Near the end of their Grammy-winning, chart-topping 1975 rendition of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield's "Love Will Keep Us Together," Toni Tennille threw in an ad-lib not written by lyricist Greenfield: Sedaka is back...!  Indeed, the singer-songwriter who had begun his career in 1957 was enjoying a new string of successes including his own No. 1 that same year, "Laughter in the Rain."  Tomorrow, Friday, June 13, Sedaka's own label will reissue the Rocket Records album which relaunched his career in America.  An expanded edition of Sedaka's Back will arrive on CD, 2LP, and digital formats.

The road to Sedaka's Back was a long one for the artist.  Though he'd enjoyed such smashes as "Calendar Girl" (No. 4, 1961), "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" (No. 6, 1961), "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (No. 1, 1962), and "Next Door to an Angel" (No. 5, 1962), his last U.S. hit had come in 1965.  Sedaka found it difficult to compete with the new breed of singer/songwriters, although he had written his own material in tandem with Greenfield since he was a teenager.  Though RCA Victor dumped his recording contract in 1966, he found success in the latter part of the decade supplying songs for The 5th Dimension ("Workin' on a Groovy Thing"), The Monkees ("When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)," The Girl I Left Behind Me") , Tom Jones ("Puppet Man"), Frankie Valli ("Make the Music Play"), and others.

Sedaka's rebirth as a recording artist began with 1971's Emergence, recorded for Aldon boss Don Kirshner's own Kirshner Records label. Sedaka followed that with 1972's Solitaire, teaming with new lyricist Phil Cody and musicians Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, then members of the band Hotlegs and soon to take the pop world by storm as 10cc.  Solitaire was recorded at the band's own Strawberry Studios, and signaled the beginning of a new phase in Sedaka's career, with the title track (co-written with new collaborator Phil Cody) since recognized as a standard and one of Sedaka's finest compositions.  Yet neither album performed well; the latter barely saw release in the United States.

Yet a successful U.K. tour encouraged Sedaka, and his next album for the MGM label was a Britain-only release in 1973.  Though Sedaka proclaimed that The Tra-La Days Are Over via the album's title, he hadn't abandoned his sure sense of a pop melody.  Paired with the more muscular accompaniment provided by the future 10cc members, the singer/pianist's sound was finally updated for the 1970s.  He was rewarded with a U.K. top 20 placement for the album and a top 30 single hit with the driving "Standing on the Inside."  But that's hardly the only notable song on Tra-La Days.  It introduced the anthemic "That's Where the Music Takes Me" and the infectious "Love Will Keep Us Together," inspired by The Beach Boys and Al Green, and initially intended for Diana Ross.  Sedaka adopted a reflective tone on "The Other Side of Me" and the bittersweet "Our Last Song Together," intended as a valedictory for the team of Sedaka and Greenfield, who had decided to pursue separate paths.

Following The Tra-La Days Are Over, Sedaka split from 10cc and headed to Hollywood for the recording of Laughter in the Rain.  It, too, failed to receive a U.S. release despite the lilting title track - as perfect as pop song as any - and "The Immigrant," a heartfelt tribute to John Lennon and a welcome political undercurrent.  (Both were co-written with Phil Cody.)  The Laughter LP reached the U.K. Top 20 and attracted the attention of Elton John, then riding the crest of his superstardom.

Late that year, Sedaka inked a deal with John's Rocket Records label for release of his new music in America.  Sedaka recalled, "The two of us went through the last three albums [Solitaire, The Tra-La Days Are Over and Laughter in the Rain] I'd had, and we collected the best of those to put on Sedaka's Back," as the American release was called.  John wrote of the 12-song compilation (which was marketed as a new album, as most of its material had gone unheard in the United States), "This album contains some of [Sedaka's] best work ever.  Listen to songs like 'Solitaire' and 'Laughter in the Rain' and then you'll see what I mean....If you watch the charts in the next few months, you'll see that even though he's never been away, Sedaka's back!"

Elton wasn't kidding, as the shimmering "Laughter in the Rain" topped both the Pop and AC charts in America.  "The Immigrant" and "That's When the Music Takes Me" (the latter from Solitaire) also met with success and hit No. 1 on the AC survey.  Ultimately, two more albums would follow for Rocket which would spin off further hits including another chart-topper, the rocking Elton duet "Bad Blood," and the reimagined ballad version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do."

The newly-remastered Sedaka's Back returns on Friday with the same four bonus tracks as the 1998 Varese Sarabande reissue.  "For the Good of the Cause," "Endlessly," and "Love Ain't an Easy Thing" were all culled from the Laughter in the Rain album (which has still never seen release in its original U.K. sequence), while "Alone in New York in the Rain" originated on The Tra-La Days Are Over.  It's due in all formats tomorrow, June 13.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Neil Sedaka, Sedaka's Back (Rocket LP MCA-463, 1974 - reissued Neil Sedaka Music, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Standing on the Inside
2. That's When the Music Takes Me
3. Laughter in the Rain
4. Sad Eyes
5. Solitaire
6. Little Brother
7. Love Will Keep Us Together
8. The Immigrant
9. The Way I Am
10. The Other Side of Me
11. A Little Lovin'
12. Our Last Song Together
13. For the Good of the Cause
14. Endlessly
15. Love Ain't an Easy Thing
16. Alone in New York in the Rain

Tracks 13-15 from Laughter in the Rain, Polydor (U.K.) 2385 265, 1974
Track 16 from The Tra-La Days Are Over, MGM (U.K.) 2315 248, 1973