Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Sedaka | ||||
| B-side | "As Long as I Live" | |||
| Released | June 1962 | |||
| Genre | Brill Building, doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:18 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield | |||
| Neil Sedaka singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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, and it is considered to be his signature song.[1] Another song by the same name had previously been recorded by Jivin' Gene [Bourgeois] and The Jokers, in 1959.
Neil Sedaka 1962 original version
Described by AllMusic as "two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure pop magic,"[1] "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11, 1962 and peaked at number twelve on the Hot R&B Sides chart.[2] The single was a solid hit all over the world, reaching number 7 in the UK, 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 personnel on the original recording session included: Al Casamenti, Art Ryerson, and Charles Macy on guitar; Ernie Hayes on piano; George Duvivier on bass; Gary Chester on drums; Artie Kaplan on saxophone; George Devens and Phil Kraus on percussion; Seymour Barab and Morris Stonzek on cellos; and David Gulliet, Joseph H. Haber, Harry Kohon, David Sackson, and Louis Stone on violins.
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Sedaka | ||||
| from the album The Hungry Years | ||||
| B-side | "Nana's Song" | |||
| Released | December 1975 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | Rocket Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Neil Sedaka, Robert Appere | |||
| Neil Sedaka singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sedaka's 1975 version
Though originally an uptempo song, Sedaka re-recorded it as a ballad in 1975. The slower arrangement was originally debuted by Lenny Welch; it peaked at #34 on the US Billboard charts in January 1970. Sedaka's slow version peaked at #8 in December 1975 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart.[3] It was only the second time that an artist made the Billboard Top Ten with two different versions of the same song.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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The Partridge Family version
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Partridge Family | ||||
| from the album At Home with Their Greatest Hits | ||||
| B-side | "I'm Here, You're Here" | |||
| Released | June 1972 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Bell Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka | |||
| Partridge Family singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Apart from Sedaka's own reworking of the song, by far the most successful cover of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" was done by the Partridge Family in 1972. While only a medium hit in North America, their version reached number 3 in both the UK and Australia.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Other versions
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Carpenters | ||||
| from the album A Kind Of Hush | ||||
| Released | September 4, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | March 1976 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield | |||
| The Carpenters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" has been covered by numerous other artists over the years, including:
- Paul Anka
- Carpenters
- Dee Dee Sharp
- Nick Carter
- Gloria Estefan
- La Onda Vaselina
- The Four Seasons
- Eydie Gorme
- Lucy Hale
- Garrett Haley
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- The Happenings, whose version charted at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100
- Tom Jones
- Killola
- Carole King
- Little Eva
- Renee Olstead
- Zoogz Rift
- Svenne & Lotta
- Lenny Welch, US number 34 in 1970
- Andy Williams
- Cartoons
- A duet between Sedaka and Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø
- Mak and the Dudes
- Damian McGinty of Celtic Thunder
- Clay Aiken recorded the song as a bonus track for his 2010 album,Tried and True.
- Shelley Fabares recorded the song for her 1962 album The Things We Did Last Summer
- Aimer
- The Overtones
- British rock duo The Marbles recorded the song and appears on their 1970 self-titled album[20]
German version: Abschiednehmen ist so schwer
- Anna-Lena Löfgren (1962; she was a Swedish singer, born 1944, died 2010)
French version: Moi je pense encore à toi
- sung and adapted by Claude François (co-author of "My Way") the title means "I'm still thinking of you".
- Sylvie Vartan under the same French title Moi je pense encore a toi (I'm still thinking about you)
Portuguese version: O Superstar
- sung by new wave/comedy rock band João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados (1993)
Spanish version: Qué triste es el primer adiós
- sung by La Onda Vaselina (1989).
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1962 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)
References
- 1 2 Breaking Up Is Hard To Do Song Review November 29, 2011
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 516.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 218.
- 1 2 3 4 "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
- ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
- ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 419. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002
- ↑ Billboard Adult Contemporary, August 5, 1972
- ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 8/26/72". Tropicalglen.com. 1972-08-26. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ "Top 100 1972 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ↑ Richie Unterberger. "The Marbles - The Marbles | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
External links
| Preceded by "Roses Are Red (My Love)" by Bobby Vinton |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single August 11, 1962 (two weeks) |
Succeeded by "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva |
Recorded by Shelly Fabres in 1962