His later achievements as a recording artist included "Hold Me ‘Til the Morning Comes," a hit duet with Peter Cetera in 1983, the Spanish-language album Amigos in 1996, and Body of Work, a 1998 duets album that featured Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Tom Jones and daughter Anthea Anka. By the ‘70s, the success of "My Way" and a string of hits like "(You're) Having My Baby" confirmed his status as an icon of popular music. Becoming a mascot and a junior associate of Sinatra and the Rat Pack also had its privileges. Songwriting and performing "are what gave me the confidence to keep going," he says. He notably penned the longest running theme in television history for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Other hit songs include the Academy Award-nominated theme for the 1962 film in which he starred, The Longest Day.
As a result, he went on to write for Buddy Holly and Connie Francis. He honed his craft surrounded by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Frankie Lyman, and Chuck Berry.Īfter a few hit songs, Anka confident in his talent as a writer wisely knew that being a songwriter meant the power was in the pen. Anka was the youngest entertainer to ever perform at the Copa Cabana. Soon Paul found himself traveling by bus with the ‘Cavalcade of Stars' with the top names of the day.
The rapid and enormous success of "Diana", his first number one hit, made him a star at the young age of 15. Costa was duly enthusiastic about the potential of the young singer and songwriter. When Anka returned to New York in 1957, he scored a meeting with Don Costa, the A&R representative for ABC-Paramount Records, playing him a batch of songs that included "Diana". He went so far as to sneak into Fats Domino's dressing room in Ottawa to meet him and his manager. In 1956, he convinced his parents to let him travel to Los Angeles, where a meeting with Modern Records led to the release of Anka's first single, "Blau-Wile Deverest Fontaine." Although it was not a hit, Anka kept plugging away. There was not a doubt in his young tenacious mind. It was there that his dream to make it as a singer composer was solidified. Soon after, he won a trip to New York by winning a Campbell's soup contest that required him to spend three months collecting soup can labels. Blinded by determination, he would steal his mother's car and drive to perform at every amateur night he could. By 13, he had his own vocal group, the Bobbysoxers. From an early age he sang in a choir, studied piano and honed his writing skills with journalism courses, even working as a cub reporter at the Ottawa Citizen. Born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Canada, into a close-knit family, Paul Anka didn't waste time getting his life in music started.
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