Paul Anka
Encyclopedia
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.
Anka first became famous as a teen idol
in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana
'", "Lonely Boy
", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder
". He went on to write such well-known music as the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
and one of Tom Jones
's biggest hits, "She's a Lady
", and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra
's signature song
, "My Way
" (originally French song "Comme d'habitude").
In 1983, he co-wrote with Michael Jackson
the song "I Never Heard", which was retitled and released in 2009 under the name "This Is It
". An additional song that Jackson co-wrote with Anka from this 1983 session, "Love Never Felt So Good", has since been discovered, and will be released in the near future. The song was also released by Johnny Mathis
in 1984.
Anka became a naturalized
US citizen in 1990.
, Ontario
in Canada to Andy and Camelia Anka who owned a restaurant called The Locanda there. His parents are of Lebanese
descent. He sang with the St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church
choir under the direction of Frederick Karam, with whom he studied music theory. He also studied piano with Winnifred Rees.
where he auditioned for Don Costa
at ABC
, singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church who he hardly knew. The song, "Diana
", brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the Canadian and U.S. music charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, including "It's Time to Cry", which made #4 and "(All Of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached #15, making him, at 17, one of the biggest teen idol
s of the time. He toured Britain
and then, with Buddy Holly
, he toured Australia
.
Anka also wrote "It Doesn't Matter Anymore
" a song written for Buddy Holly which Holly recorded just before he died in 1959. Anka stated shortly afterward -
NME
- June 1959
His talent went beyond the theme
for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(reworked in 1962 from a song Anka wrote earlier called "Toot Sweet" which had been rewritten with lyrics and recorded by Annette Funicello
in 1959 as "It's Really Love") since Anka composed Tom Jones
' biggest hit record "She's a Lady
" and wrote the English lyrics to "My Way
", Frank Sinatra
's signature song sung by many well known artists.
In the 1960s Anka began acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day
, in which he made a cameo appearance as a US Army Ranger. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded one of his greatest hits, "Lonely Boy
" and also "My Home Town", which was a #8 pop hit for him the same year. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas
casinos. Anka returns to Canada several times a year, regularly playing to sold out crowds at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in NBC
's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven
, starring Skip Homeier
and set on the Sunset Strip
of West Hollywood
.
. By the late 1960s, Anka's career centered around adult contemporary and big-band standards, played regularly in Las Vegas. In the early 1970s he signed with Buddah Records
. After more than ten years without a top 25 hit record, Anka signed with United Artists and in 1974 teamed up with Odia Coates
to record the number one hit, "(You're) Having My Baby
". The two would record two more duets that made it into the Top 10, "One Man Woman/One Woman Man" (#7) and "I Don't Like to Sleep Alone" (#8), and the #15 duet "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love". In 1975 he recorded a jingle
for Kodak
written by Bill Lane (lyrics) and Roger Nichols
(melody) called "Times of Your Life
". It became so popular Anka recorded it as a full song, which peaked at #7 in the U.S. pop charts in 1976. The follow-up was another hit that Anka wrote for Sinatra, "Anytime (I'll Be There)", peaking at #33. Anka's final Top-40 hit in the U.S. to date was "Hold Me Til The Mornin' Comes", which included backing vocals from then-Chicago
frontman Peter Cetera
, in the summer of 1983.
His 1998 album A Body of Work was his first new U.S. studio release since Walk a Fine Line in 1983; vocals and performers include Celine Dion
, Kenny G
, Patti LaBelle
and Skyler Jett
. The album also included a new version of "Hold Me 'Til the Morning Comes," once again performed with Peter Cetera
. On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen
of the United States
. In 2005, his album of big-band arrangements of contemporary standards, Rock Swings
, provided a mainstream comeback of sorts that saw Anka awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
in Toronto
.
On October 12, 2009, Anka stated that Michael Jackson
's new release titled "This Is It
" was a collaborative effort between the two musicians, and that it was co-written by Anka in 1983. According to Anka, after recording the song, Michael Jackson decided not to use it and the tune was then recorded and released by singer Sa-Fire
. After Anka threatened to sue for credit and a share of royalties, the administrators of Jackson's estate granted Anka fifty percent of the copyright. An additional song that Jackson co-wrote with Anka from this 1983 session, "Love Never Felt So Good", was discovered shortly thereafter and will be released in the near future.
