a daughter, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials (who sang the female part on the Sedaka duet "Should've Never Let You Go"), and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and three children.

Pop culture references

In the Friends episode "The One With the Two Parties", Ross says that he is wearing the same glasses frames as Neil Sedaka.

In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain", on the album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, it is alleged that Studabacher Hoch "could sing like Neil Sedaka."

In the Boy Meets World episode "Killer Bees", Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he couldn't find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.

In the That '70s Show first season episode "Career Day", there is a scene featuring Kitty and Eric in the car, and Fez and Hyde's mother in the lunchroom, singing along to "Bad Blood" while it's playing on the radio.

The indie compilation album Young Savage Florida contains a cover of "Stupid Cupid" by The Vodkats.

Sedaka appeared on an episode of "King Of Queens" entitled "Sandwiched Out" in 2005. On a different episode of "King Of Queens", Deacon sings Karaoke to "Laughter In The Rain".

On the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television, Eugene Levy portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup. The sketch also features John Candy and Joe Flaherty who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.

Discography

Filmography

1968 - Playgirl Killer

Autobiography

Laughter in the Rain: My Own Story. New York: Putnam 1982. ISBN 0-399-12744-5

References

Sources

Bloom, Ken. American song. The Complete musical Theater Companion. 1877–1995, vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996.

Clarke, Donald. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Viking, 1989.

Ewen, David. American Songwriters. An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, H. W. Wilson Company, 1987.

Friedrich, Gary; Brown, Len. Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Tower Publications, 1970.

Lablanc, Michael. Contemporary Musicians, vol. 4, Gale Research, 1991.

Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Macmillan, 1992.

Lyman, Darryl. Great Jews in Music, J. D. Publishers, 1986.

Martino, Dave di. Singer-songwriters, Pop Music's Performer-composers, from A to Zevon, Billboard Books, 1994.

Sadie, Stanley; Hitchcock, H. Wiley (Ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986.

Stambler, Irwin. Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, St. Martin's Press, 1974.

Sumrall, Harry. Pioneers of Rock and Roll. 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock, Billboard Books, 1994.

White, Mark. You Must Remember This ... Popular Songwriters 1900-1980, Frederick Warner, 1983.

External links

Neil Sedaka's official site

Neil Sedaka For Fans

Petition: Send Neil Sedaka to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

The Neil Sedaka videos

Neil Sedaka's Biography by Michael Turner

The Neil Sedaka Appreciation Society

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