Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka, OC (born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter.

Early life

He began singing as a child, first starting in the St Elijah Syriac Orthodox Church choir in Ottawa. As a student at Ottawa's Fisher Park High School he was part of a trio called the Bobby Soxers.^*.

Early success

Encouraged by his parents, at age 14 he recorded his first single, "I Confess." In 1957 he went to New York City where he auditioned for ABC, singing a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter, Diana Ayoub. The song, "Diana", brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling 45s in music history. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, making him one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain and then, with Buddy Holly, toured Australia.

His talent went beyond singing, writing Buddy Holly's giant hit, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," the theme for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Tom Jones' biggest hit record, "She's A Lady", and the English lyrics for"My Way," Frank Sinatra's signature song and sung by many well known artists, including Greta Keller, for whom the words were very fitting.

In the 1960s, Anka would begin acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded his monster hit, "Lonely Boy." He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos.

Comeback

After more than ten years without a hit record, in 1974 he teamed up with Odia Coates to record the number 1 hit, "Having My Baby." They would record two more duets that both made it into the Top 10. In 1975, he wrote a jingle for Kodak called The Times of Your Life. The jingle became so popular, he recorded it as a full song, and it became a hit a year later.

By the 1970s, Anka's career centered around adult contemporary and big-band standards, played regularly in Las Vegas. On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He returned to his home town to buy a part of the Ottawa Senators hockey team.

In 1999 he visited Lebanon for sell-out performances at the Forum de Beyrouth (The Beirut Forum).

Recognition

Paul Anka was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd. In 1991, the Government of France honored him with the title "Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters". He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.

On the WB show Gilmore Girls, Lorelai named her new dog Paul Anka. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the episode "The Real Paul Anka", which aired April 11, 2006.

Paul Anka recently did a live session on Live @ The Orange Lounge playing songs from his new cover-CD Rock Swings.

Notable rap artist Jay-Z featured his vocals on the track "I Did it my Way" on The Gift & the Curse album in 2002.

He became infamous amongst musicians (and more recently to internet users) for a mid-70's after show tirade which was secretly recorded by a "snake we later fired" (Anka: Fresh Air interview). The diatribe, in which Anka berates his crew and band members, has spawned a number of in-joke references and quotations, the main ones being: "The guys get shirts", "Where's Joe?", and "Slice like a hammer." It can be heard here ^*

Marriage

He was married to Anne De Zogheb, the daughter of a Lebanese diplomat, from February 16, 1963, to September 28, 2000. Anka met Anne De Zogheb, daughter of Count Charles de Zogheb, in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1962. Of French and Egyptian descent, she was a fashion model on assignment and under contract to the Eileen Ford Agency. They were married the following year in a ceremony at Orly Airport in Paris. His wife gave up her modeling career after they married. They have five daughters: Amelia, Anthea, Alicia, Amanda (who is married to actor Jason Bateman of TV's Arrested Development), and Alexandra (who is married to former professional cyclist Jorg ("Jogi") Mueller, now PR Manager for Lance Armstrong's team).

Discography

2005: Rock Swings # 9 UK

1989: Somebody loves you

1975: Times of Your Life

1974: Having My Baby (duet with Odia Coates)

1974: I Don't Like to Sleep Alone (duet with Odia Coates)

1974: One Man Woman/One Woman Man (duet with Odia Coates)

1961: Tonight My Love, Tonight

1959: It's Time to Cry

1959: Lonely Boy

1959: I Miss You So

1959: (All of A Sudden) My Heart Sings

1959: Puppy Love

1959: Put Your Head on My Shoulder

1958: Crazy Love

1958: You Are My Destiny

1957: Diana

External links

Official site