For The Record

The Best In The Music Business Tell It Like It Is

Jan S. Kluth, Samantha Marshall

• Publisher: PublishDrive
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781736135112
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Musica e business

"For The Record: The Best In The Music Business Tell It Like It Is" is the ultimate compendium of insights and wisdom covering every aspect of today's music business — from the fundamentals of songwriting to the cutting edge of marketing and digital distribution — direct from the mouths of the artists, executives and entrepreneurs who walk the walk.

The book contains a foreword by Roger Brown (President, Berklee College of Music) and exclusive one-on-one conversations with Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees (in one of the last interviews before his untimely passing), Kelly Rowland, Wyclef Jean, Ali Campbell of UB40 and executives such as Julie Greenwald (Chairman/COO, Atlantic Records) and billionaire philanthropist John Paul DeJoria, the co-founder of Patrón Tequila and Paul Mitchell.

Chapter One

NEIL SEDAKA

“That’s When the Music Takes Me”

This legendary singer-songwriter’s career spans over 60 years—every major decade of pop and rock music. A Grammy Award winner, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His track record of close to 1,000 songs composed and millions of albums sold has earned him a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. His songs have been covered by the greats, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Frankie Valli, Connie Francis, The Carpenters and even American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken.

Needless to say, this pop icon has earned his chops as one of the world’s leading composers and lyricists. Whether or not you were born by the time ‘Laughter in the Rain,’ ‘Oh! Carol,’ or ‘Calendar Girl’ were hits, you’d recognize any of his songs within the first bar. His tunes are an essential part of the American landscape.

And yet he remains strikingly humble about his success. When we caught up with Mr. Sedaka in early 2010, he’d just released his first new studio album in over a decade, The Music of My Life, to rave reviews. He was thrilled to share his insights with us and displayed a keen interest in mentoring the next generation in the music business.

Mr. Sedaka is old-school, in the best possible way. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to humble beginnings (his father was a taxi driver), he was trained as a classical pianist, and his mother had dreams of him becoming a maestro and playing at Carnegie Hall. But pop music was already calling him.

When he completed his studies at Juilliard, he became one of the composers of the Brill Building on Broadway, where he worked alongside some of the world’s greatest composers of the century, including Carole King, Bobby Darin, Paul Simon, Ben E. King and Neil Diamond, to name a handful. They were all there because they had a job to do—creating catchy tunes that you couldn’t get out of your head. It wasn’t about them, it was about writing something that anyone could sing and enjoy. These were true pros with an abundance of talent.

We put in a call to his manager and within days he’d agreed to speak with us and the interview was set. We had a date of 10 a.m. on a cold day in February, and Mr. Sedaka was punctual to the second (which almost never happens with artists). He was suering from a bad case of the flu, but nothing was going to stop him from speaking with us. Music is what he lives for, and he could speak on the subject for hours. No topic was o limits. Mr. Sedaka opened himself up for us with complete candor. He is a class act, and it was a privilege to learn from one of the greats.

Photo: Neil Sedaka

Editorial credit: Neil Sedaka

Some aspiring musicians are under the impression that American Idol and making Lady Gaga-type songs is the only way to make it in the music business today...

Oh, no, I disagree. There have been many number ones this year that are not in that style. Michael Bublé, Barbra Streisand, Sade, Susan Boyle and Neil Diamond have all had hits. Adults seem to be buying these records, where the melody and the lyrics are more important. They’re becoming more of a standard type of evergreen song.

We understand that you always try to focus on melodic writing and intelligible lyrics.

Yes, I’m writing 57 years and I have a new one out at the moment called Music Of My Life, which features 12 new songs, music and lyrics. I am very proud of being part of that history of rock ‘n’ roll from the Brill Building in New York City. : So, if anyone can give you a long perspective of songwriting, I can.

Do you recall how many songs you have actually written in those 57 years?

Over a thousand. Not all good, but a great many of them are.

Would you say that the songwriting itself has changed in those six decades?

