"Stairway to Heaven" | ||||
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Single by Neil Sedaka | ||||
from the album Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits; Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits | ||||
B-side | "Forty Winks Away" | |||
Released | 1960 | |||
Recorded | 1960 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka Howard Greenfield | |||
Neil Sedaka singles chronology | ||||
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"Stairway to Heaven" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was released as a 45 rpm single and appeared on Sedaka's 1960 album Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits .
Sedaka's "Stairway to Heaven" predates by 11 years Led Zeppelin's song of the same name, which was released in 1971 and written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Sedaka remarked in 2021: "You can't copyright a title, so Led Zeppelin, I forgive you!" [1]
Sedaka described the song as a "sandwich song:" the main verses and chorus, the "meat" of the song, are enveloped in a "bread," a short musical snippet repeated at the beginning and end of the song (in this case, the phrase "Climb up, way up high"). The style would become a trademark of Sedaka and Greenfield's compositions of the early 1960s. [2]
The personnel includes King Curtis on saxophone, Don Arnone, Art Ryerson and Everett Barksdale on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, Irving Faberman on timpani and Dave "Panama" Francis on drums.
"Stairway to Heaven" became a hit for Sedaka after "Oh! Carol" (1958). In 1960, it repeated the performance of the previous single by peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. [3]
Chart (1960) | Peak position |
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Canada (CHUM Chart) [4] | 16 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) [5] | 8 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album. The song is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
Neil Sedaka is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard "Howie" Greenfield and Phil Cody.
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including one with Neil Sedaka from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, and near-simultaneous songwriting partnerships with Jack Keller and Helen Miller throughout most of the 1960s.
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song released by English rock group Led Zeppelin in 1971.
"Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" is a pop song released in 1961 by Neil Sedaka. Sedaka wrote the music and performed the song, while the lyrics were written by Howard Greenfield. The song is noted for being similar in musical structure to Take Good Care of My Baby by Bobby Vee, and additionally for its resemblance to the melody of the Chiffons' subsequent 1963 hit "One Fine Day". Both of these songs exhibiting similarity to "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" were penned by the team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Laughter in the Rain" is a song composed and recorded by Neil Sedaka, with lyrics by Phil Cody. It includes a 20-second saxophone solo by Jim Horn.
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. The brother-sister duo Mac and Katie Kissoon recorded their version of the song in 1973. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing almost entirely by “Captain” Daryl Dragon, with the exception of drums played by Hal Blaine; their version became a worldwide hit.
"The Other Side of Me" is a pop song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka's version of the song was released on his 1973 UK album The Tra-La Days Are Over. Donny Osmond also released an album version of the song in 1973, on Alone Together, and it was the title track of Vince Hill's 1973 LP.
Fallin' is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, that was recorded by Connie Francis on 2 September 1958 at Metropolitan Studio (NYC) in a session produced by Morton "Morty" Kraft who also conducted.
"Calendar Girl" is a song by Neil Sedaka. The music was composed by Sedaka and the lyrics by Howard Greenfield. Recorded in 1959 and released in December 1960 as a single, it was a Top-5 hit single for Sedaka, peaking at No. 4 on the US charts, No. 3 in Australia, and No. 1 on the Canadian and Japanese charts.
"The Diary" is a song by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was released in 1958 as Sedaka's debut single.
"I Go Ape" is the second single by Neil Sedaka, immediately following his success with the debut single "The Diary", and was written by Sedaka himself and Howard Greenfield. It was released in 1958, and also appears on Sedaka's 1959 debut solo album Rock with Sedaka. The rock and roll novelty song, which name-checks various primates, was performed in the boogie-woogie style of Jerry Lee Lewis.
Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits is a solo album by Neil Sedaka released in 1961 immediately after the cover versions of earlier hits in Circulate.
"Run Samson Run" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield and sung by Neil Sedaka. It appears on his album Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits. The song was included in Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits (1959–1963).
The following is a comprehensive discography of Neil Sedaka, the American singer.
A Song is an in-studio album containing the works of American pop star Neil Sedaka. It was produced by George Martin and released in 1977 on the Elektra label in the US, marking the beginning of Sedaka's association with Elektra, which would run through 1981. Outside of the US, A Song was released on the Polydor label. After several record labels released bootleg CD's sourced from vinyl pressings over the years, the album was officially remastered and released on CD and digital platforms on November 11th, 2022.
"Next Door to an Angel" is a rock and pop song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield and recorded by Neil Sedaka in 1962. It was issued by RCA Victor Records. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1962. "Next Door to an Angel" also went to No. 19 on the Hot R&B Singles chart. It was Sedaka's last appearance on the American Top 10 until "Laughter in the Rain" in late 1974.
"Where the Boys Are" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield for, and first recorded by, Connie Francis as the title track of the 1960 movie by the same name in which she was co-starring.
"Do You Really Love Me Too" is a song written by Mark Barkan and Ben Raleigh and first released by American pop singer Barbara Chandler as the flip side to "I Live to Love" in October 1963. Originally called "Fool's Errand", it was renamed "Do You Really Love Me Too" on the UK release of the single in December 1963.