"The Diary" is a song 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 ...
and
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 ...
. It was released in 1958 as Sedaka's debut single.
Background
This song's writers, Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, were inspired to write the song after asking for (and being refused) access to their client
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
's diary in hopes of mining it for lyrical material.
They originally wrote this song for
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...
. (It had a very similar sound to that group's first hit, "
Tears on My Pillow
"Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their origi ...
".) The pair took the song to George Goldner, The Imperials' producer, over at End Records, who, although having the group record and release the song as an End Records single, felt that it wasn't quite done the way they felt it should have been done. The Imperials' version didn't chart, so Sedaka took it and decided that he should record the song himself. "The Diary" was issued on Sedaka's 1959 first solo album ''
Rock with Sedaka'' on
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
. It was reissued on his 1961 record ''
Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits'', and again in 1963 on the album ''
Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits''.
Reception
Sedaka's version became his very first hit. The single reached No. 14 on the US ''Billboard'' chart, and No. 15 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
References
1958 debut singles
Neil Sedaka songs
Songs written by Neil Sedaka
Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield
Little Anthony and the Imperials songs
1958 songs
End Records singles
RCA Records singles
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