Paul Anka was born in Ottowa, Ontario, Canada in 1941 and became an extremely popular teen idol of the 1950’s and 1960’s. His early singing experience was in church and he first started performing at the age of 12. His father, Andy, financed Paul’s first recording, “I Confess” when Paul was 14.
In 1957, Paul went to New York City, where he auditioned for ABC Records and Don Costa. He sang a song that, Paul claims, was about a girl in church that he hardly knew. The song, “Diana” became Paul’s first number one single.
Following the success of “Diana”, Paul had a string of hits that stretched into the early 1960’s. When the British Invasion hit in 1964, Paul’s recording career, like many other stars of the early rock era, came to a grinding halt.
Paul was as proficient a songwriter as he was a recording artist wrote and he wrote songs during this hiatus for other performers, including “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” for Buddy Holly.
In 1962, he rewrote a song he had written for Annette Funicello called, “It’s Really Love” and he created the theme for The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. He also wrote “She’s A Lady”, Tom Jones biggest hit, and “My Way” for Frank Sinatra.
In 1973, Paul had a short-lived TV variety series. Then, in 1974, he signed with United Artists records and teamed up with vocalist Odia Coates and returned to number one on the charts with “(You’re) Having My Baby.” He would have four more Top 20 hits, three with Odia Coates.
On the charts, Paul Anka had 33 Top 40 songs on Billboard’s weekly charts, three of which went to number one. Here’s a look at Paul Anka’s twenty biggest hits, according to the Billboard Weekly Top 40 Charts.
1.Lonely Boy – 1959 – from the film “Girl’s Town”. The song has also been covered by Billy “Crash” Craddock in 1971 and Donny Osmond in 1972.
2. (You’re) Having My Baby – 1974 – although the song was written about his wife and four daughters, Paul’s first #1 single in 15 years received heavy criticism from many groups, including the National Organization for Women. While performing in Las Vegas, Paul changed the lyrics to “You’re Having Our Baby.” That still didn’t keep it from being voted the Worst Song Of All Time in a poll conducted by CNN.com in 2006.
3. Diana – 1957 – Paul’s first number one song was recorded at the Don Costa studio in New York City. It also made it to #1 on the Billboard R&B; charts in 1957.
4. Put Your Head On My Shoulder – 1959 – this song has been covered by The Lettermen, Leif Garret and Michael Buble.
5. Puppy Love – 1960 – Donny Osmond took this song to number three on the weekly charts in 1972.
6. It’s Time To Cry – 1959
7. Times Of your Life – 1976 – Paul’s last top 10 hit was first recorded as a jingle for Kodak, but the popularity of the song brought him to the studio to record a full version.
8. You Are My Destiny – 1958
9. One Man Woman/One Woman Man – 1975 – this follow up single to “You’re Having My Baby” also featuring Odia Coates went to #7 on the weekly charts.
10. I Don’t Like To Sleep Alone – 1975 – another duet with Odia Coates.
11. My Home Town – 1960
12. Dance On Little Girl – 1961
13. Summer’s Gone – 1960
14. Love Me Warm And Tender – 1962
15. Tonight My Love, Tonight – 1961
16. A Steel Guitar And A Glass Of Wine – 1962
17. (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings – 1959
18. Crazy Love – 1958
19. (I Believe) There’s Nothing Stronger Than Our Love – 1975 – the fourth single with Odia Coates.
20. Let The Bells Ring – 1958 – the B side to Crazy Love (see #18).
Although Paul hasn’t had a top 40 hit since 1983, he remains a popular attraction and he returns to Canada regularly to perform.
In 1983, Paul and Michael Jackson wrote Jackson’s 2009 song, “This Is It.” Another song, co-written by the two stars and recorded by Jackson, “Love Never Felt So Good” was recently discovered and is expected to be released in the future.
Odia Coates couldn’t match the success she had with Paul and, as a solo artist, saw only minor popularity. She died of breast cancer, at the age of 49, in 1991.
SOURCE: Joel Whitburn – The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits
