Neil Sedaka

It was a very illustrious group, and it was excellent training.

We came into an office, a cubicle.

It was a tiny office from 10 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon, five days a week, and we wrote songs for a living.

And it was, you know, one day you could come up with nothing, but the next day you were able to piece it together.

Well, you know, competition is good and creativity, you bounce off other creative people.

I think people are inspired by other musicians.

So it was a good atmosphere.

And at the end of the day, all of us would go into Al Nevin's office and play the songs.

And they would say which artists are coming up for sessions, whether it be the Righteous Brothers or the Chiffons or

or so many groups, and the best song won out.

I came in as a writer the first six months, and two of my songs were recorded.

Connie Francis did Stupid Cupid, and before that, Atlantic Records, Ahmed Erdogan and Jerry Wexler took my songs and recorded them with Clyde McFatter and Laverne Baker.

But about six months to a year into the contract, I was 19, and

And I had a great desire to record my own songs.

And I was brought into RCA Victor.

Steve Scholz, who was the top A&R man, he had just brought Elvis Presley from Sun Records to RCA.

And I auditioned for him with a song called The Diary, and he signed me to a five-year contract.

And, Terry, I was very fortunate.

Between 1958 and 1963, to the shock of my family, after studying at the Juilliard, I sold 40 million records in the five years.

My mother, in fact, was not happy at the beginning.