His album Songs of December charted at #58 in Canada in November 2011.
market with "Summer's Gone", released as "Dove Sei?" with lyrics translated into Italian
. The record got immediate success charting #4 in Italian hit lists opening a promising foreign career. Anka then underwent an intense collaboration with Italian musicians of the time, including composer/director Ennio Morricone
, singer/songwriter Lucio Battisti
and lyricist Mogol. His official discography reports nine 45rpm records released by RCA Italy, but the Italian charts list at least six other songs he interpreted or recorded in Italian language. His top hit has been "Ogni giorno" which scored #1 in 1962, followed by "Piangerò per te" and "Ogni volta", that reached both #2 in 1963 and 1964 respectively. "Ogni volta" ("Every Time") was sung by Anka during the Festival di San Remo
of 1964 and then sold over one million copies in Italy alone; it was also awarded a gold disc
. Anka went to San Remo again in 1968, this time with the song "La farfalla impazzita" by Battisti
-Mogol. In that occasion, the same title was interpreted by Italian crooner
Johnny Dorelli
; however, the pair of singers was eliminated before the final stage of the competition. Anka, maybe only coincidentally, left the Italian scene shortly thereafter.
In 2003, Anka came back with an exclusive concert in Bologna, organized by Italian company Mapei
during the CERSAIE exhibition. He also recorded a version of "My Way" with alternate lyrics dedicated to the sponsor of the evening.
In 2006, Anka recorded in duet with 1960's Italian hitmaker Adriano Celentano
a new cover of "Diana", with Italian lyrics by Celentano-Mogol and with singer/songwriter Alex Britti
on the guitar. The song immediately reached #3 on the charts.
market as well. At least two songs by Anka with French lyrics are known: one reported by the Italian charts (Faibles femmes, 1959) and another reported by his official discography (Comme Avant) with Mireille Mathieu.
A single release in Japan
ese (Kokoro No Sasae / Shiawase E No Tabiji) is also reported on his discography.
In 1993 he recorded a duet with Philippine singer Regine Velasquez entitled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" included in her album Reason Enough. This song was re-recorded several years later by Anka and Celine Dion
and was included in his album A Body of Work.
. She was a fashion model on assignment, under contract to the Eileen Ford Agency
. Zogheb, raised in Egypt, is of English
, Lebanese
, French
, Dutch
, and Greek
descent. The couple married the following year in a ceremony at Paris-Orly Airport. She quit modeling after their second child was born. They have five daughters: Amelia; Anthea Anka
, a singer and writer; Alicia; Amanda, (an actress married to actor Jason Bateman
); and Alexandra.
In 2008, Anka married his personal trainer, Anna Åberg
, in Sardinia
. They divorced in 2010 and share custody of their son, Ethan.
Anna was featured in the Swedish TV3
show Svenska Hollywoodfruar
(Swedish Hollywood wives).
In 1975, a street in Ottawa was named Paul Anka Drive. In 1981, the Ottawa City Council
named 26 August Paul Anka Day, to celebrate his 25 years in show business. He attended Fisher Park High School and Lisgar Collegiate Institute.
The woman who inspired his hit song "Diana" lives with her family in Ottawa; she was the babysitter of his younger siblings. After receiving a negative review for a 1981 performance in Ottawa, he swore off performing there until an April 2002 fundraiser gala at the Ottawa Congress Centre.
In 1991, he signed an investment agreement with the new Ottawa Senators
NHL franchise. The agreement ended up being dissolved in an out-of-court settlement in 1993.
in 1962. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Anka starred in such teen exploitation films as Girls Town
(1959) and Look in Any Window
(1961), in which he played a peeping tom. He later played an Elvis-hating casino pit manager in 3000 Miles To Graceland
(2001) and a yacht broker in Captain Ron
(1992).
Anka guest-starred as a murder suspect in The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991). In October 1995, he appeared in the episode Treehouse of Horror VI
on The Simpsons
. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the episode Red's Last Day on That '70s Show
. He has also made several appearances on the NBC TV series Las Vegas
.
On Gilmore Girls
, Lorelei
named her Polish Lowland Sheepdog
after Anka. Series co-creator Daniel Palladino
chose the name after hearing the Rock Swings
album at a coffeehouse
. In the cold open
to the episode The Real Paul Anka, both Paul Ankas were featured in a dream sequence
Lorelei describes to her daughter, Rory.
documentary Lonely Boy
, considered a classic work of cinema verite
.
