Paul Anka
b. 30 July 1941, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. A
prolific songwriter and child prodigy, Anka was one
of the major teen-idols of the 50s. He burst onto the scene in 1957 with the
self-written "Diana",
an intense ballad describing the frustration and unrequited love of a young
teenager for a slightly older female. With its distinctive rhythm pattern, the
song was powerfully evocative and stayed at the top of the UK charts for
a lengthy nine weeks, as well as reaching number 1 in the USA. It sold a
reported 10 million copies worldwide. Anka followed
it with a series of hits such as "You
Are My Destiny", "Put
Your Head On My Shoulder" and "Puppy Love".
Adolescent worries and the desire to be taken seriously by condescending parents
were familiar themes in those songs and contributed greatly to his success. As
the 50s drew to a close, he wisely moved away from teen ballads and planned for
a long-term future as a songwriter and cabaret artist. His moving "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was a posthumous UK number 1
for Buddy Holly in 1959. By this time Anka had begun
an acting career, appearing in Let's Rock and Girls Town, the latter of which
included the huge US hit "Lonely Boy".<br /><br />During the 60s the former teen star was a regular
at New York's Copacabana and Los Angeles' Coconut Grove, and was much in demand
on the nightclub circuit. Additionally, he attempted a serious acting career,
making an appearance in The Longest Day (for which he also composed the title
song). For much of the decade, however, he was earning large sums of money
appearing at Las Vegas hotels.
The success of Donny Osmond, meanwhile, who took "Puppy Love" to
the top in Britain, kept Anka's early material alive for a new generation.
Songwriting success continued, most notably with Frank Sinatra's reading of his
lyric to "My Way" and Tom Jones's million-selling "She's A Lady". In
the 70s, Anka himself returned to number 1 in the USA
courtesy of a risqué duet with his protégée Odia Coates, with the song "(You're)
Having My Baby". A spree of hits followed,
punctuated by regular supper-club appearances. As late as 1983, the former 50s
teen star was back in the charts with "Hold Me Till The Mornin' Comes". He continued to play lucrative seasons in Las Vegas and Atlantic
City, and toured Europe in 1992
for the first time in 25 years. The following year he threatened to sue Dulux, a UK paint manufacturer, when their television
commercial portrayed a sheepdog apparently singing a parody of "My Way". In 1996 he
released his first album aimed at the Latin market, with some of his greatest
hits sung in Spanish and duets with artists including Celine
Dion, Julio Iglesias and
Jose Luis Rodriguez.
Discography: Paul Anka (ABC
1958)***, My Heart Sings (ABC 1959)***, Paul Anka
Swings For Young Lovers (ABC 1960)****, Anka At The Copa (ABC 1960)***, It's Christmas Everywhere (ABC
1960)***, Strictly Instrumental (ABC 1961)**, Diana (ABC 1962)****, Young,
Alive And In Love! (RCA Victor 1962)****, Let's Sit This One Out! (RCA Victor
1962)***, Our Man Around The World (RCA Victor 1963)***, Songs I Wished I'd
Written (RCA Victor 1963)**, Excitement On Park Avenue (RCA Victor 1964)***,
Strictly Nashville (RCA Victor 1966)**, Paul Anka
Alive (RCA Victor 1967)**, Goodnight My Love (RCA Victor 1969)****, Life Goes
On (RCA Victor 1969)***, Paul Anka (Buddah 1971)**, Jubilation (Buddah
1972)**, Anka (United Artists 1974)***, Feelings
(United Artists 1975)***, The Painter (United Artists 1976)***, The Music Man
(United Artists 1977)***, Listen To Your Heart (RCA 1978)**, Both Sides Of Love
(RCA 1981)***, Walk A Fine Line (Columbia 1983)***, Italiano
(Crescent 1987)***, Amigos (Globo/Sony 1996)****, A
Body Of Work (Epic 1999)**.
Compilations: Paul Anka Sings His
Big 15 (ABC 1960)****, Paul Anka Sings His Big 15,
Volume 2 (ABC 1961)***, Paul Anka Sings His Big 15,
Volume 3 (ABC 1961)**, Paul Anka's 21 Golden Hits
(RCA 1963)***, Paul Anka Gold (Sire 1974)****, Times
Of Your Life (United Artists 1975)***, Paul Anka At
His Best (United Artists 1979)****, The Original Hits Of Paul Anka (Columbia 1987)***, 30th Anniversary Collection (Rhino
1989)***, The Ultimate Collection (Capitol 1992)****, The Best Of United
Artists Years (Capitol 1996)****, The Very Best Of Paul Anka
(RCA 2000)****.
Filmography: Let's Rock aka Keep
It Cool (1958), Girls Town aka The Innocent And The
Damned (1959), The Private Life Of Adam And Eve (1961), Look In Any Window
(1961), The Longest Day (1962), Lonely Boy (1962), Iskelmäprinssi
(1990), Captain Ron (1992), Ordinary Magic aka Ganesh (1993), Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995), Mad
Dog Time (1996), 3000 Miles To Graceland (2001).