#1 for weeks of August 11 and 18th, 1962.
This early 1960's period is very well known for the amount of songs which originate from the Brill Building. Many of these girl groups and pop singers were singing songs written by classic songwriting teams such as Goffin/King and Greenwich/Barry. Once in a while though, those songwriters recorded the songs they wrote themselves. Case in point, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", co-written by Brill Building songwriters Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield, and sung by Sedaka.
Just by those first few opening bars, you can tell this song is cut from a similar cloth as other similar Brill Building hits. In fact, this song sounds like it could have easily been sung by a girl group such as The Shirelles, or The Cookies. In fact, the latter sing lead vocals on the song's second bridge, and backing vocals near the end.
This song is also chock full of hooks. The opening lyric-less doo-wop vocals which are repeated throughout the song, will get stuck in your head for days. Also, Sedaka sings the verses in a close two part harmony reminiscent of the Everly Brothers. Musically, the song is much more minimalist than other Brill Building hits, and the vocals are mixed way up front.
Just when you think the song is just going to be a plain doo-wop inspired pop song, we get to the bridges which contain tons of unexpected key changes. There is also a mysterious string section which only appears during these parts of the song. Without the bridges, the song is a good/decent early pop song. With the bridges, the song is an early 1960's masterpiece.
After vanishing off the charts post-British Invasion, Neil Sedaka would enjoy a revival in the 1970's just like his contemporary Carole King. He would even get a chance to sing with Elton John on "Bad Blood". Even today, quite a few of Sedaka's 1960's songs, although they may sound dated to that time period, are still great to listen to today.
Final Verdict - A shorter than usual song, but one which is impeccably crafted with plenty of vocal and musical hooks. Definitely give this one a listen or two.
Coming Up Next - "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva.
Until Next Time - Avoid hard breakups by sticking with Dr. Rock!
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