Review: 'Neil Sedaka: King Of Song'

There are some songwriters whose gifts are so impressive that they need to be appreciated even if their music isn't quite your preference. That's certainly the case with Neil Sedaka, whose hit-making career spanned several generations of pop and rock history.

"Neil Sedaka: King Of Song" provides a nice recap of the ups and downs of Sedaka's career, from his early beginnings writing with partner Howie Greenfield in the late 1950s, through a pre-Beatles solo career in which he reeled off nearly 20 hits in a row.

Like most American artists of that era, his career collapsed once the British Invasion arrived. But in the late 1960s he ironically found a third life in music when he moved to the U.K. He had always been popular there and after he split with long-time collaborator Greenfield, he worked on his sound and hit the charts again. First in the U.K., then in the U.S. after friend Elton John released some of his British tracks in America. Those recordings spawned hits for Sedaka and several other artists found chart success covering the tracks (The Captain & Tennille with "Lonely Nights (Angel Face)" and The Carpenters with "Solitare").

The one-hour documentary includes some fascinating segments with Sedaka and while hardcore fans are probably already familiar with the facts, there is enough vintage footage to keep everyone happy. You don't have to be a fan of Neil Sedaka to be fascinated by this look at one of the rare survivors of the Brill Building songwriters of the late 1950s.