''Steppin' Out'' is a 1976 album containing the works of

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 America it was the third and final album of a trilogy of albums issued by

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

. (Rocket would issue a compilation album, '' Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits'', in 1977; but it contained no new material.) Outside America ''Steppin' Out'' was issued on the

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

label. In 1998, the

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

label reissued ''Steppin' Out'' and included four bonus tracks. The title track peaked at number 36 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, and featured backing vocals by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Track listing

Side One

# "Sing Me" # "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" # "No. 1 with a Heartache" # "Steppin' Out" # " Love in the Shadows" # "Cardboard California"

Side Two

# "Here We Are Falling In Love Again" # "I Let You Walk Away" # "Good Times, Good Music, Good Friends" # "Perfect Strangers" # "Bad and Beautiful" # "Summer Nights"

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said "there are no memorable tunes here, and the craft simply doesn't offer the pleasures it once did. Consequently, it's only of interest to hardcore followers". ''

The Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'' opined that "I liked Sedaka better when he was still worried about his comeback ... there was a hunger then that is missing from this album ... even Elton John would find it a bit soft around the edges".

Singles and EPs

Many of the songs on this album were released on 45 rpm singles; some were even included on a 33-1/3 rpm EP album in the UK. Those songs that saw such a release are as follows: * " Love in the Shadows" (No. 16 on US pop charts in 1976) * "Steppin' Out" (No. 36 on US pop charts in 1976) * "I Let You Walk Away" (B-side of "Steppin' Out") * "No. 1 With A Heartache" (issued as a 45 rpm single in the UK on Polydor label; not issued on a 45 in the US) * "Good Times, Good Music, Good Friends" (B-side of "No. 1 With A Heartache" in the UK) * "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" (No. 52 on US pop charts in late 1976-early 1977) * "Perfect Strangers" (B-side of "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine") In 1976,

issued an EP in the UK entitled, "Make Your Own Sunshine". This EP included "You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine" and "Summer Nights" along with "Tit For Tat" and "New York City Blues", two songs from earlier Neil Sedaka albums.

Varese Sarabande re-release

In 1998,

reissued ''Steppin' Out'' and included the following bonus tracks: *(13) "(Baby) Don't Let It Mess Your Mind" (B-side of "Love in the Shadows" in the US) *(14) "Time Waits For No One" (it is unknown when this song was recorded) *(15) "

(Is This the Way to) Amarillo "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It is about a man traveling to Amarillo, Texas, to find his girlfriend Marie. Written by two Americans with a strong country-western lyrical theme, the s ...

" (from the Elektra album ''

A Song ''A Song'' is an album by the American musician Neil Sedaka, released in 1977. It was produced by George Martin and released in 1977 on the Elektra label in the US, marking the beginning of Sedaka's association with Elektra, which would run thr ...

''; No. 44 on US pop charts in 1977) *(16) " Should've Never Let You Go" (duet with daughter Dara Sedaka; from the Elektra album '' In the Pocket''; No. 19 on US pop charts in 1980)

Notes

* The songs "Sing Me" and "Cardboard California" were new versions of songs that Sedaka had originally recorded in 1971 for the RCA album ''

Emergence In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole. Emergence plays a central rol ...

'' * The bonus song "(Baby) Don't Let It Mess Your Mind" was a new version of a song that had originally been recorded in 1972 for the RCA album ''

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'' * "Sing Me" was covered by other artists such as

Lou Christie Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (February 19, 1943 – June 17, 2025), known professionally by his stage name Lou Christie, was an American pop music, pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US ch ...

and

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...

, while "Baby, Don't Let It Mess Your Mind" has been covered by other artists, including

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

. *

served as a backup vocal on the title song "Steppin' Out" just as he had done for Sedaka during his recording of " Bad Blood" in 1975. *

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

promoted the release of this album with a primetime TV special, also titled ''Steppin' Out'', in 1976. * The song "Bad And Beautiful" has proven quite popular with Neil Sedaka's fans in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and with other Spanish-speaking fans throughout

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. * "Bad And Beautiful" was reworked for the 1985

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a 1985 Japanese television anime series, the second installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, and a sequel to the original ''Mobile Suit Gundam''. The show was created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, with character designs by Yoshikazu ...

'' as the series' ending theme, ''Hoshizora no Believe'' (星空のBelieve lit. "Believe in the Starry Sky"), sung by Mami Ayukawa.

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums Neil Sedaka albums The Rocket Record Company albums