He began singing as a child, first starting in the St Elijah Syrian Orthodox Church choir in Ottawa. As a student at Ottawa's Fisher Park High School he was part of a trio called the Bobby Soxers.
Encouraged by his parents, at age 14 he recorded his first single, I Confess. In 1957 he went to New York City where he auditioned for ABC, singing a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter, Diana Ayoub. The song, Diana, brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the charts. Diana is one of the best selling 45s in music history. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, making him one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain and then, with Buddy Holly, toured Australia.
His talent went beyond singing, writing Buddy Holly's giant hit, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, the theme for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Tom Jones' biggest hit record, She's A Lady, and the English lyrics for My Way, Frank Sinatra's signature song and sung by many well known artists, including Greta Keller, for whom the words were very fitting.
In the 1960s, Anka would begin acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded his monster hit, Lonely Boy. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos.
After more than ten years without a hit record, in 1974 he teamed up with Odia Coates to record the number 1 hit, Having My Baby. They would record two more duets that both made it into the Top 10. In 1975, he wrote a jingle for Kodak called The Times of Your Life. The jingle became so popular, he recorded it as a full song, The Times of Your Life, and it became a hit a year later.
By the 1970s, Anka's career centered around adult contemporary and big-band standards, played regularly in Las Vegas. On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He returned to his home town to buy a part of the Ottawa Senators hockey team.
In 1999 he visited Lebanon for sell-out performances at the Forum de Beyrouth (The Beirut Forum).
Paul Anka was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6840 Hollywood Blvd. In 1991, the Government of France honored him with the title "Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters". He was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.
On the WB show Gilmore Girls, Lorelai named her new dog Paul Anka. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the episode "The Real Paul Anka", which aired April 11, 2006.
Paul Anka recently did a live session on Live @ The Orange Lounge playing songs from his new cover-CD Rock Swings.
Notable rap artist Jay-Z featured his vocals on the track I Did it my Way on The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse in 2002.
He became infamous amongst musicians (and more recently to internet users) for a mid-70's after-show tirade which was secretly recorded by a "snake we later fired" (Anka: Fresh Air interview). The diatribe, in which Anka berates his crew and band members, has spawned a number of in-joke references and quotations, the main ones being: "The guys get shirts", "Where's Joe?", and "Slice like a hammer."
Autumn Leaves
Paul Anka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drift by my window
There are the leaves
Of red and gold
I see your lips
The summer kisses
The sunburned hands
Since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song
But I miss you most of all
My darling
When Autumn Leaves
Start to fall
(Instrumental)
Since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song
But I miss you most of all
My darling
When Autumn Leaves
Start to fall
The lyrics of "Autumn Leaves" by Paul Anka evoke a strong sense of nostalgia and longing for a lost love. The first verse describes the falling leaves drifting by the window, symbolizing the passing of time and the changing of seasons. The leaves being red and gold also represent the beauty and warmth of summer giving way to the coldness of autumn and winter. Then, the lyrics shift to memories of the past with the imagery of summer kisses and sunburnt hands. The second verse reveals that since the person has gone away, the days have grown longer which may relate to the emptiness of missing someone. However, the most significant sentiment is expressed in the final lines, "But I miss you most of all, my darling, when Autumn leaves start to fall." The autumn leaves and the coming of winter serve as a reminder of the precious memories shared with the absent loved one and the longing for their return.
Line by Line Meaning
The falling leaves
The leaves are falling from the trees
Drift by my window
The leaves blown by the wind pass by the window
There are the leaves
The leaves outside are noticeable
Of red and gold
The leaves are colored red or gold
I see your lips
The author thinks of the lips of a loved one
The summer kisses
The kisses made during the summer season
The sunburned hands
The hands that got sunburned during summer days with a loved one
I used to hold
The hands of the loved one that the author used to hold during summer
Since you went away
The loved one has gone away
The days grow long
The days seem longer since the loved one left
And soon I'll hear
Soon, the author will hear
Old winter's song
The song that winter brings
But I miss you most of all
The author misses the loved one the most
My darling
The loved one is a darling or sweetheart
When Autumn Leaves
The author misses the loved one the most during autumn
Start to fall
When the leaves start to fall
Writer(s): Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Andre Marie Prevert
Contributed by Declan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.