Offered here is a 3x5 index card signed by Neil Sedaka.
I am selling my collection of autographs that I
have purchased several years ago from an array of sources – from eBay sellers,
from dealers with professional credentials, and from the signers themselves via
the mail. Some came with COA’s; most did
not. When I obtained these signatures, I
believed them to be genuine and I believed that they were genuine when I posted
them on Ebay.
I have received opinions from others, including
PSA/DNA whose opinion I sought, indicating that some of the signatures that I
have posted were not likely to be genuine.
I have pulled those questionable signatures, and will not post them for
sale again in the future. It is not my
intention to sell autographs that are not authentic, and I will continue do my
best to try to ensure that the signatures that I am offering are genuine. As indicated below, all signatures that I
sell come with a money-back guarantee if they are judged to be of doubtful
authenticity.
If the signature or signatures is/are determined to be
inauthentic by a well-recognized autograph expert, this item may be returned
for a full refund.
For those who'd prefer a different form of shipping, please
contact me so that we can discuss what your shipping charges might be.
NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:
As of January 1, 2021, eBay collects a VAT (Value Added Tax) for the
Customs bureau of that country. Some
countries charge an exorbitant 20% VAT.
Some countries make distinctions for historical documents such as
autographs, and charge a more reasonable 5% VAT. PLEASE CHECK WITH CUSTOMS IN THE COUNTRY YOU
RESIDE IN REGARDING A VAT AND WHAT THAT TAX WILL BE FOR THE ITEM YOU WISH TO
PURCHASE FROM ANY SELLER.
Short Bio:
Singer, songwriter, and pianist Neil Sedaka enjoyed two
distinct periods of commercial success in two slightly different styles of pop
music: first, as a teen pop star in the late '50s and early '60s, then as a
singer of more mature pop/rock in the '70s. In both phases, Sedaka ,
a classically trained pianist, composed the music for his hits (lyrics were
often provided by Howard Greenfield), which he sang in a boyish tenor. And
throughout, even when his own recordings weren't placing high on the charts, he
served as a songwriter for other artists, resulting in a string of hits year in
and year out, whether recorded by him or someone else. For himself, he wrote
eight U.S. Top Ten pop hits, including the chart-toppers "Breaking Up Is
Hard to Do," "Laughter in the Rain," and "Bad Blood."
The most successful cover of one of his compositions was Captain & Tennille's
recording of "Love Will Keep Us Together," another number one. And
over the years his songs were recorded by hundreds of pop, rock, country,
R&B, and jazz performers, including ABBA, the Carpenters, Cher, Patsy
Cline, Rosemary Clooney Sheryl Crow, Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Gloria Estefan,
Tom Jones, Carole King, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, the Monkees, Wilson Pickett
and Elvis Presley.
Sedaka was a promising pianist as a youngster, and was once
selected by Arthur Rubinstein to play on New York City's classical radio
station; he also studied at New York's prestigious Juilliard school. At the
same time, he set down roots in rock & roll and doo wop by singing in an
early version of the Tokens. After he had his first songwriting success in 1958
with Connie Francis’ "Stupid Cupid," he got a deal with RCA as a solo
artist. Sedaka's own hits were well-crafted, but were probably the most
innocuous hits to come out of the early Brill Building crowd. His rather thin,
high vocals were boosted by multi-tracking, which was still a novel technique
at the time.
The big hits stopped rolling in for Sedaka a good year
or so before the Beatles became popular in America. He concentrated more
on the songwriting end of the business for the next decade, continuing to write
with Greenfield and scoring occasional successes. He made an unexpectedly
successful comeback in England in the early '70s, where three of his albums
were co-produced by Graham Gouldman of 10cc. By the mid-'70s he was recording
for Elton John's Rocket label, and got a number one hit with the ballad "Laughter
in the Rain" in 1974. That and "Love Will Keep Us Together,"
which he and Greenfield wrote for Captain & Tennille, did much to
get MOR pop off the ground. Sedaka got another number one hit,
"Bad Blood," in 1975, with Elton John helping out on background
vocals. A slow remake of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" made the Top Ten
the following year, and although he would never enter the Top 40 after 1980, he
was assured of a successful career as a perennial on the MOR circuit.
Clearly, Sedaka's days as a multi-platinum recording act were over by the mid-'80s, but
he had amassed a sufficient backlog of hits that he could perform successfully
for decades in theaters and hotel casinos in the U.S. and internationally. by William Ruhlmann