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."
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Paul Anka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I called on dear old Santa Claus
To see what I could see
He took me to his workshop
And told his plans to me, so
[Chorus]
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're a wake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play
He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
You'd better write your letter now
And mail it right away
Because he's getting ready
His reindeer's and his sleigh. So
[Chorus]
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
The lyrics of Paul Anka's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is an endearing portrayal of the Christmas spirit. The opening verses depict the singer's adventure to the North Pole during his sojourn, where he visits Santa Claus and his workshop. The chorus of the song is known to all, with lines that emphasize the significance of being good, watching out, and not crying nor throwing tantrums, for Santa is coming to town. The singer echoes that Santa Claus is making a list and checking it twice to determine who's been nice or naughty, hence the need to be good for the sake of goodness itself.
The second verse highlights the little toys and gift items that Santa would bring to children in "Girl and Boy land," such as "little tin horns," "kiddie cars," dolls, and "elephants and boats." The jubilee surrounding the construction of Toyland around the Christmas tree denotes the excitement and anticipation children have for Christmas as they await Santa's arrival. The final verse emphasizes that Santa Claus is a busy man and encourages children to write letters to Santa and send them right away, especially as he prepares his sleigh and reindeer for the journey.
Line by Line Meaning
I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way
I’ve recently returned from a delightful journey along the galaxy
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I made a stop at the North Pole to enjoy my vacation
I called on dear old Santa Claus
I paid a visit to lovable Santa Claus
To see what I could see
To see what all I could witness
He took me to his workshop
He then took me to his workshop
And told his plans to me, so
And enlightened me about his plans
You better watch out, you better not cry
You need to be careful and not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
It’s best not to sulk, and the reason is
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
He's making a list and checking it twice
He’s preparing a list and rechecking it
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
He will discover who’s wicked and good
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He is observing you even when you’re sleeping
He knows when you're a wake
He’s aware when you’re awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
He knows whether you’ve been good or wicked
So be good for goodness sake
So, it's better to be good for goodness sake
Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
You have to be vigilant and not weep
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
It is preferable not to sulk, and the reason is
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
With little tin horns and little toy drums
He’ll bring small tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Along with rooty toot toots and rummy tum tum toys
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Also come curly-haired dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Additionally, elephants, boats, and kiddie cars come too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
Then, children in Girl and Boy land will celebrate
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
They will create a Toyland around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Therefore, you need to be cautious and not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
It’s better not to sulk, and the reason is
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play
Santa Claus is an engaged man, and he can't play
He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
He has many stockings to fill on Christmas day
You'd better write your letter now
Therefore, it is preferable to write your letter now
And mail it right away
And then send it right away
Because he's getting ready
Santa Claus is preparing
His reindeer's and his sleigh. So
Preparing his reindeers and sleigh too. Therefore,
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Along with small tin horns and toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tum toys
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Curly-haired dolls that toddle and coo too
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Also elephants, boats, and kiddie cars come too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is on his way
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Coots, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Antonio de Vicente Arnal
Maravillosos recuerdos de tiempos mejores.
Bryce Landon
I had no idea Paul Anka was into Xmas music! I heard this on the PA system at the Menards in Iowa City earlier this afternoon.
Dogs Are Cute
These are the new versions im listening to
Jon Tisch
nice & on Spotify too
Israel Aarón P. C.
Let me get to know you
Help me make it last
Love me spare the moment
Good things go so fast....
I knew you more than you thought W!
Ratna Seelam
Good quote
Alois's WTF studio's
How old is this
Mushy Mansilla Derqui
1963 novos