Maps of Music

Steppin' Out (1976)

Where the lyrics of Steppin' Out take you, and where it was really made.

Steppin' Out closes Neil Sedaka's three-album run on Rocket Records, yet the title track's backing vocals come from Elton John.

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Steppin' Out: 1976 album by Neil Sedaka
The third and final album of a trilogy issued by The Rocket Record Company
Outside America, issued on the Polydor label
Twelve tracks, six per side
Side One: Sing Me, You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine, No. 1 with a Heartache, Steppin' Out, Love in the Shadows, Cardboard California
Side Two: Here We Are Falling In Love Again, I Let You Walk Away, Good Times Good Music Good Friends, Perfect Strangers, Bad and Beautiful, Summer Nights
In 1998, Varèse Sarabande reissued the album and added four bonus tracks

Rocket issued the compilation Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits in 1977
That compilation contained no new material
Many songs on this album were released as 45 rpm singles
Some tracks also appeared on a 33-1/3 rpm EP in the UK
In 1976, Polydor issued the UK EP Make Your Own Sunshine, which included two songs from earlier Sedaka albums

1	Sing Me	2:30
2	You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine	3:27
3	#1 With a Heartache	3:53
4	Steppin’ Out	3:21
5	Love in the Shadows	3:25
6	Cardboard California	4:17
7	Here We Are Falling in Love Again	3:37
8	I Let You Walk Away	4:01
9	Good Times, Good Music, Good Friends	3:19
10	Perfect Strangers	4:45
11	Bad and Beautiful	3:53
12	Summer Nights	2:59
13	(Baby) Don’t Let It Mess Your Mind	5:27
14	Time Waits for No One	2:53
15	(Is This the Way to) Amarillo	3:20
16	Should’ve Never Let You Go	4:17

Born March 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York.
Began his music career in 1957 after a short tenure as a founding member of the Linc-Tones, later renamed the Tokens.
Signed a recording contract with RCA Victor.

Scored a string of early hits including "Oh! Carol" (1959), "Calendar Girl" (1960), "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (1961), and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (1962), which hit No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Popularity declined by the mid-1960s after the British Invasion.
Revived in the mid-1970s with "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood", both Hot 100 number ones in 1975.
Wrote or co-wrote over 500 songs, including hits for Connie Francis, Captain & Tennille, and Tony Christie.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.
Died February 27, 2026, in Los Angeles, aged 86.

AllMusic said there are no memorable tunes here, and the craft simply doesn't offer the pleasures it once did, so the album is only of interest to hardcore followers
The Windsor Star wrote that it liked Sedaka better when he was still worried about his comeback, and that the hunger of that period is missing from this album
The Windsor Star added that even Elton John would find the album a bit soft around the edges

The title track Steppin' Out peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976
Love in the Shadows reached number 16 on US pop charts in 1976
You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine reached number 52 on US pop charts from late 1976 to early 1977
No. 1 with a Heartache was issued as a 45 rpm single in the UK on Polydor, but not in the US

Elton John sings backing vocals on the title track Steppin' Out.
Good Times, Good Music, Good Friends was the B-side of No. 1 with a Heartache in the UK.
I Let You Walk Away was the B-side of Steppin' Out.
Perfect Strangers was the B-side of You Gotta Make Your Own Sunshine.
The CD reissue of 1998 came out on the Varese Sarabande / Varese Vintage label.