Paul Anka was a natural born musician; as a child he sang in the church choir and studied piano. He entered show business early, writing and recording “I Confess” at the age of 14. The year after that, he auditioned at the New York ABC studios, singing another original, “Diana”, a torch song that jumped quickly to #1 in the charts. The song’s pathos was inspired by Anka’s own unrequited crush on his former babysitter, a girl a few years older than him. The music had calypso and cha-cha overtones and together with the love-struck lyrics, “Diana” became an international hit. A teen idol was born.

In the late 50s and early 60s, Anka continued in the same vein, releasing a number of Top 10 hits like “You Are My Destiny”, “Put Your Head On My Shoulder”, “Puppy Love” and “It’s Time To Cry.” Wherever teenagers congregated to hold hands (or neck with each other), a Paul Anka song was playing in the background. Far from being a one-trick pony, he branched out into movies as well, acting in Girls Town and performing the hit “Lonely Boy” in the film; he also appeared in the D-Day epic The Longest Day. Anka toured extensively, visiting England and Australia, and even appeared at several casinos in Las Vegas, a still fledgling resort desperately trying to attract entertainment talent. Movies, music, live shows…what else? Oh, that’s right—television. Paul Anka regularly performed on TV shows like Spotlite, Hullabaloo and The Midnight Special.

Even with this busy schedule, he continued to write songs that became huge successes. Anka composed the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and penned many hits for other singers. His oeuvre includes the English lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way”; Tom Jones’s biggest hit, “She’s a Lady”; and one of Buddy Holly’s last chart-toppers, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”.

In the 70s, Anka’s career hit a slump but the 1974 song “Having My Baby”—as a duet with Odia Coates—put him right back in the #1 spot on the charts. The duo released other Top 10 and Top 20 hits: “One Man Woman/One Woman Man”; “I Don’t Like to Sleep Alone”; and “(I Believe) There’s Nothing Stronger Than Our Love”. His older songs were as popular as ever, being covered by new teen idols like Donny Osmond, who sang “Puppy Love.” A solo hit came in 1976 with “Times of Your Life”, which started out as an advertising jingle for the Kodak company and was released as a single a year later. Anka kept up his Las Vegas appearances during this time as well.

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to dub Paul Anka architect of America’s pop music. Whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes, he gave us some of the most memorable tunes of the last 50 years. He consistently produced quality work and over time, managed to adapt to changing tastes. He still tours and performs, tirelessly entertaining audiences around the world.