Born on the 30th
July, 1941 in
Ottawa,
Ontario,
Canada, this 50s teen idol singer/songwriter was the first teenager to top the transatlantic charts and made his recording debut in 1956 at 15, backed by noted
Doo Wop group
The Jacks (aka
The Cadets). By 1957,
Anka's hit-making friends
The Rover Boys introduced him to their label
ABC-
Paramount, who snapped up the young singer/songwriter. Soon afterwards, his song '
Diana' (inspired by his family's 18-year-old babysitter
Diana Ayoub) topped
US and
UK charts and became a rare million-seller in
Britain.
For six years, Anka was seldom away from the hit parade; among his biggest hits were the self-penned ballads 'You Are My Destiny' (1958), 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder', 'Lonely Boy' (both 1959) and 'Puppy Love' (1960], the latter two being revived successfully in the 70s by another teenage idol, Donny Osmond. While still in his teens, Anka appeared on every major US music TV show, starred in Las Vegas, headlined at The Copacabana and appeared in the movies Girls Town (1959) and The Longest Day.
In the 60s, he concentrated on songwriting and live club work. Surprisingly, he had another run of best-sellers in the mid-70s, with the biggest, 'You're Having My Baby' (a 1974 duet with his protegee Odia Coates), topping the US chart. In 1993, Paul Anka, who also penned hits like 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' (Buddy Holly), She's A Lady' (Tom Jones) and 'My Way' (Frank Sinatra), was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. A bilingual record aimed at Latin countries, Amigos, earned the popular supper-club entertainer another gold disc in 1996, spawned a best-selling duet with leading Latin artist Ricky Martin on 'Diana'- the 10-million-seller that launched his career.
Albums
1958
Paul Anka (Sparton)
1959
My Heart Sings (Sparton)
1960
Paul Anka Swings For Young Lovers (Sparton)
1960
Anka At The Copa (Sparton)
1960
Paul Anka Sings His Big 15 (Sparton)
1960
It's Christmas Everywhere (Sparton)
1961
Paul Anka Sings His Big 15 Volume 2 (Sparton)
1962
Paul Anka Sings His Big 15 Volume 3 (Sparton)
1962
Young, Alive And In Love (RCA)
1962
Let's Sit This One Out (RCA)
1963
Our Man Around The World (RCA)
1963
Songs I Wished I'd Written (RCA)
1963
Paul Anka And Others (RCA)
1963
Paul Anka's 21 Golden Hits (RCA)
1964
Excitement On Park Avenue (RCA)
1966
Strictly Nashville (RCA)
1967
Paul Anka Alive (RCA)
1969
Goodnight My Love (RCA)
1969
Life Goes On (RCA)
1971
Paul Anka (RCA)
1972
Jubilation (RCA)
197?
This Is Anka (Buddah)
1974
Anka (United Artists)
1974
Paul Anka Gold (United Artists)
1975
Feelings (United Artists)
1975
Times Of Your Life (United Artists)
1976
Essential Paul Anka (United Artists)
1976
The Painter (United Artists)
1977
Music Man (United Artists)
1977
Vintage Years 1957-61 (United Artists)
1978
Listen To Your Heart (RCA)
1980
Paul Anka - His Best (RCA)
1981
Both Sides Of Love (RCA)
1983
Walk A Fine Line (Columbia)
1983
Walk A Fine Line (SONY Music Imports - Japan)
1987
Italiano
1989
30th Anniversary Anthology: 1957-1978 (Rhino)
1989
21 Golden Hits (RCA)
1990
Diana And Other Hits
1991
Five Decades Of Hits (Curb)
1992
Classic Hits with Odia Coates
1993
Paul Anka In The 70s (RCA)
199?
Greatest Hits (Music Makers)
199?
Greatest Hits Live (Flash)
199?
His Best (EMI)
199?
Memories (Jet)
199?
My Way (RCA)
199?
Sings His Big 10 (Curb)
199?
Sings His Big 10 re-issue (Curb)
199?
Zwei Mad Chen Aus Germany (Bear - Germany)
Sources
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesA/
http://www.paulanka.com/discography.htm
http://www.canehdian.com/genre/rock/a/paulank
http://cdnow.com/switch/from=sr-299258/target
http://www.alamhof.org/halldisc.htm