his way

A portrait of Paul Anka, composer, , actor, father and a man who keeps redefining himself Annie Leibovitz 2012. Courtesy Annie Leibovitz Studio ©

8 WWW.healthyaging.NET SPRING/SUMMER 2013 SPRING/SUMMER 2013 WWW.healthyaging.NET 9 ou might say that judging by Paul Anka’s success, he was just one of those lucky guys with a lot of talent who rose to the top of his game. For over 55 years, Anka has perfected his craft as a songwriter, performer and even as an actor. But his road has not always been easy, even if it looks that way. As with many career choices, changes in technology, social All photos are owned by Paul Anka Productions. Ynorms and even politics can completely turn an industry upside down, leaving some pro- fessionals by the wayside, not knowing how to move forward. For those who have seen their jobs disap- pear due to similar societal or industrial changes, Paul Anka’s never-give-up attitude is an inspiration. Yes, even celebrities won- der if their luck has run out at some point in their career and have to take stock of how they can reinvent themselves. In his newly released memoir, (St. Martin’s Press), Paul Anka takes us through how he faced many of these challenges in his career, how he was able to recognize luck when it came his way and how he capitalized on his good fortune with innovation. Time and again, he succeeded in his own “personal reinvention.” Not only did he have talent and the ability to recognize the lucky breaks, but he added a little “pluck” to the combination, catapulting him to the next redefinition. Anka was born Paul Albert Anka in , on, July 30, 1941 to parents of Leba- nese Christian descent. The name “Anka” means “noose” in Arabic, and he tells a great story in his book about how his name was changed by the immigration officers, as so often happened at the time, when his parents came to Ottawa. He was smaller than his classmates as a teenager and he admits, overweight. Rather than play on the hockey team, he was a cheerleader. He was a big ham at home and around friends...always knowing that his dream was to be a writer and singer. From the top: and Anka; Anka and backstage at the in Paris before anyone in America knew who they were; Paying tribute to his friend, ; Anka and , 1960. Right page: Anka at the music board in the studio.

10 WWW.healthyaging.NET SPRING/SUMMER 2013 SPRING/SUMMER 2013 WWW.healthyaging.NET 11 he first of many breaks that he parlayed from luck to success happened when he was 15 years old. He tells the story of how he used his summer job savings to fly to Los Angeles to visit his uncle. Hitching a ride, carrying his music, he paid a visit to Modern Records in a little garage setup. He walked in off the street and Ttold the mom-and-pop record business owners that he was a singer-songwriter and had a song that was sure to be a hit. “Okay, sing it to us,” they said. And he did. They wanted to record his very first song with the unusual name of “Blau Wilde De Veest Fontaine” with the Cadets. The song was not a hit, selling maybe 300 records. He returned to high school as a sophomore. It was 1956. On April 18, 1957, a rock ‘n’ roll show came to the . Anka’s brainstorm was to get backstage and meet the artists: Fats Domino, All photos are owned by Paul Anka Productions. Chuck Berry, The Platters, The Drifters ... He snuck through the back door and ap- proached Chuck Barry with his song “Diana”. Berry’s reaction: “That’s horrible, that’s not a song, man, that’s a conversation you have at the Dairy Queen.” Not to be deterred, the teenage Anka made his way to ’s Brill Building at 1650 Broadway, a mecca for music writers and publishers. He managed an audition with , a producer at ABC-Paramount Records and played his four songs: “Diana”, “Tell Me that You Love Me”, “Don’t Gamble with Love” and “I Love You, Baby”. He was offered a contract on the spot. From there he was on a roll with songs about teenage love, from “Puppy Love”, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, “You Are My Destiny”, “Lonely Boy” and more. He was the rage in the era of “ducktails, flips and pompadours.” To broaden his experience and public awareness, he became an actor with roles in teen movies, Girls Town, The Private Lives From the top: Anka, age 2; Anka with his sister and brother in 1950; The famous Diana (left) with her cousin and Anka; Anka with his wife, Anne, and their daughters in 1977. Left page: Anka when he first arrived in New York City.

