Guitar Learning Journey: Neil Sedaka's "Oh! Carol" instrumental acoustic guitar cover

Guitar Learning Journey: Neil Sedaka's "Oh! Carol" instrumental acoustic guitar coverShow more

"Oh! Carol" is an international hit written by Neil Sedaka in 1958.

The song was co-written with Howard Greenfield.

The song spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 9 on December 6, 1959, while reaching No. 3 on the UK's New Musical Express chart. It also earned Sedaka his first No. 1 ranking when it went to No. 1 in the Netherlands and Wallonia. After its release as a single, it was included in the album Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits. The song is noted for Sedaka's spoken recitation of the verse, the second time around.

At the time Sedaka produced the record, his second and third singles, "I Go Ape!" and "Crying My Heart Out For You" had fared poorly on the charts, and RCA Victor was ready to drop him from their label, but producer Al Nevins persuaded the RCA executives to give Sedaka one last chance. Determined to create a hit song, Sedaka purchased the three top singles of the day and listened to them repeatedly, studying their melody, chord progression, and lyrical styles; and he found that they were very similar in structure. He then used this knowledge to create the song, "Oh! Carol"