Anka wrote and performed songs in a 1985 Canadian children's Christmas cartoon, George and the Christmas Star.
In American Idol
's Seasons 2 and 3, he made a special appearance and sang an adapted version of "My Way
" that mocked the format of the show, as well as participants, participants of past seasons, judges and the host. The performance was praised as "One of the Best Moments in American Idol" by several members of the cast.
In an episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons
entitled "Treehouse of Horror VI
", he guest stars as himself.
He makes a special appearance in Las Vegas, a show on Star World.
He was referenced several times on the T.V. show Gilmore Girls
including an episode where one of the characters had a dream about him and a dog named after him.
, in the Abbatoir party mission, in the room where the player finds a girl hanging upside down and severely mutilated, 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' is playing from a music player on repeat on the desk.
Anka's song "(You're) Having My Baby" was featured on the first season of the TV show Glee, namely in Episode 10, "Ballad", in which the character Finn sings the song to his pregnant girlfriend, Quinn.
|- *with IV & Nash **with Odia Coates
Anka first became famous as a teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana
Diana (song)
"Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957. It was inspired by a high school friend named Diana Ayoub. The original Paul Anka 1957 recording reached number one on the Billboard "Best Sellers In Stores" chart and has reportedly sold over 9 million copies...
'", "Lonely Boy
Lonely Boy (Paul Anka song)
"Lonely Boy" is a song written and recorded by Paul Anka in 1959. Anka sang this song in the film Girls Town. When released as a single, it topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Anka's first song to do so, although he had earlier topped Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart with "Diana"...
", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Put Your Head on My Shoulder
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version, released as a single in 1959, became very successful, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100....
". He went on to write such well-known music as the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
and one of Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
's biggest hits, "She's a Lady
She's A Lady
"She's a Lady" is a song written by Paul Anka and performed by Tom Jones, and released in 1971. It is his highest charting U.S. release, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is one of Tom Jones's most famous recordings. The song reached #4 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey and spawned a...
", and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
, "My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
" (originally French song "Comme d'habitude").
In 1983, he co-wrote with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
the song "I Never Heard", which was retitled and released in 2009 under the name "This Is It
This Is It (Michael Jackson song)
"This Is It" is a song co-written by American pop star and musician Michael Jackson and singer-songwriter Paul Anka. The song was recorded by the former and featured as a track on the album, This Is It , which accompanies the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It. This was premiered...
". An additional song that Jackson co-wrote with Anka from this 1983 session, "Love Never Felt So Good", has since been discovered, and will be released in the near future. The song was also released by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
in 1984.
Anka became a naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
US citizen in 1990.
Early life
Anka was born in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in Canada to Andy and Camelia Anka who owned a restaurant called The Locanda there. His parents are of Lebanese
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:* A member of the Lebanese people . For more information, see Demographics of Lebanon and Culture of Lebanon. For specific persons, see List of Lebanese people....
descent. He sang with the St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church
St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral
St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral is an Antiochian Orthodox cathedral in Ottawa, Canada. It is located on Riverside Drive just east of the Mooney's Bay, south of the Hog's Back Falls. The pastor of the Cathedral is the Very Reverend Father Ghattas Hajal. It is located on 2975 Riverside,...
choir under the direction of Frederick Karam, with whom he studied music theory. He also studied piano with Winnifred Rees.
Early success
Anka recorded his first single "I Confess" at age 14. In 1957 he went to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he auditioned for Don Costa
Don Costa
Don Costa was an American pop music arranger and record producer, best known for his work with Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
at ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church who he hardly knew. The song, "Diana
Diana (song)
"Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957. It was inspired by a high school friend named Diana Ayoub. The original Paul Anka 1957 recording reached number one on the Billboard "Best Sellers In Stores" chart and has reportedly sold over 9 million copies...
", brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the Canadian and U.S. music charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, including "It's Time to Cry", which made #4 and "(All Of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached #15, making him, at 17, one of the biggest teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
s of the time. He toured Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and then, with Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, he toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Anka also wrote "It Doesn't Matter Anymore
It Doesn't Matter Anymore
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song reached #13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in early 1959 shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed...
