EXCLUSIVE: Neil Sedaka's Beatles Beef! How Late Crooner Went to His Grave Convinced the Fab Four Laid Waste to His Career
Neil Sedaka's Beatles beef-fueled claims the band ruined his career before his death.
April 1 2026, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Teen idol Neil Sedaka went to the grave convinced the Beatles wrecked his career when they landed in America, according to sources, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Calendar Girl crooner's resentment, sources said, was obvious throughout his life, which ended at age 86 at a Los Angeles hospital on Feb. 27.
Beatles Arrival Crushed Sedaka’s Career
Neil Sedaka blamed The Beatles for derailing his career, saying their 1964 arrival in America pushed him off the charts.
"Not good," said the prolific, Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter, who penned or cowrote more than 700 songs and 21 Top 40 hits during his six-decade career. "When the Beatles arrived in America, I retired."
The Laughter in the Rain singer was so despondent over the shift in music tastes after the 1964 British Invasion, he uprooted his family in 1970 and moved to London to seek out new supporters.
He insisted European fans remained "very faithful to the original American rock and rollers," while U.S. audiences were enchanted by the mop tops and their Brit-clones.
"I had 13 years of being off the charts – no plays, nothing," Sedaka lamented.
Brits Boosted Then Haunted Sedaka
Elton John helped revive Sedaka's career in 1973 by signing him to Rocket Record after the impact of The Beatles era.
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He once boasted he could write songs just as well as Paul McCartney and ironically noted how British icon Elton John revived his career in 1973 by signing him to his Rocket Record label.
Under Rocket, Sadaka released his albums Sedaka's Back and The Hungry Years.
But "the damage the Brits did to Neil's career bugged him all his life," said an insider.
