''The Hungry Years'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

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 ...

, the title of which is an eponymous track from the album. It was released by

The Rocket Record Company The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song " Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. The album is the American edition of '' Overnight Success'', with two songs being replaced. " Bad Blood," a duet with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, hit #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks, was certified gold, and was the most commercially successful single of his career; his follow-up, a slowed-down, bluesy remake of his 1962 #1 smash "

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do "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 ...

," hit #8 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Chart over December 1975-January 1976. "The Queen of 1964," from his British-released ''Overnight Success'' album, reached #35 in the UK in March 1975. The title track, one of Sedaka's most frequently requested non-single tracks, marked Sedaka's reunion 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 ...

after having broken off their partnership in 1973.

The Captain and Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum ...

covered "

Lonely Night (Angel Face) "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is a song written by Neil Sedaka. The song was first recorded by Sedaka and appeared as a track on his 1975 studio album, ''The Hungry Years''. The following year the song was made popular when covered by the pop music ...

", a track from ''The Hungry Years''; their version reached #3 on the Hot 100 and was certified gold. The song dea Sedaka and Greenfield would again work together more regularly in the late 1970s.

Track listing

All music composed by Sedaka; lyricist in (parentheses).

Side One

#"Crossroads" (Phil Cody) #"

" (Sedaka) #"Stephen" (

) #" Bad Blood" (Cody) (duet with

) #"Your Favorite Entertainer" (Cody) #"Baby Blue" (Greenfield)

Side Two

#"Tit for Tat" (Greenfield) #"New York City Blues" (Cody) #"When You Were Lovin' Me" (Cody) # "The Hungry Years" (Greenfield) #"

" (Greenfield; torch version originally arranged by

Lenny Welch Leon "Lenny" Welch (born May 31, 1938) is an American MOR and pop singer. Early years He was born in New York City, United States, and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, by his godparents, Eva and Robert Richardson. He attended Asbury Park ...

)

Bonus Tracks from the 1998 CD re-issue

* (12) "Hey Mister Sunshine" (Dara Sedaka) * (13) "The Queen Of 1964"* * (14) "Betty Grable" * (15) "Goodman Goodbye"* (Sedaka, Cody) *"The Queen of 1964" was from ''Overnight Success''; it was replaced by "Tit For Tat" in ''The Hungry Years.'' *"Goodman Goodbye" was from ''Overnight Success''; it was replaced by "Your Favorite Entertainer" in ''The Hungry Years.''

Certifications

References

1975 albums Neil Sedaka albums The Rocket Record Company albums {{1970s-pop-album-stub