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."
Who
Paul Anka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who's Sorry Now?
Who's heart is aching for breaking each vow?
Who's sad and blue?
Who's crying too?
Just like I cried over you.
Right to the end,
Just like a friend,
You had your way,
Now you must pay;
The song "Who's Sorry Now?" by Paul Anka talks about a person reflecting on a past relationship where they were warning their partner about their bad behavior but were ultimately ignored. The lyrics are directed towards their ex-partner who is feeling the consequences of their actions, causing them to feel heartbroken, sad, and regretful. The singer appears to be expressing a sense of satisfaction in finally seeing their ex-partner get their comeuppance. The repetition of the phrase "Who's sorry now?" emphasizes the singer's sense of schadenfreude and their desire to see their ex-partner apologize for their wrongdoings.
Line by Line Meaning
Who's Sorry Now?
Who is feeling regretful now?
Who's heart is aching for breaking each vow?
Who is feeling the pain of breaking promises?
Who's sad and blue?
Who is feeling depressed and unhappy?
Who's crying too?
Who is shedding tears as well?
Just like I cried over you.
Similar to how I cried because of you.
Right to the end,
All the way to the conclusion,
Just like a friend,
Similar to how a friend would behave,
I tried to warn you somehow.
I attempted to alert you in some way.
You had your way,
You did what you wanted,
Now you must pay;
You are now obligated to face the consequences.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Ted Snyder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind