Paul Albert Anka is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including "Diana", "Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wrote the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; one of Tom Jones' biggest hits, "She's a Lady"; and the English lyrics to Claude François and Jacques Revaux's music for Frank Sinatra's signature song "My Way", which has been recorded by many, including Elvis Presley. He co-wrote three songs with Michael Jackson: "This Is It" "Love Never Felt So Good", and "Don't Matter to Me", which became posthumous hits for Jackson in 2009, 2014, and 2018, respectively.
"No More Lonely Nights" is a song written and performed by Paul McCartney, first released on 24 September 1984 on the album Give My Regards to Broad Street
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version was recorded in August 1958 at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, three weeks before he recorded his no. 1 hit "Lonely Boy", and was released as a single on August 17, 1959, by ABC-Paramount as catalog number 4510040. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa. The B-side was "Don't Ever Leave Me". "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" became very successful, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his third top five hit of 1959. In Canada the song reached No. 4 on the CHUM Charts.
"Runaway" is a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song made famous by Del Shannon in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit. It topped the Billboard charts for four consecutive weeks, and Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1961. It was No. 472 on the 2010 version of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 466 on the 2004 version.
"Come Softly to Me" is a popular song recorded by The Fleetwoods, composed of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxel, who also wrote it. The original title was "Come Softly", but was changed en route to its becoming a hit. Bob Reisdorf, the owner of Dolphin Records, which in 1960 changed to Dolton Records, was responsible for the title change. He thought that "Come Softly" might be too obvious and considered risqué, so he had it changed to "Come Softly to Me." The title phrase never appears in the song's lyrics.
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental by Hugo Winterhalter. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", this lush extended cue, as orchestrated by Murray Cutter, is not the main title theme of the film, but an oft-heard secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue. The theme has become a canonical representation of the easy listening genre, and is considered by some to be the definitive easy listening track of all time.
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical comedy Roberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. Its first recorded performance was by Gertrude Niesen, who recorded the song with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin, on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by Victor, with the B-side, "Jealousy", featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra. The line — When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes — apparently comes from a Russian proverb.
"Diana" is a song written and first performed by Paul Anka, who recorded it in May 1957 at Don Costa’s studio in New York City. Anka stated in his autobiography that the song was inspired by a girl named Diana Ayoub, whom he had met at his church and community events, and had developed a crush on. Session musicians on the record included George Barnes playing lead guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli playing the "Calypso" riff on guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA Victor Studios in New York. Backup singers included Artie Ripp.
"Living Doll" is a song written by Lionel Bart made popular by Cliff Richard and the Shadows in 1959. It was the top selling single in the UK in 1959. It has topped the UK charts twice: in its original version in 1959 and a new version recorded in 1986 in aid of Comic Relief. It is one of the few songs released by an English singer to chart on the American Billboard charts before the British Invasion occurred.
"Tall Paul" is a song recorded by Annette Funicello and written by the Sherman Brothers, along with Bob Roberts.
"Shakedown" is a 1987 song recorded by Bob Seger, from the soundtrack of the film Beverly Hills Cop II. The music was written by Harold Faltermeyer, who also wrote the score for the film, and Keith Forsey, with lyrics by Seger. The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, Seger's only such top mark singles-wise, as well as the Album Rock Tracks chart, where it became his second number-one hit, spending four weeks at the top. In Canada, it went to number one as well, topping the RPM 100 national singles chart on August 1 of the same year.
"Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's Top 40 on August 17, 1959. It rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. "Sleep Walk" also reached number 4 on the R&B chart. It was the last instrumental to hit number 1 in the 1950s and earned a gold record for Santo and Johnny. In Canada, the song reached number 3 in the CHUM Charts. In the UK it peaked at number 22 on the charts.
"To Know Him Is to Love Him" is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father's tombstone, "To Know Him Was to Love Him." It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member, the Teddy Bears. Their recording spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958, while reaching No. 2 on the UK's New Musical Express chart. Peter & Gordon and Bobby Vinton later had hits with the song, with its title and lyrics changed to "To Know You Is to Love You". In 1987, the song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the U.S. country singles chart.
"You Are My Destiny" is a song written and performed by Paul Anka. It was recorded in September 1957 and released in late fall 1957, reaching number seven on the US Billboard 100 early in 1958, number fourteen on the R&B chart, and number two in Canada. The song was also released in the UK, where it reached number six. The flip-side was also number 39 in Canada.
"He'll Have to Go" is an American country and pop hit recorded on October 15, 1959, by Jim Reeves. The song, released in the fall of 1959, went on to become a hit in both genres early in 1960.
"(You're) Having My Baby" is a song written and recorded in 1974 by Canadian singer Paul Anka. Recorded as a duet with female vocalist Odia Coates, the song became Anka's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 15 years, since 1959's "Lonely Boy". The song was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"She's a Lady" is a song written by Paul Anka and released on his album Paul Anka '70s. The most successful recording was performed by Tom Jones and released at the beginning of 1971. It is Jones's highest-charting single in the U.S..
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song was issued in January 1959, less than a month before Holly's death. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" reached number 13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1959, shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart". "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was Holly's last US Top 20 hit and featured the orchestral backing of Dick Jacobs. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's first posthumous number 1 hit.
"Do I Love You" is a song co-written and recorded by Paul Anka, from his 1972 eponymous LP. Released as an advance single in late 1971, "Do I Love You" reached number 14 on the Easy Listening Singles charts of both the U.S. and Canada, number 16 on the Canadian Pop chart, and was a modest hit on the U.S. Hot 100 as well. As with the earlier "My Way", it was adapted from a French-language song popularized by Claude François, and Anka composed the English lyrics.
"Jubilation" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka for his 1972 studio album of the same name. Anka wrote the song with Johnny Harris, who also produced the track. It was released in 1972 as a 7" single by Buddah Records. A gospel song, the lyrics of "Jubilation" find the protagonist preaching about religious themes. Making a moderate commercial impact, it appeared on the record charts in both Canada and the United States. It has since been included on several of Anka's greatest hits albums and covered by The Edwin Hawkins Singers in 1973.
