Music
Neil Sedaka wrote a song inspired by John Lennon’s life. The song was also inspired by another musician who was not nearly as famous.
TL;DR:
- Neil Sedaka wrote a song inspired by John Lennon’s life.
- The song was also inspired by another musician who was not nearly as famous.
- Sedaka’s song might not exist without a news report about immigration to the United States.
John Lennon‘s struggles immigrating to the United States inspired a Neil Sedaka song. Sedaka said the tune remains relevant. Despite this, the other writer of “The Immigrant” didn’t like the track very much.
Neil Sedaka’s song ‘The Immigrant’ was influenced by John Lennon’s life
During a 2023 interview with MSNBC, Sedaka discussed the origin of his song “The Immigrant.” He said he wrote the tune for John because the former Beatle was having difficulty immigrating to the United States at the time. Notably, Sedaka was friends with John.
Sedaka noted that he came from an immigrant family, as did his co-writer, Philip Cody. He felt “The Immigrant” was still relevant in the modern day. Notably, John said that Brooklyn produced some of the greatest songwriters and Sedaka was from Brooklyn. The “Bad Blood” singer said there must have been “something in the egg cream” that made Brooklyn songwriters so talented. He cited Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and Neil Diamond as examples of musicians from that neighborhood.
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The song was also inspired by another musician besides John Lennon
Sedaka co-wrote “The Immigrant” with Philip Cody. Cody co-wrote other Sedaka tracks like “Solitaire,” “Bad Blood,” and “Laughter in the Rain.” During a 2011 interview with Songfacts, Cody was asked what inspired his contributions to “The Immigrant.” “I wanted to write a song for my dad,” he revealed. “My dad came to this country; he wanted to be a singing star. He worked in the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera before he got married, and then put down his singing career to become a tradesman.
“My dad and I, up until I was about 28, were constantly at each other’s throats,” he added. “He wasn’t real happy with the direction I’d taken. He thought I was destined to be a bum for the entirety of my life.
“And then he actually went into a recording studio in Sicily and did a version of ‘Solitaire’ in Italian,” Cody revealed. “And then I said, ‘Wow, I’ve scored with my dad. My dad thinks I’m cool now.’ So I thought as payback I would try to write about my dad’s point of view of coming to this country and how much promise there was.”
Neil Sedaka’s ‘The Immigrant’ was also inspired by a contemporary news report
Cody also said the tune was about “immigration problems” in the contemporary U.S. He saw a news report on immigration and was upset by the way Americans were treating migrants.
Cody didn’t think the song was very good. He felt it sounded too much like cabaret music for its message to shine through. Despite this, he noted that he receives letters from fans who appreciate the lyrics of “The Immigrant.”
“The Immigrant” is a classic song and it wouldn’t be the same without John’s struggles.
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