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" I am very proud of being Jewish. "
Neil Sedaka
Very
Proud
I Am
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" I was driving my 1959 Chevy Impala down King's Highway in Brooklyn with the top down, and I heard 'Oh! Carol' on three stations at the same time while I was channel surfing. I knew then that I made it. "
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Three
King
Driving
" People seem to think of me as a goody-goody who never curses, but I can be very nasty if I'm pushed. Cross me too many times, and I'll never talk to you again. "
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" I worked at Mar-a-Lago for Trump, for some parties, and he seemed nice enough - but I don't think he's presidential. I think he's incompetent; I disagree with his policies, and I'm nervous as an American. "
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Enough
Nervous
American
" If you have a passion for something, never be discouraged by anyone. "
Neil Sedaka
Discouraged
You
Passion
" I had talent, and I was hungry for fame, and you can't say I didn't get it. "
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Hungry
Fame
Say
" I didn't want to be a rock and roller. I wanted to be a Bobby Darin because he was the epitome of the performer, the sophisticated. "
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Because
Sophisticated
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" Howie Greenfield and I started writing music when I was 13 and he was 16. We lived in the same building. "
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Building
Writing
Same
" I have written for, very fortunately, some great singers from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley. "
Neil Sedaka
Great
Sinatra
Some
" I knew I had a remarkable voice, but I was embarrassed because it was so high. But when I sang at my bar mitzvah, the rabbi was in tears. He said to my parents, 'He must become a cantor in the synagogue,' but my mother said, 'No, he's going to be a concert pianist.' "
Neil Sedaka
Parents
Tears
Voice
" I remember Pavarotti telling me, 'Oh, Neil, after seventy, the voice is going to go.' But I've been lucky. You almost have to learn how to sing all over again. You use your diaphragm more. You have to choose the notes and pace yourself. "
Neil Sedaka
Over
Voice
You
" You have to learn how to sing from your diaphragm, and you don't become a great performer overnight. It takes a while. The more you do it, the better you are. "
Neil Sedaka
More
Become
You
" My music is nostalgic. The early Neil Sedaka songs are always catchy and very singable. "
Neil Sedaka
Music
Nostalgic
Songs
" Being a New Yorker, I used to dance to Latin music. There was a place called the Palladium on Broadway. And Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez used to play. So I still have that in my blood. "
Neil Sedaka
Blood
Dance
Music
" I tend to be on the quiet side. I think I would have been bigger if I had a big mouth. "
Neil Sedaka
Quiet
Side
Think
" Much of my music is inspired by what I heard at picnics and weddings and bar mitzvahs. "
Neil Sedaka
Inspired
Bar
Heard
" I have a Baldwin in my L.A. apartment, a Steinway in my New York apartment, and a Kawai plexiglass grand piano in storage for shows. I still play for two or three hours every day. "
Neil Sedaka
Play
Day
New York
" Family has always been very important to my life. Even though I make my living as an artist, my creativity is merely a fantasy world. Having a close family has been a stabilizing rock for me. "
Neil Sedaka
My Life
World
Creativity
" I like Manchester - I've played it many times. The people have a lot of chein, a lot of heart, and the audiences are very receptive. "
Neil Sedaka
Very
People
Many
" Music is so much a part of me: my parents told me that when I was an infant, I wouldn't eat unless the radio was playing music. "
Neil Sedaka
Eat
Parents
Music
" Between 1958 and 1963, I sold about 40 million records - to the shock of my mother and father because I was always playing Beethoven. But I bought my mother a mink stole. She was very happy, and she said, 'I think this is better than Beethoven.' "
Neil Sedaka
Better
Think
Mother
" I've always enjoyed seeing the world through the eyes of my grandchildren. "
Neil Sedaka
World
Seeing
Grandchildren
" I was a teenage idol, but not the one that the girls would put up on their walls, like Fabian and Frankie Avalon. I was more cerebral, like a Roy Orbison or a Buddy Holly. I was one of the few who could write songs. "
Neil Sedaka
Like
Up
Walls
" These are some of my awards - an Ivor Novello, a Variety Club Silver Heart, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I also have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and a street named after me in Brooklyn where I used to live. "
Neil Sedaka
Achievement
Live
Fame
" When the Beatles came to America and took me off the map, I thought I would return the favor, and I moved the family to England! "
Neil Sedaka
Map
Thought
Me
" I love kids. I think I'm a child at heart. "
Neil Sedaka
Love
Kids
Think
" America has a tendency to chip away at you if you've been a success for a long time, whereas in Europe, they put you on a pedestal. "
Neil Sedaka
Away
America
You
" I like Maroon 5, Cold Play. Snow Patrol from Ireland is very good. Adele is wonderful. I enjoy a new singer named Rumer. I don't care for rap or hip-hop. "
Neil Sedaka
Good
Enjoy
Care
" I am a Jew, and I'm convinced that Israel is the homeland. "
Neil Sedaka
Homeland
Convinced
Jew
" The spiritual writing of the song is where you're chosen as a vehicle, and it comes from something up above. You don't move; it writes itself. It's very spooky, but that's happened to me just a few times. "
Neil Sedaka
Spiritual
Writing
Up
" Tra-la-las and doo-be-do's became a Neil Sedaka trademark. I was the king of the tra-la-las and doo-be-do's in the '50s and '60s. But then when I re-recorded 'Breaking Up,' I started with a verse instead of the doo-be-do's! "
Neil Sedaka
King
Started
Breaking