12 WWW.healthyaging.NET SPRING/SUMMER 2013 SPRING/SUMMER 2013 WWW.healthyaging.NET 13 “I am in my seventh decade and my childhood in Ottawa feels just like it was yesterday....I swear I can’t feel the journey being that long....I feel and act with my life and work onstage like I am a forty-year-old.”

of Adam and Eve and Look in Any Window. physically and career-wise, he says, is a rela- Later in The Longest Day, playing a kid from tively healthy lifestyle. He managed to stay the Bronx fighting on D-Day, and he even somewhat out of the vices that toppled so had a cameo in Captain Ron. many artists such as alcoholism and drugs. When the hit, many per- His secret? “I eat well. I drink a little wine, formers were not ready or willing to believe maybe a glass of brandy. I exercise regularly,

what was happening. The Beatles dominated mostly cardiovascular workouts, weights and All photos are owned by Paul Anka Productions. the world. “It was an especially bitter pill for the occasional yoga routine. I consume huge me to swallow because I’d always been the amounts of an eclectic array of vegetables and youngest on the bus, the youngest in Vegas...I’d fruit. I drink a lot of tea....I saw my friend always been the kid.... And then, after all Sammy Davis Jr. slowly kill himself from abuse you think you’ve achieved, you suddenly and I wasn’t going to follow him down that path.” realize you’re being left behind....” Anka has made 123 albums in four lan- As Anka saw it, “changes were happening guages, from English, Spanish and German in the music business in part because of the to Italianbut not without having to reinvent changes in technology, the advent of the stereo himself. sound system, FM radio, track tape machines, In April of this year, Duets, a new 14-song the electric guitar, transistors – all develop- collection, was released through Legacy Re- ments that made rock ‘n’ roll possible.” cordings, a division of Entertain- One of his solutions was to focus on writ- ment, which coincided with his new book, ing for movies, TV theme music and writing My Way. for other singers. He wrote the theme for Duets, displaying Anka reinventing him- The Longest Day, the musical overture for the self once again, presents collaborations Tonight Show theme and more. He appeared with a ‘Who’s Who’ of entertainment royalty in variety shows like Hullabaloo and The including Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Dean Martin Show. Gloria Estafan, Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Anka wrote the classic My Way, recorded , Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra by Frank Sinatra, and others. He singing My Way. co-wrote Michael Jackson’s single, This is It. For Anka, he is as young as he feels. He Anka also penned She’s A Lady for Tom Jones says, “I am in my seventh decade and my and the instrumental theme song for The childhood in Ottawa feels just like it was Tonight Show Starring . He is yesterday....I swear I can’t feel the journey among Billboard magazine’s Top 25 most being that long....I feel and act with my life successful recording artists, putting him along- and work onstage like I am a forty-year-old. side Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Clockwise from top left: Anka and Ed Sullivan on The He took control of his business career, Ed Sullivan Show, December 17, 1961; On Hullabaloo producing, buying and owning his master re- in the ; Anka and ; Anka’s movie debut in Look in Any Window (1960) with actress Ruth cordings, and continues to do so today. Roman; Anka and . He wrote her song, One of Anka’s secrets to his longevity, both “Teddy.”; Scene from The Longest Day.

14 WWW.healthyaging.NET SPRING/SUMMER 2013 SPRING/SUMMER 2013 WWW.healthyaging.NET 15 I don’t know what it feels like to be seventy! Of course, living that preventative lifestyle, seeing others who are younger than I am who can barely walk, function, etc., you have to count your bless- ings....Of course, I take in the genetic factor, but I have to believe...that by doing all the right things, in terms of your body and your health, you have the opportunity to feel the way I do.”

or those who have been successful in life, there comes a point when they think of retiring. On the issue of retirement, Anka feels “it’s a question of what do you do with yourself if you don’t work?...I always believed, if you stand still, they will throw dirt on you. It would really scare me to do nothing. Especially when I find that I am still writing songs, producing, performing – and at Fthis age – still having too much fun to stop.” In today’s world of and other talent shows, it seems there are many more young artists who think they can make it to the top quickly. Anka shares his thoughts on the new breed this way: “Whenever I meet any of these new kids on the block, they look at me and I know exactly what they are thinking: ‘Shit, I hope I can last that long.’...I tell them, ‘Don’t tell me how hot you are, tell me how long you have been around!’ You have to think about your longevity in this business. That has nothing to do with age. It’s a potpourri of dynamics that go into the mix. And I think luck.” You might think that performing for so many years, often with tried and true material, Anka would hang up his microphone and sheet music. “No way.” He says, people often ask me if I get bored doing the same show over and over, eighty to ninety times a year. No, because whenever I perform the audience is reacting to what I am giv- ing them and it stimulates me every night – just as it were the first time. The Chinese have a saying: If you find something you love to do, you will never work a day in your life. “When people ask, ‘When are you going to retire?’ I look at them and say, ‘Never; as long as Paul Anka is center stage again with his I am living and doing what I do.’ In fact, I remind them if someone says to me that they are thinking newly released book, My Way, and Duets, a CD of retiring, I reply, you already have...” t My Way by Paul Anka with David Dalton. Published by St. Martin’s collection of superstar collaborations. Press ©2013. Duets, music CD, released through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Photo owned by Paul Anka Productions.

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