I sang Magtanim with Neil Sedaka!

Column: Funfare Update
Author: Ricky Lo

Oh yes, I did -- sing a duet with the Neil Sedaka -- and, to quote the legendary singer with the unique voice, "We could be the Everly Brothers!"

And that was how Neil, here for a concert called Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits tonight at the Araneta Coliseum, made my day a little past lunchtime yesterday at the Boracay Room of the EDSA Shangri-La where he and company are billeted. I missed breakfast and braved through the mid-morning traffic from Fairview in Quezon City to the Shangri-La in Mandaluyong City and arrived on time for my 11 o'clock appointment with Neil who bided his time at his room upstairs while the organizers were sprucing up the venue.

Anyway, Neil has been here twice, and I wondered if, like some foreign artists, he ever thought of including a Filipino song in his repertoire. Hardly showing any sign of jetlag (he flew in early Thursday morning from the US), the seventyish Neil (who can pass for fiftysomething. .. no kidding!) broke into a smile, "Oh yes, I did," and proceeded to hum and then sing a few lines of the song whose title he couldn't remember. I told him, "It's called Magtanim ay Di Biro" and that's when, by instinct, I sang along with him. "We sound good together," I kidded Neil. And he said, "We could be the Everly Brothers!" Suddenly, I felt as if I did have breakfast earlier that morning.

The last time Neil was here was, hmmmm, ages ago but he remembered those two visits very distinctly.

"My first visit was in 1960," he recalled. "I was (among) the first American rock 'n roll singer(s) to perform at the Araneta Coliseum. "

Oh my, that was 48 years ago and Neil looks almost the same and, I guess, sings exactly the same, with his songs appreciated and sung even by this generation, including (among others) Oh Carol, You Mean Everything To Me, Stupid Cupid, Stairway to Heaven, Run Samson Run, Sweet Sixteen, Calendar Girl, Little Devil, My World Gets Smaller, One Way Ticket, Laughter in the Rain, Solitaire, My Diary and Breaking Up is Hard To Do.

Hopefully (keep your fingers crossed, Sedakans!), those are the songs, plus his many other old hits, that Neil will sing in his Big Dome concert tonight. Popular lawyer Romy Macalintal, a Neil Sedaka fan, sent an e-mail to Funfare Update reminding Neil "not to commit the same mistake committed by the likes of Jack Jones, Cliff Richard, etc. who performed in the Philippines but DID NOT sing their hit songs associated with them during our younger years. Hence, their shows were a big flop. Jones and Richard sang their alleged 'new hits' so the audience was not able to identify with those new songs. So please relay to Mr. Sedaka to just stick it out with his old hits, period. " (There. NOTED!)

I commented that he didn't look older than. .. 45?. .. and Neil said, "Flattery will get you everywhere!"

The second time he was here 25 years ago and he remembered having stayed at the Manila Hotel.

"You know, when I go all over the world if I meet a Filipino, he always remembers my songs. It flatters me that Filipinos remember all my songs. "

Asked what the most memorable to him among his hundreds of songs, Neil said, "Laughter in the Rain. I did it for an Elton John record company. I was out of work for 13 years. When The Beatles came, they sidetracked the American solo singers. I wrote songs for many great people -- Jack Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Shirley Bassey, Peggy Lee and Connie Francis. And then I met Elton John in England and did a song for his label. In 1965, I recorded Laughter in the Rain which became No. 1 not only in America but all over the world. That song revived my career. "

I asked Neil to sing a few bars from "that song," and he obliged. Applause!

He sounded, yes, exactly the same as he did ages ago. What does he do to preserve his voice?

"I don't take iced drinks and I don't stay inside highly-airconditioned rooms. Bad for the vocal cords. I get enough sleep, eight to nine hours, and it's good for the voice. "

Does he vocalize?

Instead of answering, Neil demonstrated how he vocalizes.

"I do it every day," he said.

Does he do it in the bathroom of the apartment he shares with his wife in New York?

"Oh yes, I do. Everybody sounds better because of the vibration. "
How does he keep fit?

"I walk 30 minutes every morning. I like to write new songs, contemporary songs, and that's what keeps me young -- music. "

And who among the current breed of singers does he like?

"I like John Mayer, Christina Aguilera and a few others. I like singers who are melodic; I don't like rap. "

It was at this point where I asked Neil if he has tried singing a Filipino song, he being now virtually an "adopted Filipino. " He said that he did sing a Filipino song during his 1960 Big Dome concert, which was, yes, about planting rice is never fun, bent from morn till the set of sun. ..

Before I ended this interview, I asked Neil to sing a few lines from some of his songs, including Run Samson Run, One Way Ticket, Stupid Cupid and, but of course, Oh Carol.

"I feel like a walking jukebox," he laughed when he noticed that I was leading him into doing an impromptu mini "concert. "

Whatever happened to Carole King, the inspiration of Oh Carol?

Was there any romance between Carole and him?

"Oh, we dated for about two minutes!"

That was a long romance, I kidded him.

"Her real name was Carol Cline and we both grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She had a rock 'n roll group and I had my own group, and we would sing together. I wrote Oh Carol (proceeded to sing) and she wrote a song called Oh Neil -- you know (proceeded to sing again), Oh Neil, I love you for so long; I never dreamed you'd put me in a song. "

Besides for his enduring songs, how does Neil want to be remembered?

"As part of the history of American rock 'n roll, along with Buddy Holly, Roy Orbinson, Elvis Presley, Paul Anka. .. We all started around the same time. It's very exciting to travel as a musical, not a political, ambassador. It's wonderful to be in music to reach people's emotions. "

(Note: Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits is presented by Montre,

Concertus Inc. , PCSO and MCA Records. Official residence is EDSA-Shangri-La and official car is Mercedes Benz, with GMA Network as official TV partner. Other sponsors are The Philippine STAR, People's Journal, Business Mirror, 105. 1 Crossover, RJ 100, 95. 1 Energy FM, 93. 9 iFM, 96. 3 WRock, 97. 1 LSFM, 94. 7 Mellow Touch and 104. 3 DWBR. Ticket prices are VIP P5,250, Patron P4,725, Lower Box P3,675, Upper Box A P2,625, Upper Box B P1,323 and General Admission P525. For inquiries, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 and Concertus at 813-2617 for VIP tickets. )

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar. net. ph)

Source: The Philippine Star