Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

"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 is considered to be his signature song.[1] Another song by the same name had been previously been recorded by Jivin' Gene [Bourgeois] and The Jokers, in 1959.

Contents
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 * 1 1962 version
 * 2 1975 version
 * 3 Cover versions
 * 4 See also
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

1962 version[edit]
Neil Sedaka recorded both "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and its B-side, "As Long as I Live" in Italian as "Tu Non Lo Sai" and "Finche Vivro", respectively, further endearing him to his Italian fans.

Described by Allmusic as "two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure pop magic,"[1] "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" hit number one on theBillboard Hot 100 on August 11, 1962 and was a solid hit all over the world, 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.

1975 version[edit]
Though originally an uptempo song, Sedaka re-recorded it as a ballad in 1975. The slower arrangement was originally debuted byLenny Welch; it peaked at #34 on the US Billboard charts in January of 1970. Sedaka's slow version peaked at #8 in December of 1975 and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart.[2] It was only the second time that an artist made the Billboard Top Ten with two different versions of the same song.[citation needed]

Cover versions[edit]
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" has been covered by numerous other artists over the years, including: German version: Abschiednehmen ist so schwer French version: Moi je pense encore à toi Spanish version: Qué triste es el primer adiós
 * 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
 * Tom Jones
 * Killola
 * Carole King
 * Little Eva
 * Renee Olstead
 * The Partridge Family
 * Zoogz Rift
 * Svenne & Lotta
 * Lenny Welch
 * Andy Williams
 * Cartoons (band)
 * 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_(Japanese_singer)
 * The Overtones
 * British rock duo The Marbles recorded the song and appears on their 1970 self-titled album.[3]
 * Anna-Lena Löfgren (1962; she was a Swedish singer, born 1944, died 2010)
 * 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)
 * sung by La Onda Vaselina (1989).