Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)
1975 single by The Carpenters
"Solitaire" is a ballad composed by Neil Sedaka with lyrics by Phil Cody and originally recorded by Sedaka on his 1972 album Solitaire. It uses the card game of solitaire as a metaphor for a man "who lost his love through his indifference"—"while life goes on around him everywhere he's playing solitaire". A version by Andy Williams reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973. In 1975, the song was a U.S. top-20 single for the Carpenters.
Early versions
Sedaka originally was inspired by Frederic Chopin (his favorite classical composer) for the chorus and by Roberta Flack in the verses. When he presented the tune to Cody, he came up with the words based on his recent divorce; Cody had been playing solitaire frequently as a coping mechanism. Both Sedaka and Cody considered the composition to be a spiritual experience.
Neil Sedaka recorded "Solitaire" as the title cut for a 1972 album at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England backed by Lol Creme, Kevin Godley and Graham Gouldman while Eric Stewart engineered the session. Creme, Godley, Gouldman and Stewart would later go on to record under the name 10cc.
Appearing on 1972 album releases by both Tony Christie and Petula Clark, "Solitaire" had its first evident single release in February 1973 as recorded by the Searchers; however it was an autumn 1973 single by Andy Williams which would reach number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and afford Williams a number 1 hit in South Africa.
“Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)” enters the record as 1975 single by The Carpenters. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Solitaire, Neil and Sedaka can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Solitaire, Neil and Sedaka provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7558181. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1973 and 1975.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song) primary sources, Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song) archive and Solitaire research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Solitaire (Neil Sedaka song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.