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."
Let the Bells Keep Ringing
Paul Anka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who sang a song so very soft and tenderly
He met a little girl with a flower in her hair
So he sang a song and now they're such a happy pair
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em send send their love
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em send send out their happy love (happy love)
Well, this boy and girl took a walk one day
Down to the sands near a moonlit bay
They talked and they talked till there was lovelight in their eyes
Then they kissed until the morning sun did rise
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em send their love
Yes to every girl and boy
Oh, let those bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em let 'em ring out with happy love (happy love)
Well, I've just told you yes the story of my life
And that little girl, oh yes, she is my loving wife
And our little house where we now stay
Sits in the middle of our little moonlit bay
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em send their love
Yes to every girl and boy
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
Let 'em ring out with joy
Let 'em let 'em ring out with happy love
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
One more!
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
Paul Anka's song "Let the Bells Keep Ringing" is a sweet and romantic tale about a boy from Napoli who meets a girl with a flower in her hair. The boy sings a soft and tender song to the girl and they fall in love. They take a walk down to the sands near a moonlit bay where they talk and kiss until the morning sun did rise. The song is an expression of the couple's love and their desire to spread it to everyone through the ringing of bells. The singer then reveals that he is the boy from the town of Napoli in the story, and the little girl with the flower in her hair is his wife. They live in a little house in the middle of a moonlit bay, happy and in love.
The lyrics of "Let the Bells Keep Ringing" capture the simple joy of being in love and celebrating that love with others. The song has an upbeat and catchy melody that emphasizes the feeling of joy and happiness that comes with love. The repeated chorus encourages the listener to join in the celebration and keep the bells ringing. The story told in the song also emphasizes the power of music and the way it can bring people together.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, there once was a boy from the town of Napoli
There was a boy from Naples who started singing a beautiful song.
Who sang a song so very soft and tenderly
The boy sang his song softly and tenderly.
He met a little girl with a flower in her hair
He fell in love with a girl who had a flower in her hair.
So he sang a song and now they're such a happy pair
He sang to her and now they are happy together.
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
The writer wants the bells to keep ringing.
Let 'em ring out with joy
They should ring out with joy and happiness.
Let 'em send send their love
The bells should send out their love.
Yes to every girl and boy
The love should be sent out to every girl and boy.
Well, this boy and girl took a walk one day
The boy and girl took a walk one day.
Down to the sands near a moonlit bay
They walked down to a moonlit bay.
They talked and they talked till there was lovelight in their eyes
They talked until they both had a look of love in their eyes.
Then they kissed until the morning sun did rise
They kissed until the sun came up.
Well, I've just told you yes the story of my life
The writer has just told us their life story.
And that little girl, oh yes, she is my loving wife
The girl with the flower in her hair is now the writer's wife.
And our little house where we now stay
They have a little house where they stay.
Sits in the middle of our little moonlit bay
Their house is in the middle of the moonlit bay.
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
The writer wants the bells to keep ringing.
Let 'em ring out with joy
The bells should ring out with joy and happiness.
Let 'em send their love
They should send out their love.
Yes to every girl and boy
The love should be sent out to every girl and boy.
Oh, let the bells keep ringing
The writer wants the bells to keep ringing.
Let 'em ring out with joy
The bells should ring out with joy and happiness.
Let 'em let 'em ring out with happy love
They should ring out with happy love.
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
Happy love.
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
Happy love.
One more!
One more time!
(Hap-hap-hap-happy love)
Happy love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL ANKA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ol Man
I can still remember seeing Paul sing this song as a contestant on "I've Got A Secret" His secret was that he wrote both the words and music and was only 18 at the time.
Ignacio Altuna
¡Que grato es recordar al memorable Paul Anka! Y acá con este movido tema del '58, cuando ya su carrera estaba afirmada y cada dos meses la ABC lanzaba un nuevo single con lo que, sin dudas, eran dos nuevas estrellas en su carrera de hits, en una etapa en la que aún seguía contando con el soporte glorioso de los arreglos de Don Costa y él estaba entre las primeras voces juveniles del panorama disquero americano...
Chau! Desde BA, Nacho!
Angela Ricard
Paul Anka always wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
elvis presley
such a happy song, never seemed to get enough air play, but happy just the same....
01musicfan
Thanks for posting, one of my favorites along with Late Last Night.
Zev Feldman
PAUL ROCKIN
Louis Brooksiefan
That song made side B for 'Crazy Love' in the 78 rpm version
Christa Christiaens
Mooi liedjes prachtig
Jason Kreuzer
One of the great b sides