Neil Sedaka - The Miracle of Christmas
With eight days left before Christmas, I wanted to spend today looking at several new Christmas albums on the shelves this season - perhaps a last minute gift guide for those who love Christmas music. My mom's gonna freak when I play this for her when I see her for Christmas dinner! And as I type these words with Neil Sedaka's first ever Christmas album playing in the background, I'm starting to freak. A little background first: Sedaka first broke into the music business as a songwriter, penning many of his hits alongside Carole King in the Brill Building in New York City. Singing many of his own compositions (including back-up vocals), Neil had a string of hits between 1960 and 1962 such as "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", "Calendar Girl", and "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". His popularity took a direct British invasion hit and by 1967, he was without a label. Sedaka went overseas and toured extensively in the UK and Australia, winnin...