"Oh! Carol" is an international hit written by

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) 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, collabo ...

in 1958. Co-written with

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) 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 o ...

, the song is noted for Sedaka's spoken recitation of the verse, the second time around. The song spent 18 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 9 on December 6, 1959, while reaching #3 on the UK's ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' chart. It also earned Sedaka his first #1 ranking when it went to #1 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

. After its release as a single, it was included in the album ''

Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits ''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''. Track listing All tracks composed by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield; e ...

''. At the time Sedaka produced the record, his second and third singles, "

I Go Ape "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 al ...

!" and " Crying My Heart Out For You" had fared poorly on the charts, and RCA Victor was ready to drop him from their label, but producer

Al Nevins Albert "Al" Nevins (born Albert Tepper; May 3, 1915 – January 25, 1965) was an American musician, producer, arranger, guitarist and violinist. He was also a member of pop trio The Three Suns, and is considered one of the major forces behind the ...

persuaded the RCA executives to give Sedaka one last chance. Determined to create a hit song, Sedaka purchased the three top singles of the day and listened to them repeatedly, studying their melody, chord progression, and lyrical styles; and he found that they were very similar in structure. He then used this knowledge to create the song, "Oh! Carol". "Carol" was a reference to Carol Klein, Sedaka's ex-girlfriend from high school and a fellow songwriter at the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

. She had since married

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

, who took the tune, and wrote the playful response "Oh! Neil", which she recorded and released as an unsuccessful single the same year (1958) under the stage name

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. Sedaka also recorded a Hebrew-language version of "Oh! Carol"' which was written by Chaim Kaynan. It has been covered by other artists in other languages as well. The B-side song, " One Way Ticket", also earned Sedaka a #1 ranking in Japan for several months in 1960, where it was affectionately known as "The Choo-Choo Train Song".

Chart performance

Other recorded versions

* The Four Seasons (in their album ''

Sherry & 11 Others ''Sherry & 11 Others'' is the debut album by The Four Seasons, released by Vee-Jay Records under catalog number LP-1053 as a monophonic recording in 1962 and later in stereo under catalog number SR-1053 the same year. Track listing Personnel ...

'') (1962) * General Saint featuring Don CampbellOfficial Charts: on songs by Don Campbell
/ref> (a minor UK hit at #54) (1994)

References

{{Authority control 1958 songs 1959 singles Hep Stars songs Neil Sedaka songs RCA Victor singles Songs written by Neil Sedaka Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles