Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Encyclopedia
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka
, and co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield
. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two vastly different arrangements.
on August 11, 1962 and was a solid hit all over the world, sometimes with the text translated into foreign languages. For example, the Italian version was called "Tu non lo sai" ("You Don't Know") and was recorded by Sedaka himself.
On this version, background vocals on the song are performed by the female group The Cookies
.
in 1975. The slower arrangement was originally debuted by David Cassidy
in 1974 on his Cassidy Live!
album. Like The Beatles
song "Help!
," the slow version revealed a song of surprising depth and emotion. Sedaka's slow version peaked at #8 in February 1976 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. It was only the second time that an artist made the Billboard Top Ten with two different versions of the same song.
German version: Abschiednehmen ist so schwer
French version: Moi je pense encore à toi
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
, and co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two vastly different arrangements.
1962 version
Described by Allmusic as "two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure pop magic.", Breaking Up is Hard to Do hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on August 11, 1962 and was a solid hit all over the world, sometimes with the text translated into foreign languages. For example, the Italian version was called "Tu non lo sai" ("You Don't Know") and was recorded by Sedaka himself.
On this version, background vocals on the song are performed by the female group The Cookies
The Cookies
The Cookies were an American R&B girl group in the 1950s to 1960s. Members of the original lineup would later become The Raelettes, the backing vocalists for Ray Charles.-History:...
.
1975 version
Originally an uptempo song, Sedaka re-recorded it as a balladBallad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
in 1975. The slower arrangement was originally debuted by David Cassidy
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...
in 1974 on his Cassidy Live!
Cassidy Live!
Cassidy Live! was David Cassidy's fourth solo album and final album released on Bell Records. It was released in 1974 and was recorded live in Britain. It was produced by Cassidy and Barry Ainsworth on Bell Records. The recording captures some of the mass hysteria that surrounded Cassidy's live...
album. Like The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song "Help!
Help! (song)
"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom....
," the slow version revealed a song of surprising depth and emotion. Sedaka's slow version peaked at #8 in February 1976 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. It was only the second time that an artist made the Billboard Top Ten with two different versions of the same song.
Cover versions
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" has been covered by numerous other artists over the years, including:- Paul AnkaPaul AnkaPaul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
- The CarpentersThe CarpentersCarpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
- Dee Dee SharpDee Dee SharpDee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...
- Nick CarterNick Carter (musician)Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer and actor. He is best known as a member of the pop group, Backstreet Boys. He went on to release a solo album called Now Or Never during their hiatus. He has made occasional television appearances and...
- Gloria EstefanGloria EstefanGloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
- La Onda Vaselina
- The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons (group)The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
- Eydie GormeEydie GorméEydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
- Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
- Lucy HaleLucy HaleKaren Lucille "Lucy" Hale is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Becca Sommers in Bionic Woman, Rose Baker in Privileged, Sherrie in the horror film Scream 4, and as Aria Montgomery on the hit ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars...
- Garrett Haley
- The HappeningsThe HappeningsThe Happenings were a pop music group that originated in the 1960s. The group's major hits were "See You In September" , which was originally recorded by the Tempos in 1959; a cover version of the George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin song, "I Got Rhythm" , updated for the nascent pop/rock era; and "Hare...
- Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
- KillolaKillolaKillola is an independent American alternative rock band from Los Angeles consisting of Lisa Rieffel , Dan Grody and Johnny Dunn . The band's varied musical style is primarily 'Garage Pop' with punk and pop/electronica influences. Many of their songs make integrated use of layered vocal harmonies...
- Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
- Little EvaLittle EvaEva Narcissus Boyd , known by the stage name of Little Eva , was an American pop singer.-Biography:...
- Renee OlsteadRenee OlsteadRebecca Renee Olstead is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles in the TV sitcoms Still Standing as Lauren Miller and The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein...
- The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
- Zoogz RiftZoogz RiftZoogz Rift was a musician, painter and professional wrestling personality.-Musical career:...
- Svenne & LottaSvenne & LottaSvenne & Lotta is a pop duo with Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Hedlund. They met in 1967, when Svenne Hedlund was the vocalist in the band Hep Stars. Charlotte Walker, which was Lotta Hedlund's name at that time, toured Sweden with the all-girl American trio The Sherrys...
- Sylvie VartanSylvie VartanSylvie Vartan is a French singer. She was one of the first rock girls in France. Vartan was the most productive and active of the yé-yé style artists, considered as the toughest-sounding of those. Her performance often featured elaborate show-dance choreography. She made many appearances on French...
with the French title Moi je pense encore a toi (I think about you too) - Lenny WelchLenny WelchLenny Welch , is an American MOR/pop singer.He was born in New York City on May 31, 1938 . He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey. His biggest hit, a cover version of the big band standard "Since I Fell for You," reached number 4 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963...
- Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
- A duet between Sedaka and Norwegian singer Sissel KyrkjebøSissel KyrkjebøSissel Kyrkjebø , also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias...
- Mak and the DudesMak and the DudesMak and the Dudes is a boy band from the Philippines. Their debut album was released on 2007, entitled Oldies But Kiddies. The group consists of Makisig Morales, Jairus Aquino, Kyle Balili, Rhap Salazar and Robert Villar.-Discography:-Songs:...
- Damian McGintyDamian McGintyDamian McGinty, Jr. is a Northern Irish singer and actor from Derry, Northern Ireland, and was a member of the group Celtic Thunder. He has been performing for the past thirteen years, winning his first music competition before the age of six...
of Celtic ThunderCeltic ThunderCeltic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland... - Clay AikenClay AikenClayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
recorded the song as a bonus track for his 2010 album,Tried and TrueTried and TrueTried and True is the fifth full length studio album released by Clay Aiken on June 1, 2010. This album is Aiken's first release on the Decca label. The deluxe edition includes two additional tracks plus a second disk with behind the scenes video and a live performance.-Background:The songs on...
. - Shelley FabaresShelley FabaresMichele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is an American actress and singer. Fabares is known for her roles as Donna Reed's oldest child, Mary Stone, on The Donna Reed Show , and as Craig T. Nelson's love interest and eventual wife, Christine Armstrong Fox, on the sitcom Coach. She also was Elvis...
recorded the song for her 1962 album, The Things We Did Last SummerThe Things We Did Last Summer (album)The Things We Did Last Summer is the second studio pop album by singer and actress Shelley Fabares released in 1962 on Colpix Records. It was available in both mono and stereo, catalogue numbers CP-431 and SCP-431....
.
German version: Abschiednehmen ist so schwer
- Anna-Lena LöfgrenAnna-Lena LöfgrenAnna-Lena Löfgren was a Swedish singer from Stockholm. During the years 1962 and 1995, more than 40 of her songs made it onto Svensktoppen, the record chart of Sveriges Radio. Löfgren became one of the most best known schlager singers in Sweden during the 1960s.She made her first public...
(1962; she was a Swedish singer, born 1944, died 2010)
French version: Moi je pense encore à toi
- sung and adapted by Claude FrançoisClaude FrançoisClaude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
(co-author of "My Way") the title means 'I'm still thinking of you'.
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1962 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)