" a song written for Buddy Holly which Holly recorded just before he died in 1959. Anka stated shortly afterward -
NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
- June 1959
His talent went beyond the theme
Theme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
(reworked in 1962 from a song Anka wrote earlier called "Toot Sweet" which had been rewritten with lyrics and recorded by Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
in 1959 as "It's Really Love") since Anka composed Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
' biggest hit record "She's a Lady
She's A Lady
"She's a Lady" is a song written by Paul Anka and performed by Tom Jones, and released in 1971. It is his highest charting U.S. release, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is one of Tom Jones's most famous recordings. The song reached #4 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey and spawned a...
" and wrote the English lyrics to "My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
", Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's signature song sung by many well known artists.
In the 1960s Anka began acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
, in which he made a cameo appearance as a US Army Ranger. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded one of his greatest hits, "Lonely Boy
Lonely Boy (Paul Anka song)
"Lonely Boy" is a song written and recorded by Paul Anka in 1959. Anka sang this song in the film Girls Town. When released as a single, it topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Anka's first song to do so, although he had earlier topped Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart with "Diana"...
" and also "My Home Town", which was a #8 pop hit for him the same year. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
casinos. Anka returns to Canada several times a year, regularly playing to sold out crowds at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven
Dan Raven
Dan Raven is a crime drama starring Skip Homeier , a former child actor in films, which aired on NBC between January 23, 1960, and January 6, 1961. The setting of the series is the famous Sunset Strip of West Hollywood, California...
, starring Skip Homeier
Skip Homeier
-Career:Homeier began acting as Skippy Homeier at the age of six, on the radio show Portia Faces Life. From 1943 until 1944 he played the role of Emil in the Broadway play, Tomorrow the World. Cast as a child indoctrinated into Nazism, who is brought to the United States from Germany following the...
and set on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
of West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
.
Comeback
In 1960 Anka signed with RCA Records, but like most North American recording artists saw his career stalled by the British InvasionBritish Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
. By the late 1960s, Anka's career centered around adult contemporary and big-band standards, played regularly in Las Vegas. In the early 1970s he signed with Buddah Records
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...
. After more than ten years without a top 25 hit record, Anka signed with United Artists and in 1974 teamed up with Odia Coates
Odia Coates
Odia Coates was an American singer, best known for her work with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka.-Early life:...
to record the number one hit, "(You're) Having My Baby
(You're) Having My Baby
" Having My Baby" is a song written and recorded by Canadian popular music singer Paul Anka. Recorded as a duet with female vocalist Odia Coates, the song became Anka's first No...
". The two would record two more duets that made it into the Top 10, "One Man Woman/One Woman Man" (#7) and "I Don't Like to Sleep Alone" (#8), and the #15 duet "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love". In 1975 he recorded a jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
for Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
written by Bill Lane (lyrics) and Roger Nichols
Roger Nichols (songwriter)
Roger Nichols Roger Nichols Roger Nichols (born in Missoula, Montana, is an American composer and songwriter. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, guitar, bass, and piano.-Biography:...
(melody) called "Times of Your Life
Times of Your Life
"Times of Your Life" is the title of a popular song and advertising jingle made famous in the 1970s by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka. In 1975, it was featured in a self-titled album, Times of Your Life, by Paul Anka...
". It became so popular Anka recorded it as a full song, which peaked at #7 in the U.S. pop charts in 1976. The follow-up was another hit that Anka wrote for Sinatra, "Anytime (I'll Be There)", peaking at #33. Anka's final Top-40 hit in the U.S. to date was "Hold Me Til The Mornin' Comes", which included backing vocals from then-Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
frontman Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
, in the summer of 1983.
His 1998 album A Body of Work was his first new U.S. studio release since Walk a Fine Line in 1983; vocals and performers include Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Kenny G
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
, Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
and Skyler Jett
Skyler Jett
Skyler Jett is a singer who has worked with many top musicians, such as Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin. He also was briefly the lead singer in The Commodores, touring with them around the world. He is Grammy recognized for his performance with Celine Dion in "My Heart Will Go...
. The album also included a new version of "Hold Me 'Til the Morning Comes," once again performed with Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
. On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 2005, his album of big-band arrangements of contemporary standards, Rock Swings
Rock Swings
Rock Swings is an album by Paul Anka. Recorded in November 2004 and released on May 31, 2005 in Canada and June 7, 2005 in the United States, it contains swing jazz covers of popular rock and pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s....
