Sat - Feb 11/12

A typical relaxing morning at the RV - not doing much of anything.

Charlotte relaxed in the shade of the awning while doing crossword puzzles. We got ready in the late afternoon to go to Wild Horse Pass Casino. It takes about an hour to drive to the west side of the valley. The travelling was good along US-60; Loop 202 and I-10 to the Casino. Tickets for the "Neil Sedaka Show" at "Ovations Live!" at the casino was Charlotte's Valentine's Day treat.

We decided to have a "Fatburger" before going to the show. The sign at the counter was probably a good thing as there were many unhappy customers. Although they had 3 people at the cash they only had 1 person assembling the burgers (Duh!). I think they must have changed the original name from FaStburger. It took almost an hour for people to get their order which was cold despite the heat lamps. We were in line before seven - got our order at 7:45 and just made it to the show on time (8 pm start) by eating only a portion of the meal.

Neil Sedaka was FANTASTIC!  Neil was an alumnus of Juilliard where, at 9, he received a prep school piano scholarship. He entered the "regular" school at 17 but never did graduate as he left at 19 to follow his blossoming musical career. He was also an original "Brill Building"member. The Brill Building was a block of music publishing houses in the Big Apple (New York City), and home to a stable of professional songwriting teams responsible for many of the decade's biggest songs. Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield we were one of the first teams. They were later joined by Carole King and Jerry Dawson, Barry Mack, Cynthia Wild, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Paul Simon and Neil Diamond. Neil and Howard were the first at 1650 Broadway which was the first Brill Building. Many greats of American pop music such as Goffin/King, Bacharach/David, Phil Spector, Doc Pomus/Shuman, Mann/Weil, Greenwich/Barry as well as Sedaka/Greenfield, to name a few, got their starts or grew their legends here. As a hit-churning collective, probably only Motown could rival the Brill group for the sheer staggering numbers of chart-toppers and both had a hand in crafting the immensely popular "girl group" sound of the time."

It seems that Neil has been performing forever. Despite being almost 73 (in a month) he looked and performed as if we were watching him on an original American Bandstand episode. In the mid-performance break they showed an original "Calendar Girl" video which Neil claims was "the world's first musical video".

Neil's career has spanned 55 years during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 1000 songs for himself and other artists. He related that his songs are his "children" and he never tires of them and,  like a parent, enjoys them each time he performs.

Neil has been inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame (1983); has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His fans have appealed for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (long overdue) because of his longevity, contributions to contemporary music, hit songwriting for himself and dozens of other artists as well as for his decades of international acclaim. (he has recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Japanese).

He sang his most memorable songs during the evening as well as a new composition (a few weeks old). The audience enjoyed every offering and enthusiastically sang along when invited. Among the #1 hits' (on various charts) he sang were "Oh Carol" (1960)" which references Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King, (she soon responded with her own answer song, "Oh, Neil") ; "Calendar Girl" (1961); "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"(1962); "Laughter in the Rain" (1974 & 1975); "The Immigrant" (1975);  "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (1976). Many only made the Top 10, such as, "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961). He also played piano for many hit songs by the likes of Bobby Darren.

Neil is the only artist to achieve #1 status for two totally different arrangements of the same song. "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (Rock and Roll - 1962) won again in 1976 as an "R & B" arrangement. He also sang "Should've Never Let You Go" which he originally sang with his daughter Dara (1980) making them only one of three Father/Daughter Duos to achieve a "Top Hit"  This distinction was also achieved by the Sinatras (Frank and Nancy - "Something Stupid") and the Coles (Nat King & Natalie - "Unforgettable").



Neil was scheduled to represent the United States in classical piano at the 1966 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. Despite Sedaka's classical roots, his "other" life as a pop star, caused him to be disqualified as the US entrant for the competition by the USSR where, at that time, "Rock and Roll" was outlawed.  Rock and Roll music or any Western music that young Russians had at that time was only obtained by underground smuggling.


His songs have done well for other artists as well.  "The Carpenters"; "The Monkees"; "The Cyrkle"; "The Fifth Dimension"; "Elvis Presley"; Jimmy Clanton; Clay Aiken; Connie Francis are a few of the notables. Neil also co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together" for " The Captain & Tennille" which went on to be the biggest hit for the entire year of 1975 garnering Neil his first Grammy. A little know fact is that although BMI (Broadcast Music Industry) logs song play royalties are only distributed to the songwriters. The performers get zilch. The performers only gain from actual record sales.
 
A group, "The Tokens", that he originated with some of his classmates after graduating from High School would hit #1 on the Billboard pop charts with their international smash hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". We have heard this song (a few times) as sung by George Staerkel (Arizona Opry) who was a "Token" member (pun intended - grin) in the 80's.
 

"Beatlemania" and "The British Invasion" short-circuited Neil's musical career; as it did many others in that era. Ironically, due, in part, to "Beatlemania", Sedaka moved his family to the UK in the early 70's where British singer Tony Christie recorded and released the Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield composition "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" in 1971. The song did relatively well on the UK singles chart, peaking in the Top 20. The song would lie dormant for more than three decades when the original single was re-released to radio and CD/download sales, and hit #1 for seven weeks. It was the biggest hit in Britain for all of 2005 for which Neil received a "Guinness World Record" as the most successful UK single of the 21st century (up to that date, of course).

Neil shocked the audience when he dedicated his performance of his hit "Solitaire" to the "Late Whitney Houston". News apparently had reached Neil that Whitney had been found dead in her hotel room (age 48), just hours before she was to appear at the annual pre-Grammy party and just prior to showtime here at the casino.

Most of the concert viewers were our age and departed the casino after the concert.

As mentioned before, the concert was FANTASTIC! (Sold out and a second show added on Sunday).