Well, you know it’s a very trendy and fickle business. There are dierent styles that come and go. In the Brill Building, we were taught to write the hooks, very sing-able, memorable songs. We had to tell the story in two-and-a-half minutes because in those days the 45 rpm was about two-and-a-half minutes. Unfortunately, many of the things we hear today are productions. There are very solid productions and the poetry is good, but the songs themselves in many instances are not memorable. They cannot be covered by other artists. That was the criteria when I was writing. I was fortunate that some of the great artists have mine—Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin.

To me, there are two kinds of writing. There is the studio song—Sade, for instance, is marvelous. But when you take the song itself, I don’t think anybody else can perform it or that it will go on in years to come. It won’t be remembered, but certainly the production is there. With Sade, there is the voice, the instruments, the playing, the musicianship, the poetry...But the songs covered will not be remembered. I am from the school of Frank Loesser, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Johnny Mercer—a dierent kind of writing.

You have a theory that there are three dierent kinds of songwriting?

It is only my theory, but after so many years, I found that it might be true. I have written intellectually where the songs are in my subconscious—old songs and I rewrite them intellectually. Then there is the spiritual process, where I am being channeled and it comes from a higher power. It passes through me and I’m chosen at that moment. And then the emotional is when you go through a trauma. You get it o your chest and you weep and you say goodbye. That’s just my theory, but it’s an interesting theory.

We certainly agree. Is it important to set the creative mood when writing a song? What can be done to enhance creativity?

I have to have a project. I’m working on two projects now: Sedaka Sings Doo Wop because I started in Doo Wop. I’m also doing a second children’s CD. My first was Waking Up Is Hard To Do, which was number one on Amazon.com for many weeks this last year. I write when I have a project in mind and I’m inspired. And then what really inspires me is listening to other voices, other creative people, because I think we bounce o each other. It raises the level of your writing. If you’ve written so many songs, you try to do something that’s dierent, something that excites you—new chord changes, new poetry, new imagery, new forms, new harmonic rhythms. When I wrote ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ with Howard Greenfield, I put together three vocal styles: Beach Boys, Al Green and Diana Ross. You might ask: “How could you do that, why?” But that’s how I begin. I approach the song at the piano or I’ll say “I’m going to write a specific kind of a song.” Styles and voices inspire me.

You somehow managed to bridge the gap between evergreen standards, rock ‘n’ roll and pop...

I’m one of the few who can do that. I try to reach a large demographic in between pop, rock and standard. Yes, I’ve lived long enough so I can mesh the three.

We heard that your new album was written in two-and-a-half months. How much time do you usually spend writing a song?

Well, I’ve been writing feverishly the last few weeks. Some of them take a day or two. I leave it and I polish it the next day. I polish the melody or lyrics until

I’m satisfied because it takes more to satisfy me today, so some of them take a couple of days.

What are the main elements that go into a timeless hit record?

That’s a good question. If I knew that, I’d be having number ones again (laughs). But, you know, it’s nice after so many years to still be around, still write and still be someone to be reckoned with. There are two approaches: one is with the market, something that sounds like it should be on the radio today; and, the other is against the market. It is so dierent that you have no competition whatsoever in terms of the song or the sound of the record. I’ve done both. To me, if you write a song that’s great and you think it’s great, it doesn’t matter if you don’t reach the public, if they don’t agree with you. It’s not so great if you don’t reach the culture of the time, if they don’t think that you are doing the right thing at that time. Those records stay in your living room and you play them for yourself or your friends.

The ideal for me, being a record person, being a song person for so many years, is when you write something that you love and the public loves. That is my definition of a great song. Because when I write them, I have to bring some people into my living room and see how I feel singing it to them. If I’m a little ashamed and squeamish and shy, I know immediately that it’s not good.

How can aspiring songwriters improve their songwriting?

It’s a gift; it’s very hard. You can’t study it. It’s an improvisation. It’s like a great horn player who does an improvisation around a harmonic structure. You just have to keep doing it. The more you do it, the better you become. It’s a part of the brain, that one side of the brain. My son once asked me, “What makes the chill come up your spine in a song?” It’s the marriage of a certain sentiment, certain words with the tune, with the chord. And if those three are married perfectly, that chill comes up your spine.

Have you ever written for other artists?

