Carole King is paying tribute to late singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka.
Sedaka died on Friday, Feb. 27 following a brief hospitalization, according to a statement from his family posted on his Instagram.
Before they became famous musicians, King and Sedaka briefly dated as high school students in Brooklyn, New York. In 1959, Sedaka released the hit song “Oh! Carol,” which was inspired by her. King later responded playfully with her own track, “Oh! Neil,” written by her future husband, Gerry Goffin.
King paid tribute to her high school sweetheart via Instagram on Feb. 27.
“Neil Sedaka was so talented, and he inspired me to follow my dream of being a songwriter,” she wrote. “With love and gratitude and condolences to his family.”
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After the success of “Oh! Carol,” Sedaka became a household name in the early 1960s with hits like “Laughter in the Rain,” “Calendar Girl,” and, most notably, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”
Sedaka was also a founding member of The Tokens in the late 1950s, who are best known for songs like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Sincerely,” and “Tonight I Fell in Love.”
Over the course of his career, Sedaka earned five Grammy Award nominations. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
An official cause of death for Sedaka has not been confirmed. However, TMZ reported that Sedaka was transported to a hospital by ambulance the morning of Feb. 27 after not feeling well at home.
Sedaka is survived by his wife, Leba Strassberg, whom he married in 1962, and their children Dara and Marc.
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