MANILA, Philippines—Neil Sedaka has not only outlived Elvis Presley and The Beatles; he has also demonstrated what it meant to be a consummate musician.

Perhaps it has something to do with his being a gentleman of the old school of performers. Or maybe he simply does it straight from the heart. In any case, Sedaka’s one-night concert last Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum revealed how age, wisdom and undiminished passion for music could raise the bar for entertainment to a level of perfection.

Added value

He promised to play all the hits and he did—with value-added effort that consisted of informative spiels (no scripted monitors); spontaneous dancing (at age 69, no mean feat); off-the-cuff humor; and impeccable piano-playing.

Opening with the mid-tempo “Bad Blood,” one of his collaborative efforts with Elton John in 1975, Sedaka led a five-piece band that helped him bring back life into bygone eras.

“I treat my songs like they’re my children,” Sedaka said. “They live and breathe when I play them.”

Gasps and sighs greeted his early hits “Oh! Carol” (’59) and “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” (’61)—Sedaka’s lighthearted, sprightly piano work driving the music—followed by the ballad “Where the Boys Are” (the movie’s title song, written for pop singer Connie Francis in her first acting role ).

In ’58, Sedaka was already part of a group of professional songwriting teams (including the likes of Carole King and Burt Bacharach) headquartered at New York’s Brill Building when RCA signed him to a record deal, just two years after snagging Presley. “They were looking for a new sex symbol,” Sedaka quipped. Truth was, he symbolized rock ’n’ roll’s wholesome side—a counterbalance to the dark, dangerous nature that Elvis represented.

“I was the king of ‘tralalas’ and ‘doo-be-doos,’” Sedaka declared, to explain his love of harmony singing. Which made it easy to understand why there were kindergarten hums in the next song, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (daba-daba-dum-doo-be-doo-bam-bam), and another one, “Stairway to Heaven” (wela-wela-wela …)—the latter highlighted by a spirited saxophone solo.

If “Calendar Girl” sounded like the novelty tune that it was, Sedaka made it more fun by leaving the grand piano to do some tap dancing.

He would do this again in “Love Will Keep Us Together”—his “first Grammy Award winner,” which he prefaced by telling us how he usually writes a song: “I sit at the piano with two vodka martinis … first comes the melody …”

Sad, sad song

But just as we were ready to conclude that Sedaka was only good in writing happy songs, he started playing “Solitaire.” It must be the saddest song on earth, with brilliant lyrics on the parallelisms of losing card games and loved ones. No wonder so many artists have covered it, just as Frank Sinatra and others have recorded their own versions of “Hungry Years”—Sedaka’s bittersweet look at life’s struggles.

Dressed brightly in a yellow suit, Sedaka looked cool and tireless, playing 27 songs that included his own lyrics set to a Puccini piece. “But it’s not easy to be No. 1 in the hit parade,” he noted, before playing the lilting intro to “Laughter in the Rain.”

On that note, many fans seemed to regain their lost youth.