Paul Leka

Paul Leka (February 20, 1943 – October 12, 2011) was an American songwriter, pianist, arranger, and orchestrator, most notable for his writing associations with the 1960s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", the latter of which has become a standard song at sporting events. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Leka was one of four children of Theodore and Dhimitra Leka, immigrants from Albania. His father worked as a short-order cook. Soon after he started taking piano lessons, Paul was writing songs, and by age 16, his brother said, he was trying to sell them to music publishers in New York. Described as "one of those rare, genuinely prodigious musicians who was too talented to limit himself to actually being a member of one group or recording project", Paul Leka grew up in Connecticut and played piano as a child and later became a multi-instrumentalist. He played with a group called The Chateaus, who recorded some singles for Coral Records in the 1960s.