When he was two years old, his mother, mandolinist Riva Segal, brought her two sons, Louis and Charles, to escape the Holocaust from Lithuania to Cape Town, South Africa.

Riva also brought along her half-sister and her family: Ella (née Zotnickaita) and Ber Skikne and their three sons, the youngest being Hirske, who became renowned actor Laurence Harvey.

[1] Segal studied classical music, becoming an Associate (ATCL) and a Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in performance and teaching.

Segal, an English-speaking, Jewish pianist, first gained public recognition in 1952 when his first song, the Afrikaans "Miskien" ("Perhaps"), won the Rooi Roos magazine song-writing competition.

From 1953 to 1986, Segal performed regularly on live and recorded SABC radio shows in South Africa, such as Piano Playtime, Sundown Serenade and SA Showtime, and in the US was featured on Supreme Master Television.

"My Children, My Wife" (Segal-Roos) was subsequently recorded in the Netherlands, Germany, England (by Rolf Harris and Israel and reached European hit parades.

Children's sheet music albums include "Magical Mystery Man," "Everyday Things," "Animal Concert," and "Sprankelende Liedjies."

Segal's musical career spread to other parts of the world, including London (1961),[6] Boston (1967),[7] and in New York where his song "Another Time, Another Place", written with US lyricist Gladys Shelly (1968), was recorded by jazz singer Arthur Prysock.

[8] Other hits written in the USA include "Girl Power" with Sheila Davis and "Tomboy", sung by Ronnie Dove, which received a "bullet" rating in Billboard magazine in 1968.