Person

Anka, Paul

1941-

Paul Albert Anka was born on July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario, into a family of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants.

He is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and actor. He sang in the choir of St. Elijah Syrian Orthodox Church and briefly studied piano. He honed his writing skills with journalism courses, even working for a spell at the Ottawa Citizen. By 13, he had his own vocal group, the Bobbysoxers. He performed at every amateur night he could get to in his mother’s car. Soon after, he won a trip to New York by winning a Campbell’s soup contest that required him to spend three months collecting soup can labels. It was there his dream was solidified; he was going to make it as a singer-composer. In 1956, he convinced his parents to let him travel to Los Angeles, where he called every record company in the phone book looking for an audition. A meeting with Modern Records led to the release of Anka’s first single, “Blau Wile Deveest Fontaine.” It was not a hit, but Anka kept plugging away, going so far as to sneak into Fats Domino’s dressing room to meet the man and his manager in Ottawa. When Anka returned to New York in 1957, he scored a meeting with Don Costa, the A&R man for ABC-Paramount Records. He played him a batch of songs that included “Diana.” Costa was duly enthusiastic about the potential of the young singer and songwriter. The rapid and enormous success of “Diana,” his first number-one hit, made him a star. Anka's talent included the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1962. In 1963, he purchased the rights and ownership of his ABC-Paramount catalogue and re-recorded his earlier hits for RCA Victor, which he had joined in 1960. Like many American recording artists of the mid-1960s, Anka's career was derailed by the British Invasion. By the end of the decade, he focused mainly on adult contemporary and big-band standards and began appearing regularly in Las Vegas. Anka collaborated with and composed songs for numerous artists in North America and Europe. Anka's autobiography, "My Way," co-written with David Dalton, was published in 2013.

Anka was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2004. He was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2005 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. Anka received an honorary doctorate from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 2013.

He was married to Anne de Zogheb ​(1963-div. 2001),​ Anna Åberg ​ (2008-div. 2010) and Lisa Pemberton ​(2016-div. 2020).