"Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song released in 1961 by

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

. Sedaka wrote the music and performed the song, while the lyrics were written by

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including o ...

. The song is noted for being similar in musical structure to

Take Good Care of My Baby "Take Good Care of My Baby" is a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song was made famous by American singer Bobby Vee, when it was released in 1961. Bobby Vee versions While searching for material for Bobby Vee to record, Vee's ...

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

(another 1961 hit), and additionally for its resemblance to the melody of the Chiffons' subsequent 1963 hit " One Fine Day". Both of these songs exhibiting similarity to "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" were penned by the team of

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

(King and Sedaka were close friends in high school, and Sedaka was known for his appropriation of other popular song motifs in his work). The song reached #6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

The narrator sings the song to a younger acquaintance who had up to that point had more of a sibling-like relationship (“when you were only six, I was your big brother”) upon her sixteenth birthday, reminiscing about the ups and downs of their friendship thus far and declaring that now that she has grown from a gawky tomboy (comparing her younger self to the subject of the

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

song "

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...

") to a radiant, feminine beauty, he wants her for his sweetheart. Greenfield wrote the song out of a flippant comment Sedaka had made regarding their success up to that time: "you could write a birthday song and it'd be a hit." This was one of several Sedaka recordings that employed the services of drummer

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as the Coasters, the Monkees and the Lovin' ...

. Other musicians on the record include Al Casamenti, Art Reyerson and Charles Macey on guitar, Ernie Hayes on piano, George Duviver on bass, Artie Kaplan on sax, Seymour Barab and Morris Stonzek on cellos, David Guillet, Joseph Haber, Louie Haber, Harold Kohon, David Sackson, Maurice Stine, Louis Stone, and Arnold Goldberg on violins, and Phil Kraus and George Devens on percussion. A year after the song became a hit, Sedaka's brother-in-law, chemist Ed Grossman, wrote lyrics for a sequel song from the sixteen-year-old's perspective. In "It Hurts to Be Sixteen," the female singer laments her "in-between" state between childhood and adulthood, insisting she has fallen in love but that those around her insist she is too young. "It Hurts to Be Sixteen," with a melody written by Sedaka, was a minor hit for Andrea Carroll (herself 16 at the time she recorded it) in 1963.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

* A

version was released on the album "30 Big Hits from the 60's" in 1964. * The

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish language, Swedish term for a band that plays (; "dance band music"). ' is often danced to in partner dance, pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. T ...

Flamingokvintetten Flamingokvintetten was a Swedish dansband formed in Partille in 1960. The group consisted of Hasse Carlsson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Dennis Janebrink (bass guitar), Stefan Kardebratt (keyboards), Douglas Möller (lead guitar) and Ulf Ge ...

in 1968 recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of the song that reached #1 in the Swedish charts ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' ( English: ''Ten at the Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record c ...

'' and Kvällstoppen. They also recorded a

version of the song, named "Hon är sexton år i dag" reaching

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...

the same year. * A version called "Happy Birthday, Twenty-One" with a special lyric by

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

and sung by

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

was released on her ''

Great Balls of Fire "Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie '' Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 reco ...

'' album in 1972 on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. She also sang the song in the 1978 film ''

Sextette ''Sextette'' is a 1978 American musical comedy film directed by Ken Hughes, and starring Mae West in her final film, alongside an ensemble cast including Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice ...

''. * In 1975, Davey Page released a version of the song, which peaked at number 57 on the Australian charts. * In 1983,

Kyoko Koizumi (born February 4, 1966) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is signed to Victor Entertainment. Career In 1981, Kyoko Koizumi participated in and won the Star Tanjo! programme and released her first single in March 1982. She obtained several ...

did a Japanese cover of the song called "素敵な16才" for her cassette only Extended Play; Separation Kyoko in 1983. * In 2009, Damian McGinty of

Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces ( ...

included the song on their album ''Take Me Home''. * In the ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...

'' episode "Pretty in Black" (Season Five),

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

and several of their friends sing the first chorus of this song to a mortified Darlene at her "sweet sixteen" party. A version of the song by an uncredited performer is also played over the closing credits of the episode. *In an episode of King of Queens Arthur Spooner, played by Jerry Stiller claims that he inspired Sedaka to this song. In the end of this episode Sedaka appears as himself. * The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina used the song in their first trailer. *

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

recorded the song for his 1993 album ''Up on the Roof: Songs from the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...

''.

References

4^https://www.afmsagaftrafund.org/covered-rec-artist_SR.php?a=MDI4MjEx&b=SEFQUFkgQklSVEhEQVksIFNXRUVUIFNJWFRFRU4%3D&c=U0VEQUtBIE5FSUw%3D&s=Rg%3D%3D {{authority control 1961 songs Neil Sedaka songs Songs written by Neil Sedaka Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield RCA Victor singles Flamingokvintetten songs 1968 singles Platina Records singles Number-one singles in Sweden Songs about teenagers