Farewell, Neil Sedaka (1939-2026)

By AVRO via Wikimedia Commons

I'd thought that my previous article on Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）would be the final one for February 2026, but I was very wrong there on realizing that the music world has lost a pioneer in pop music and someone who has had a presence on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the years. Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka passed away at the age of 86 on February 27th.

From what I've read on his Wikipedia file, he was responsible for a huge number of hits for himself and other singers, especially during the 60s and 70s, and I recall hearing his voice through radio, on K-Tel commercials and TV appearances since I was a kid. In fact, the very first ROY article that I posted was a Sedaka creation for Captain & Tennille. But for his own records, I always remembered that higher and melodic voice of his.

With all of those Sedaka successes in the postwar era, it's perhaps no surprise that the Japanese, who were more than happy to provide their own cover versions of many American and British hits of the time, also took a fancy to Sedaka's own tunes. Here are the ones that have been plucked from the pages of KKP over the years.

(1960) Masaaki Hirao & The All-Stars Wagon -- Koi no Katamichi Kippu（恋の片道切符）

(1961) Kyu Sakamoto -- Calendar Girl

(1977) Hi-Fi Set -- Koi no Nikki （恋の日記）(from 3:35)

(1978) Masako Miyazaki -- The Hungry Years

One of my favourites by Sedaka though was "Laughter in the Rain" from 1974. It still gives me a chill when he sings the chorus out and it's a song that I definitely have great memories about. My condolences to his family, friends and many fans.

Masako Miyazaki -- The Hungry Years

 

It's a lyrical theme that I sometimes hear in folk songs but there's a certain story told in music where someone or a couple who has attained it all now live with regrets and realize that things were simpler and happier at an earlier and "poorer" time in their lives. Although I can hardly say that I've actually attained anything near the top of any profession or ambition, I sometimes see the early days of my time in Japan either on the JET Programme or in Ichikawa as a time that had its growing pains but also a lot of fun with independence and friends who I don't really see anymore. So the song of this article is rather poignant for myself and perhaps for others reading in.

The legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka already has some representation here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Notably in terms of the blog, he came up with "The Diary", a 50s R&B song that was rearranged into a lovely jazz ballad for the vocal group Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）in the mid-1970s under the title of "Koi no Nikki"（恋の日記）.

Many years later in 1975, he and lyricist Howard Greenfield created "The Hungry Years", a song that encapsulates that feeling that I wrote about in the first paragraph...the realization that being richer and more successful doesn't necessarily mean happier and vice versa. It's a tenderhearted ballad that is sad but also shows off through the melody and lyrics the wisdom of the situation and the hope that maybe some of that lost happiness can be recaptured.

I found a cover of "The Hungry Years" through Masako Miyazaki's（宮崎正子）1978 solo debut album, "Get My Wave". The song here is actually the second track but the uploader has mentioned that the first track has been disallowed from being played on YouTube so "The Hungry Years" begins things here on this video. Miyazaki sings this in English (and I assume that the same holds true for the rest of the other tracks) and despite Greenfield's lyrics staying intact, I think that from the more subdued vocals and the slower tempo that the person or persons of note are still getting through the doldrums and the song sounds even more poignant and melancholy. It's a lovely rendition and the harmonica solo is a nice touch.

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about Miyazaki who has been noted as a jazz singer. However, from looking at the Amazon Japan and the Universal Music Japan websites, she used to be the vocalist for the band The Kalua（ザ・カルア）which had started out in the early 1970s as part of a regular music circle at Keio University. The Kalua began performing Hawaiian music before going into a more of a pop and soft rock direction, perhaps Sunshine Pop after reading that one of their influences was The Fifth Dimension.

Getting back to "Get My Wave", it seems like Miyazaki covers a whole bunch of songs across the musical spectrum. She gives her versions of Earth Wind & Fire's "Fantasy" and jazz pianist Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby".