Paul Leka (February 20, 1943 – October 12, 2011) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, and orchestrator, most notable for co-writing the 1960s hits " Green Tambourine" and "

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a 1969 song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a ...

", the latter of which has become a standard song at sporting events.

Life and career

Born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

, Leka was one of four children of Theodore and Dhimitra Leka, immigrants from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

. His father worked as a short-order cook. Soon after he started taking piano lessons, Paul was writing songs, and by age 16, his brother said, he was trying to sell them to music publishers in New York.New York Times Obituary
/ref> Described as "one of those rare, genuinely prodigious musicians who was too talented to limit himself to actually being a member of one group or recording project",Bruce Eder, Biography of Paul Leka www.allmusic.com. Leka grew up in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

and played piano as a child and later became a multi-instrumentalist. He played with a group called the Chateaus, who recorded some singles for Coral Records in the 1960s. Leka soon gave up performing for production and arranging work. He principally wrote songs for and had hits with the Lemon Pipers (for whom, with Shelley Pinz, he wrote " Green Tambourine"), the Peppermint Rainbow in which he produced, arranged, and orchestrated for their song "Will You Be Staying After Sunday", and

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...

, which featured two of his bandmates from the Chateaus, and who scored a multiplatinum hit with the Leka co-written "

". Leka is credited in particular with writing the well-known "Na Na Hey Hey" chorus. To get the right sound for that song, Leka said he used a hammer to bang directly on the piano keys. During this same period, Leka became a producer and arranger for

the Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, " Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroq ...

, producing and arranging the majority of the songs on ''

The Left Banke Too ''The Left Banke Too'' is the second studio album by American baroque pop band The Left Banke, released by Smash Records in 1968. It would be the final album of the band's initial lifespan, with their next album not appearing until 1986. Backgr ...

''. Leka won many awards including gold records for his hits. Leka worked in the industry into the 1980s, producing

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

band, The Dads, and writing and arranging for artists such as

Peter Nero Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow, May 22, 1934) is an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and has earned two Grammy Awards. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Bernard Nierow, he started ...

Jimmie Spheeris Jimmie Spheeris (November 5, 1949 – July 4, 1984) was an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s on the Columbia Records and Epic Records labels. Spheeris died in 1984, at the age of 34, after a motorcycle accident. B ...

Tim Moore (singer-songwriter) Tim Moore is an American pop singer and songwriter who recorded four albums for Asylum Records in the 1970s. Moore's songs were praised by critics and admired by a diverse range of peers including Keith Richards, Jimmy Webb, James Taylor and ...

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. T ...

Lori Lieberman Lori Lieberman (born November 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on guitar and piano. She first came to public attention in the early 1970s with a series of albums on Capitol Records, the first of which featured t ...

, and

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits " I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of " Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

. Leka owned a recording studio called Connecticut Recording, located above a five and dime store on Main Street, Bridgeport. He recorded a number of performers there over the years, including

, who recorded ''

Cat's in the Cradle "Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album '' Verities & Balderdash''. The single topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in December 1974. As Chapin's only number-one song, it became the best known of his work a ...

'' at the studio. Leka later relocated the studio to his home in Sharon. Leka died of lung cancer on October 12, 2011, at a hospice near his home in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...

. He was survived by his wife, Engjellushe, their son Alexander, and two children from his first marriage, Derek and Heather.McArdle, Terence. "Paul Leka, co-writer of 'Na Na, Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye),' dies at 68." ''The Washington Post''. October 25, 2011.
Retrieved 4-6-2013. A fourth child (third son), Theodore, predeceased him.

Songwriting credits

*"(Tell Me) Who Am I" – Judy White *"And I'll Be There" – The Peppermint Rainbow *"Baby Stay And Make Me Happy" – Gary Carl And The Orchids *"Blueberry Blue" – The Lemon Pipers *"Come On" – Jay Traynor *"Come on Back and Love Me" –

*"Come on Home Girl" – Steam *"Do Unto Others" – Steam *"Don't Love Me Unless It's Forever" – The Peppermint Rainbow *"Don't Stop Lovin' Me" – Steam *"Everything Is You" – The Lemon Pipers *"Falling Sugar" – The Palace Guard *"From My Window (I Can See)" – Brooklyn Bridge *"Gail Can You Hear Me" – Craig Norback *"Get Yourself Ready" – Dave Armstrong And The One Eyed Jacks *"Girl You'll See What You're Doin' To Me" – The Younger Society *"Going To Bethel" – Route 17 *"Green Tambourine" – The Lemon Pipers *"Groovy Personality" – The Zebra *"I Need Someone (The Painter)" – Music Asylum *"I'm Gonna Give You All My Love" – Garrett Scott *"I'm the One Who Loves You" – Steam *"I'm In A Lonely Situation (Love Is All I Need)" – Herman's Hermits *"I've Cried a Million Tears" – Steam *"I've Gotta Make You Love Me" – Steam *"It's Funny How Fast You Forgot Me" – The Leaders *"It's the Magic in You Girl" – Steam *"Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade)" – The Lemon Pipers *"Little Red Boat By The River" – Brooklyn Bridge *"Lonely Atmosphere" – The Lemon Pipers *"Lorraine (My Lorraine)" – Wellington Arrangement *"Lost In Love" – "Anthony and the Imperials" *"Lots of Pretty Girls" –

Tommy James & the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Cl ...

*"Love and Affection" – Steam *"Melissa Jones" – Wellington Arrangement *"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" – Steam *"New Breed, Now Generation" – Steam *"Now That I Love You" – Garrett Scott *"One Good Woman" – Steam *"Pink Lemonade" – The Five Americans *"Pretty Thing" – The Plum Beach Incident and Gary Lewis & the Playboys *"Rice Is Nice" – The Lemon Pipers *"Rolling Dice" – The Hitchhikers *"Rosemary" – The Peppermint Rainbow *"Run Like the Devil" – The Peppermint Rainbow *"She Belongs To Me" – Paul and Dale *"She Is a Little Bit Sweeter" –

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

*"Snow White" – The Devotions *"Shoeshine Boy" – The Lemon Pipers *"Shoemaker Of Leatherwear Square" – The Lemon Pipers *"Summer's Here (School Is Through)" – The Chateaus *"The Penthouse" – Lynn Roman *"Twin Sisters" – Paul and Dale *"What I'm Saying Is True" – Steam *"Yesterday I Took A Picture Of Me For You" – Joanne Jonas *"You Are The One I Love" – Adam's Apples *"You Call It Love" – All 6 *"You're The Sound Of Love" – Peppermint Rainbow

Production credits

" – REO Speedwagon (1971) (with Billy Rose II) *" R.E.O./T.W.O." – REO Speedwagon (1972) (with Billy Rose II)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leka, Paul American people of Albanian descent 1943 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists American male pianists American music arrangers American pop keyboardists American pop pianists American session musicians Deaths from cancer in Connecticut Deaths from lung cancer Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut Record producers from Connecticut Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from Connecticut Songwriters from New York (state) American male songwriters