Neil Sedaka, 85, and Grandson Duet on the Songwriter's 1962 Hit 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do'

Mar. 15, 2025

Neil Sedaka in 1962 and with grandson Mike in January 2025.Photo:Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Neil Sedaka/TikTok

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Neil Sedaka/TikTok

Musical talent apparently runs in the Sedaka family.

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, legendary hitmakerNeil Sedaka, 85, shared a video onTikTokof himself singing a duet of his 1962 song “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” with his 19-year-old grandson, Mike.

“Me and my Grandson @Mike Sedaka doing a duet of ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do’ ” Sedaka captioned the post, which shows the two sitting together at a piano.

The proud grandad — and multiple Grammy Award nominee — previously posted another clip of himself and Mike on Dec. 30, showing the two of them singing a duet of his 1961 song “I Must Be Dreaming.”

“Hi, I’m Neil Sedaka,” the elder Sedaka says at the opening of the video. “This is my grandson Michael Sedaka… He has the gene from his grandfather! It’s amazing. He plays and sings, learned it himself and he’s been singing all his life.”

“Michael has a big future, that’s what I predict,” Sedaka said at the end of his Dec. 30 post. “And I should know.”

As he noted in another post, Sedaka had hit songs in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. He’s probably best known for 1959’s “Oh! Carol,” 1960’s “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” all of which were co-written with lyricist and long-time collaborator Howard Greenfield. Sedaka’s 1975 re-recording of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” shot to the top of the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts more than a decade after the original version was released, and earned Sedaka a 1976 Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

Cover versions of his songs also became No. 1 hits in the ’70s, includingThe Carpenters’ recording of “Solitaire” andCaptain & Tennille’s inescapable version of “Love Will Keep Us Together,” which also earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

Neil Sedaka.GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty

GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty

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Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983. Twenty years later, he was introduced to a new generation as a guest judge during the second season of Fox’sAmerican Idol. Runner-upClay Aikenwowed the veteran songwriter with his performance of “Solitaire,” and Aiken later released a recording of the song which peaked at No. 4 on theBillboardHot 100 in the U.S.

source: people.com