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" If you have a passion for something, never be discouraged by anyone. "
Neil Sedaka
Discouraged
You
Passion
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" Between 1963 and 1975, I worked very little. The Beatles had come to New York and changed music - all the solo singers were out of work. "
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" 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! "
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" I've always enjoyed seeing the world through the eyes of my grandchildren. "
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" 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. "
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Voice
You
" I was one of the first American rock n' rollers in the '50s to go to many foreign countries. It's a wonderful thing to go out and spread joy and love rather than hate. "
Neil Sedaka
Rock
Joy
Hate
" 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 was from very poor people: 11 of us in a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. I wanted the large houses, the cars, jets, and yacht. "
Neil Sedaka
Brooklyn
Poor People
Us
" 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. "
Neil Sedaka
Enough
Nervous
American
" 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 have written for, very fortunately, some great singers from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley. "
Neil Sedaka
Great
Sinatra
Some
" The hymn 'Amazing Grace' is so inspirational - I wish I'd written it. "
Neil Sedaka
Wish
Amazing
Grace
" 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
" 'Love Will Keep Us Together' was a combination of three different singing styles - Al Green, the Beach Boys, and Diana Ross. I loved all these people, and I put their singing styles together and wrote that tune. "
Neil Sedaka
Together
People
Beach
" There have been 700 or 800 songs I've written over the last 60 years, as I went through different periods of writing. I listen and marvel at how different they are and how they still stand up. They are very well done, if I must say so. "
Neil Sedaka
Stand
Writing
Well Done
" I started out just as Elvis was going into the army, Jerry Lee Lewis married his 14-year-old cousin, and Little Richard became a priest. "
Neil Sedaka
Army
Little
Out
" The Apollo Theatre was a difficult audience, and if they didn't like you, they would let you know. Luckily, they liked me. "
Neil Sedaka
Me
Like
Audience
" I am a Jew, and I'm convinced that Israel is the homeland. "
Neil Sedaka
Homeland
Convinced
Jew
" I actually started as a concert pianist. I had a scholarship to the Julliard School of Music. "
Neil Sedaka
Had
Concert
School
" 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
" 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
" I used to think the whole world was Jewish. "
Neil Sedaka
Used
World
Whole
" 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
" I rode on a plane a couple years ago with Snow Patrol and didn't know who the hell they were. They said they were big fans of mine and were playing Madison Square Garden. And they let me listen to one of their records on their iPod. I started to weep. "
Neil Sedaka
Know
Garden
Snow
" I am very proud of being Jewish. "
Neil Sedaka
Very
Proud
I Am
" 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. "
Neil Sedaka
Think
People
Me
" 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 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
" I'm not afraid of poking fun at myself. "
Neil Sedaka
Afraid
Fun
Myself
" 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
" 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. "
Neil Sedaka
Because
Sophisticated
Rock