Paul Leka | Songwriter, 68

Paul Leka, 68, a songwriter and producer who was best known for writing the chanting chorus of "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)," a 1969 hit that was reborn in the 1970s as a sports arena anthem, died Oct. 12 in a hospice near his home in Sharon, Conn. The cause was lung cancer, said his brother, George.

Mr. Leka wrote and produced "Green Tambourine," a No. 1 hit in 1967 for the Lemon Pipers; signed REO Speedwagon to its first record contract; and produced four of Harry Chapin's albums, including 1974's Verities & Balderdash.

In 1969, Mr. Leka was helping a friend, Gary DeCarlo, fill the B-side of a single he was recording for Buddah. With Mr. Leka on keyboards, they started with a song they had written years before, a bluesy shuffle called "Kiss Him Goodbye." But it filled only two minutes of playing time, and to make sure disc jockeys would not play it - instead of DeCarlo's A-side - they added a chorus to stretch it to four minutes, beyond the time limit of most radio formats.

The record company decided to release it nonetheless as the A-side of a 45 by Steam, a fictitious group name the two men invented for the record. The song reached No. 1 in late 1969 and enjoyed a happy radio life span. Then it came back.

In 1977, the organist for the Chicago White Sox, Nancy Faust, began using the song to stoke the crowd into taunting the opposing team. Within a few years, the chant had become an anthem of sports conquest. - N.Y. Times News Service