, provided a mainstream comeback of sorts that saw Anka awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
On October 12, 2009, Anka stated that Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's new release titled "This Is It
This Is It (Michael Jackson song)
"This Is It" is a song co-written by American pop star and musician Michael Jackson and singer-songwriter Paul Anka. The song was recorded by the former and featured as a track on the album, This Is It , which accompanies the 2009 concert documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It. This was premiered...
" was a collaborative effort between the two musicians, and that it was co-written by Anka in 1983. According to Anka, after recording the song, Michael Jackson decided not to use it and the tune was then recorded and released by singer Sa-Fire
Sa-Fire
Wilma Cosmé better known by her stage name SaFire, is an American singer. While she was one of the few freestyle artist to have major pop-chart success, she is considered an important part of Latin freestyle...
. After Anka threatened to sue for credit and a share of royalties, the administrators of Jackson's estate granted Anka fifty percent of the copyright. An additional song that Jackson co-wrote with Anka from this 1983 session, "Love Never Felt So Good", was discovered shortly thereafter and will be released in the near future.
His album Songs of December charted at #58 in Canada in November 2011.
Italy
Already locally famous as a teenage idol for his songs in English language, in 1960 Anka tried to hit the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
market with "Summer's Gone", released as "Dove Sei?" with lyrics translated into Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. The record got immediate success charting #4 in Italian hit lists opening a promising foreign career. Anka then underwent an intense collaboration with Italian musicians of the time, including composer/director Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, singer/songwriter Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti was an Italian singer-songwriter . He is considered to be one of the best-known and most influential musicians and authors in Italian pop/rock music history....
and lyricist Mogol. His official discography reports nine 45rpm records released by RCA Italy, but the Italian charts list at least six other songs he interpreted or recorded in Italian language. His top hit has been "Ogni giorno" which scored #1 in 1962, followed by "Piangerò per te" and "Ogni volta", that reached both #2 in 1963 and 1964 respectively. "Ogni volta" ("Every Time") was sung by Anka during the Festival di San Remo
Festival della canzone italiana
The Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo is a popular Italian song contest, held annually in the city of Sanremo, in Italy, and consisting of a competition amongst previously unreleased songs...
of 1964 and then sold over one million copies in Italy alone; it was also awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. Anka went to San Remo again in 1968, this time with the song "La farfalla impazzita" by Battisti
Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti was an Italian singer-songwriter . He is considered to be one of the best-known and most influential musicians and authors in Italian pop/rock music history....
-Mogol. In that occasion, the same title was interpreted by Italian crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Johnny Dorelli
Johnny Dorelli
Johnny Dorelli is an Italian actor, singer and showman.Born as Giorgio Guidi in Meda, he debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs "Nel blu dipinto di blu" and "Piove "...
; however, the pair of singers was eliminated before the final stage of the competition. Anka, maybe only coincidentally, left the Italian scene shortly thereafter.
In 2003, Anka came back with an exclusive concert in Bologna, organized by Italian company Mapei
Mapei
MAPEI is an Italian company founded in 1937 by Rodolfo Squinzi in Milan, Italy. It evolved from a small wall paint producer into a worldwide producer of adhesives, thinsets and sealants for buildings ....
during the CERSAIE exhibition. He also recorded a version of "My Way" with alternate lyrics dedicated to the sponsor of the evening.
In 2006, Anka recorded in duet with 1960's Italian hitmaker Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano is an Italian singer, songwriter, comedian, actor, film director and TV host.-Biography:Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Gluck, about which he later wrote the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck"...
a new cover of "Diana", with Italian lyrics by Celentano-Mogol and with singer/songwriter Alex Britti
Alex Britti
Alessandro "Alex" Britti is an Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Biography:At the age of 17 he started his first band playing blues at various clubs in Rome, eventually he moved to Milan at the center of the Italian pop scene...
on the guitar. The song immediately reached #3 on the charts.
Other countries
With less success than in Italy, Anka tried the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
market as well. At least two songs by Anka with French lyrics are known: one reported by the Italian charts (Faibles femmes, 1959) and another reported by his official discography (Comme Avant) with Mireille Mathieu.
A single release in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese (Kokoro No Sasae / Shiawase E No Tabiji) is also reported on his discography.
