Paul Anka

by Erika Cox

Paul Anka was a little different than the other teen idols from the 1950’s and early 1960’s, he was a successful songwriter. Paul Anka was born Paul Albert Anka on July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario. He was also one of the first Canadian singers to make it big in the United States.

Paul began singing in church as a kid and later as part of a trio in high school. He was a small but stocky child and excelled in sports, however, his real love was music. At the age of eleven, he was beginning his singing career singing on a regular basis in nightclubs around Quebec.

One wonders why an eleven year old is singing in nightclubs, nevertheless, he was performing by doing impressions of other singers.

At Fisher Park High School, Paul joined a vocal trio called the Bobby Soxers, a fitting name for teenage groups in the 1950’s.

The trio was very popular locally but Paul wanted national success. At fourteen, he started writing songs, taking guitar and piano lessons, and he also started auditioning for local shows but none of these ventures gained him any success at the time. Determined to get his big break, Paul went to Los Angeles in 1956 to try out his luck, there he stayed with his uncle who was worked at a local playhouse.

His uncle started taking notice of Paul’s talent and arranged for Paul to meet with different contacts in the music industry. His uncle got Paul an appointment with Modern Records and he was introduced to Ernie Freeman, Modern’s marketing agent, who was impressed with Paul’s sound and invited him to rehearse a few songs.

Paul soon recorded a couple of songs for Modern but they did poorly selling only a handful of copies. A bit discouraged Paul decided to try the other coast, during Easter vacation he traveled to New York with a Canadian quartet called the Rovers, whom he had opened for at one time.

They met up with Don Costa, director of ABC-Paramount Records, who was more impressed with the number of songs Paul had written and recorded than his singing. However, Costa saw something in Paul and decided that with a little help from singing lessons Paul could become a very good asset.

Paul immediately called his father who flew to New York and signed a contract with ABC Records since Paul was still underage, only fifteen years old at the time. Afterward, Paul was sent to various singing coaches to perfect his voice and to learn how to compose songs.

In no time, Paul had recorded a song that he wrote called “Diana” it was an instant success going straight to number one. The song had somewhat of a Latin sound to it with a cha-cha-cha beat, exactly what the teenagers liked.

Since Paul’s version, “Diana” has been recorded over a hundred times in countless countries across the world between 1957 and 1963. It is one of the best selling songs in United States history and Paul’s version has sold over nine million copies alone. After this initial success, Paul was signed on to do a tour in 1957 called the “Biggest Show of Stars” that showcased some of the brightest stars at the time.

His next single “You are my Destiny” also went straight to the top of the charts. He released two other singles that reached the Top 20 in 1958 and at the time Paul was the biggest selling teen idol.

He toured England and toured with Buddy Holly in Australia he also wrote songs for other artists; Buddy Holly’s big hit “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, the theme song for Johnny Carson’s The Tonight show, Tom Jones’s biggest hit, “She’s A Lady” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.

In the 1960’s Paul would appear in a number of movies and in the 1970’s he would change his style and begin performing in Las Vegas shows and casinos.

His performance was centered around big band playing, singing his own hits and those he wrote for others. Paul’s career was more substantial than most of the other teen idols because of his ability to write songs and write for some of the biggest names. Unlike, other teen idols, he became a multimillionaire with the proceeds from his publishing royalties, songs, and his nightclub performances.

Paul became a United States citizen in 1990 and was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame the same year. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.

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