Genius Fan

One of my all time favourite people is US singer Neil Sedaka. He died last month at the age of 86 and I’ve been doing some intensive listening to his songs over the past couple of weeks. His career spanned decades, he was recognised universally as a hardworking musician in it for the pleasure. He wrote and co-wrote so many songs – Wikipedia has it at over 500 – including hits from generations ago, like Oh! Carol (1959!), Calendar Girl and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen. It was when I was listening to his wonderful song The Hungry Years, and thinking on the lyrics, that it occurred to me what genius he had. That’s the subject of Genius Fan…albeit Eighteenth century genius.

But I’ve imagined myself mixing with these characters from back then, James Boswell, of course, Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, Fanny Burney, Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, Addison and Steele and on and on. I’ve sketched myself in situations I’ve daydreamed about. And so it is I introduce Boswell and Sedaka. Would they get on? (Will they get on, some might ask.) I think they both had big hearts, though Sedaka was disciplined where Boswell wasn’t. Either way, they’re getting an introduction, and I’m thee to see it.

Neil Sedaka (13 march, 1939 – 27 February 2026).