I never wrote for another artist. I was just covered; I wrote for my own voice. I was fortunate because the vocal range I wrote for is very comfortable and I’m given a couple of notes maybe. So I got a lot of cover records. Today it’s very hard for a new writer to break in and get a cover record by Alicia Keys or Norah Jones or one of the current singers. First, they write their own, or they have writers who are very close to them. It’s very hard. I always wrote for my own voice.

How do you come up with strong song concepts?

You need a sentiment that is universal, so that people can say, “Oh, that relates to me. I’ve been through that, I can believe it, I can feel it emotionally.” Melody-wise, it’s more elusive. I was a classical musician, so I listened to Gustav Mahler and Brahms. I think the fact that I’ve had an extensive musical background has rubbed o in the pop writing. Of course, it’s much easier to write a pop song. I recently wrote my first symphony, ‘Joie de Vivre,’ which has been performed all over the world. I’m in the middle of a piano concerto called Manhattan Intermezzo. The point being that you have much more freedom writing a serious classical piece. With pop music, you’re more limited.

Is there a particular song of yours that you are the most proud of?

Oh my goodness, I just completed it this week. I feel that an artist has to develop and grow. I just finished a new song that, I think, is the best of my career. And that won’t be the last. I’ll write to the end because I’m always trying to prove myself. A creative person is never satisfied. The greatest song of my life was written this week. For me to say that is quite something. It’s very exciting. When I sit and play it, it’s like “Who wrote this?” I hear it and I marvel at the fact that I wrote it.

Do you write with the music in the background or do you write the lyrics first and then compose the music?

I’ve written tunes on a plane and I’ve written poetry on a napkin in a car. I had very good teachers. You know, I wrote with Howard Greenfield, Phil Cody and Carole Bayer Sager. But for the last 35 years, I’ve been writing the lyrics, which, I think, is more rewarding because the songs come from my soul and my gut, rather than people putting words in my mouth. And I think the audience can feel that. They can almost sense that it’s coming from you. I mean, Elton pulls it off and he’s wonderful, but Bernie Taupin is the poet. Even though the tunes are wonderful, they need the Bernie Taupin poetry.

How did some of your most popular songs like ‘Laughter in the Rain’, ‘Breaking Up is Hard To Do’, ‘Calendar Girl’ and your biggest selling record, ‘Bad Blood’ (with Elton John) came about?

The picture that Phil Cody painted in ‘Laughter in the Rain’ was beautiful— about lovers getting soaked without an umbrella, but yet they’re very much in love and they’re laughing in the rain. On that one the tune came first and then Phil put the words to it. We wrote three songs that day, but I called Phil later that night and said, “Of the three songs we wrote, ‘Laughter in the Rain’ is the magic number one.” He asked me, “How do you know?” and I said, “I have a sixth sense about songs.”

‘Bad Blood’ was a combination of many. I strived to do something very dierent, to challenge myself. After he heard that song, even the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, came to me and said, “Well, now you’re in my territory.” It was a little Bo Diddley, a little James Brown, a little Gordon Lightfoot, it was a combination. I like to mix and match, like a fashion designer who’ll go out and look at dierent fabrics and put together dierent mixtures and dierent patterns that perhaps no one has mixed before.

Would you say certain parts of the song have a certain percentage? Like, for example, the chorus accounts for 50 per cent of the song?

No, sometimes, there could be no chorus. It could just be a form where the title comes at the end of the song. There’s no verse and chorus really. I’ve written all kinds of songs. There is no one particular form.

In terms of the songwriting itself, what is the single most important piece of advice you would you give aspiring songwriters? Do they have to be able to predict trends in songwriting and analyze contemporary music?

They have to write from a personal point of view and express what they’re going through, what they feel. That Taylor Swift girl is very good. You have to write what you’re going through, but the melody has to have some surprises. You know, you have to have those chilling moments, the chilling chord; the chilling phrase that touches the ear. Not predictable, with turns and twists in the road. Simple and easy is the most dicult thing to write. Simple songs, however, have to have some kind of element of surprise.

What is the most important songwriting lesson that you have learned over the years?

Be true to yourself. Do it as much as you can because that part of the bra...