In 1993 he recorded a duet with Philippine singer Regine Velasquez entitled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" included in her album Reason Enough. This song was re-recorded several years later by Anka and Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and was included in his album A Body of Work.
Personal life
Anka was married to Anne de Zogheb, the daughter of Lebanese diplomat Charles de Zogheb, from February 16, 1963, to September 28, 2000. In 1962, he met Zogheb in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. She was a fashion model on assignment, under contract to the Eileen Ford Agency
Ford Models
The Ford Modeling Agency, or as it is known today Ford Models, is a modeling agency in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen and the late Gerard W. Ford.-Company:...
. Zogheb, raised in Egypt, is of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
, and Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
descent. The couple married the following year in a ceremony at Paris-Orly Airport. She quit modeling after their second child was born. They have five daughters: Amelia; Anthea Anka
Anthea Anka
Anthea Anka is an American screenwriter, singer and internet blogger. She is the daughter of American/Canadian singer and performer Paul Anka and model Anne De Zogheb.-Singing:Anthea trained in Los Angeles with vocal coach, Ron Anderson....
, a singer and writer; Alicia; Amanda, (an actress married to actor Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
); and Alexandra.
In 2008, Anka married his personal trainer, Anna Åberg
Anna Anka
Anna Anka is a Swedish-American model, actress and author and was married to Canadian singer Paul Anka. Anka is featured in the Swedish reality show Svenska Hollywoodfruar , .-Early Life :...
, in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. They divorced in 2010 and share custody of their son, Ethan.
Anna was featured in the Swedish TV3
TV3 (Sweden)
TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3...
show Svenska Hollywoodfruar
Svenska Hollywoodfruar
Svenska Hollywoodfruar is a Swedish documentary series following the lives of some Swedish women living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle with their rich American husbands . The 2009 season of the series, which aired on TV3, consisted of five parts...
(Swedish Hollywood wives).
In 1975, a street in Ottawa was named Paul Anka Drive. In 1981, the Ottawa City Council
Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 23 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each of the councillors represent wards throughout the city. Council members are elected to four year terms with the...
named 26 August Paul Anka Day, to celebrate his 25 years in show business. He attended Fisher Park High School and Lisgar Collegiate Institute.
The woman who inspired his hit song "Diana" lives with her family in Ottawa; she was the babysitter of his younger siblings. After receiving a negative review for a 1981 performance in Ottawa, he swore off performing there until an April 2002 fundraiser gala at the Ottawa Congress Centre.
In 1991, he signed an investment agreement with the new Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
NHL franchise. The agreement ended up being dissolved in an out-of-court settlement in 1993.
Acting career
Anka's first acting role in a major film was in a cameo performance in The Longest DayThe Longest Day
The Longest Day could refer to:*D day*The Longest Day , published in 1959 by Cornelius Ryan*The Longest Day , a 1962 war film based on Ryan's book*The Longest Day , a 1980 wargame by Avalon Hill...
in 1962. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Anka starred in such teen exploitation films as Girls Town
Girls Town
Girls Town is a 1959 film produced by MGM, starring Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé and Ray Anthony; Paul Anka also appears in his first acting role. Van Doren stars as a juvenile delinquent who is sent to a girls school run by nuns, where she finds herself unable to help her sister...
(1959) and Look in Any Window
Look in Any Window
Look in Any Window is a black-and-white film starring Paul Anka, Gigi Perreau, and, in his film debut, Jack Cassidy. The film was directed by William Alland and released by Allied Artists.-Plot:...
(1961), in which he played a peeping tom. He later played an Elvis-hating casino pit manager in 3000 Miles To Graceland
3000 Miles to Graceland
3000 Miles to Graceland is a 2001 American crime film, starring Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Christian Slater, and Kevin Pollak. It is a story of theft and betrayal, revolving around a plot to rob the Riviera Casino during a convention of Elvis...
(2001) and a yacht broker in Captain Ron
Captain Ron
Captain Ron is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt, produced by David Permut, and written by John Dwyer for Touchstone Pictures. It stars Kurt Russell as the title character, a sailor with a quirky personality and a checkered past, and Martin Short as a middle-class family man...
(1992).
