In setting out to chronicle the forty year history of the song, “Solitaire,” I thought it best to keep the chatter down to a minimum and just let the cover recordings tell the story. At first, I was just going to post only a half dozen or so of the most significant covers of the song, but I  got a bit carried away and went looking for every cover I could possibly find. iTunes netted me 21 covers to add to the six I had already  on CD and, rather than exercise anything that folks could possibly misinterpret  as editorial discretion, I decided it would be fun to post them all.  There’s no rhyme or reason to the order in which these recordings appear on the list, other than Sedaka’s version, by virtue of being the original, gets to go first, followed by the more well known artists and ending with what I consider the oddest or funniest renditions.  Missing from the play list is the great Johnny Mathis’ version, an omission which I hope to rectify in the very near future. His name tops the “And More” list at the bottom of the page, representing twenty other artists who have covered “Solitaire” but whose recordings of the song aren’t currently available in digital format on The Web. . .

Sedaka and I wrote “Solitaire” in 1971. It was one of the first tunes we wrote together and was not very well received by the folks at Don Kirshner Music, our publisher at the time. There seemed to be a general lack of faith in the song’s potential “earning power,” the feeling at the company being that we had written a “nice” song and that we would be better served devoting our efforts to writing hits. Yet, here I am, four decades and at least 47 cover recordings later, talking about what is, essentially, the most covered song that Neil and I have ever written.

At the beginning of this article I promised to keep the chattering down to a minimum and I’ve fudged on that promise a little but, before closing, I would like to emphasize one thing:

There would be no history of “Solitaire” if not for the melodic virtuosity of Neil Sedaka. Regardless of what you may think of this particular style of music, he is a true genius of the genre and artists would not have lined up in droves to sing and play his wonderful melodies were it not so.

I think the guy is long overdue for a spot in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. But that’s another story . . . for another time.

And now, as promised . . . “Solitaire” – A Cover Story

Vocals

• Neil Sedaka
• The Carpenters
• Sheryl Crow
• Elvis
• Andy Williams
• Clay Aiken
• Westlife
• Rachell Ann Go
• Jane Olivor
• Nana Mouskouri
• Sissel
• Patricia Paay
• Simon Gallaher
• Tommy Fleming & The Irish Orchestra
• Jann Arden
• Glenn Yarbrough
• Brett Smiley
• Cor Meibon Llanelli Welsh Male Choir
• The Wimbledon Girl Singers

Instrumentals

• Richard Clayderman
• The Elevator Troubadors
• Newell Oler
• Simply Saxophone
• Stan Whitmire
• Salsa Rosso
• Soft Rock, Inc.
• Panpipes

And More

• Johnny Mathis
• Shirley Bassey
• Petula Clark
• Brass Band De Bazuin
• Serge Nelson
• The Cory Band
• Tony Christie
• Lena Martell
• Ray Conniff
• Anita Lindblom
• Vince Hill
• Vic Damone
• Lenny Dee
• Happy Organ
• Norrie Paramor
• Gianni Dei
• Billy Vaughn
• Norman Candler
• Johnny Dorelli