Anka guest-starred as a murder suspect in The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991). In October 1995, he appeared in the episode Treehouse of Horror VI
Treehouse of Horror VI
"Treehouse of Horror VI" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and the sixth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1995, and contains three self-contained segments...
on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the episode Red's Last Day on That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
. He has also made several appearances on the NBC TV series Las Vegas
Las Vegas (TV series)
Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...
.
On Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, Lorelei
Lorelai Gilmore
Lorelai Victoria Gilmore is a fictional character in the WB/CW television series Gilmore Girls, portrayed by Lauren Graham. She is the main protagonist for the length of the series's seven year run from October, 2000, until May, 2007....
named her Polish Lowland Sheepdog
Polish Lowland Sheepdog
The Polish Lowland Sheepdog , is a medium sized, shaggy-coated, sheep dog breed native to Poland.-Appearance:The PON is a muscular, thick-coated dog. The double coat can be of any color or pattern; white, gray, and brown are most common, with black, gray, or brown markings. It is common for colors...
after Anka. Series co-creator Daniel Palladino
Daniel Palladino
Daniel Palladino is one of the producers of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. Palladino is also a former producer, writer, and director for the American dramedy Gilmore Girls and he executive produced The Return of Jezebel James. He is married to television writer and producer Amy...
chose the name after hearing the Rock Swings
Rock Swings
Rock Swings is an album by Paul Anka. Recorded in November 2004 and released on May 31, 2005 in Canada and June 7, 2005 in the United States, it contains swing jazz covers of popular rock and pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s....
album at a coffeehouse
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
. In the cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
to the episode The Real Paul Anka, both Paul Ankas were featured in a dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
Lorelei describes to her daughter, Rory.
Other film and television appearances
Anka was the subject of the 1962 National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
documentary Lonely Boy
Lonely Boy (film)
Lonely Boy is a 1962 cinema verite documentary about former teen sensation Paul Anka. The film takes its name from Anka's hit song, Lonely Boy, which he performs to screaming fans in the film...
, considered a classic work of cinema verite
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
.
Anka wrote and performed songs in a 1985 Canadian children's Christmas cartoon, George and the Christmas Star.
In American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
's Seasons 2 and 3, he made a special appearance and sang an adapted version of "My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
" that mocked the format of the show, as well as participants, participants of past seasons, judges and the host. The performance was praised as "One of the Best Moments in American Idol" by several members of the cast.
In an episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "Treehouse of Horror VI
Treehouse of Horror VI
"Treehouse of Horror VI" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and the sixth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1995, and contains three self-contained segments...
", he guest stars as himself.
He makes a special appearance in Las Vegas, a show on Star World.
He was referenced several times on the T.V. show Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
including an episode where one of the characters had a dream about him and a dog named after him.
Soundtrack appearances
In the popular video game Hitman: ContractsHitman: Contracts
Hitman: Contracts is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the third entry in the Hitman series, followed by Hitman: Blood Money....
, in the Abbatoir party mission, in the room where the player finds a girl hanging upside down and severely mutilated, 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' is playing from a music player on repeat on the desk.
Anka's song "(You're) Having My Baby" was featured on the first season of the TV show Glee, namely in Episode 10, "Ballad", in which the character Finn sings the song to his pregnant girlfriend, Quinn.
Singles discography
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Germany | Italy | ||
| 1957 | "Diana Diana (song) "Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957. It was inspired by a high school friend named Diana Ayoub. The original Paul Anka 1957 recording reached number one on the Billboard "Best Sellers In Stores" chart and has reportedly sold over 9 million copies... " |
1 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | - |
| "I Love You, Baby" | 97 | - | - | 3 | - | - | |
| "Tell Me That You Love Me" | - | - | - | 25 | - | - | |
| 1958 | "You Are My Destiny You Are My Destiny "You Are My Destiny" is a song written and performed by Paul Anka. It was released in 1958 and reached number seven on the US Billboard 100 early that year. The song was also released in the UK, where it reached number six.... " |
7 | - | 14 | 6 | - | - |
| "Crazy Love" | 15 | - | - | 26 | - | - | |
| "Let the Bells Keep Ringing" | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Midnight" | 69 | - | - | 26 | - | - | |
| "Just Young" | 80 | - | - | - | - | 15 | |
| "The Teen Commandments"* | 29 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" | 15 | - | - | 10 | 7 | 9 | |
| 1959 | "I Miss You So" | 33 | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| "Lonely Boy Lonely Boy (Paul Anka song) "Lonely Boy" is a song written and recorded by Paul Anka in 1959. Anka sang this song in the film Girls Town. When released as a single, it topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Anka's first song to do so, although he had earlier topped Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart with "Diana"... " |
1 | - | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | |
| "Put Your Head On My Shoulder Put Your Head on My Shoulder "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version, released as a single in 1959, became very successful, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.... " |
2 | - | 12 | 7 | 25 | 2 | |
| "It's Time To Cry" | 4 | - | 13 | 28 | - | 2 | |
| 1960 | "Puppy Love" | 2 | - | - | 33 | - | 3 |
| "Adam and Eve" | 90 | - | - | - | - | 21 | |
| "My Home Town" | 8 | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
| "Something Happened" | 41 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Hello Young Lovers" | 23 | - | - | 44 | - | 13 | |
| "I Love You In the Same Old Way" | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Summer's Gone" | 11 | - | 29 | - | - | - | |
| "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" | 104 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1961 | "The Story of My Love" | 16 | - | - | - | - | 26 |
| "Don't Say You're Sorry" | 108 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Tonight My Love Tonight" | 13 | - | - | - | - | 8 | |
| "Dance On Little Girl" | 10 | - | - | - | - | 12 | |
| "Kissin' On the Phone" | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Cinderella" | 70 | - | - | - | - | 12 | |
| "The Bells At My Wedding" | 104 | - | - | - | - | 26 | |
| "Loveland" | 110 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | "The Fools Hall of Fame" | 103 | - | - | - | - | - |
| "I'd Never Find Another You" | 106 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "I'm Coming Home" | 94 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Love Me Warm and Tender" | 12 | - | - | 19 | 45 | - | |
| "A Steel Guitar and a Glass of Wine" | 13 | - | - | 41 | 35 | - | |
| "Every Night (Without You)" | 46 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| "Eso Beso (That Kiss)" | 19 | - | - | - | 14 | 23 | |
| 1963 | "Love (Makes the World Go Round)" | 26 | - | - | - | - | - |
| "Remember Diana" | 39 | - | - | - | 42 | - | |
| "Hello Jim" | 97 | - | - | - | 46 | - | |
| "Did You Have a Happy Birthday?" | 89 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1964 | "My Baby's Comin' Home" | 113 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1969 | "Goodnight, My Love" | 27 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| "In the Still of the Night" | 64 | 36 | - | - | - | - | |
| "Sincerely" | 80 | 30 | - | - | - | - | |
| "Happy" | 86 | 13 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | "Do I Love You" | 53 | 14 | - | - | - | - |
| 1972 | "Jubilation" | 65 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1974 | "Let Me Get To Know You" | 80 | 40 | - | - | - | - |
| "(You're) Having My Baby (You're) Having My Baby " Having My Baby" is a song written and recorded by Canadian popular music singer Paul Anka. Recorded as a duet with female vocalist Odia Coates, the song became Anka's first No... "** |
1 | 5 | - | 6 | 15 | - | |
| "One Man Woman/One Woman Man"** | 7 | 5 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1975 | "I Don't Like To Sleep Alone"** | 8 | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love"** | 15 | 3 | - | - | - | - | |
| "Times of Your Life Times of Your Life "Times of Your Life" is the title of a popular song and advertising jingle made famous in the 1970s by Canadian-born singer Paul Anka. In 1975, it was featured in a self-titled album, Times of Your Life, by Paul Anka... " |
7 | 1 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1976 | "Anytime (I'll Be There)" | 33 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| "Make It Up To Me In Love"** | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | |
| "Happier" | 60 | 10 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1977 | "My Best Friend's Wife" | 80 | 41 | - | - | - | - |
| "Everybody Ought To Be In Love" | 75 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1978 | "This Is Love" | 35 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 1979 | "As Long As We Keep Believing" | - | 29 | - | - | - | - |
| 1981 | "Think I'm in Love Again" | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| "I've Been Waiting For You All Of My Life" | 48 | 16 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1983 | "Hold Me 'Til the Mornin' Comes" | 40 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | "Second Chance" | - | 14 | - | - | - | - |
|- *with IV & Nash **with Odia Coates
Odia Coates
Odia Coates was an American singer, best known for her work with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka.-Early life:...