Singer and songwriter Paul Anka may be getting older, but he is undeniably one of the most important figures of his lifetime. Though much of his career has been lived in the public eye, there are still some things that many people do not know about him. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Paul Anka. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Was Surrounded by Stars by the Time He Turned 16. When Anka was just 16 years old, he joined the Biggest Show of Stars tour, and he was surrounded by Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and even Chuck Berry.
Number Fourteen: He Wrote the Theme Song for Tonight on NBC. Before Johnny Carson hit it big, he contacted Anka to ask him to write the theme song for a new show he was getting involved in. Anka made a good decision by saying yes because he got paid every time the theme song was played.
Number Thirteen: He Has a Special Connection With Vegas. While rock and roll was exploding in popularity, Anka stuck to his roots. This led him to become a mainstay in Vegas, and he’s perfectly fine with that.
Number Twelve: He Idolized Frank Sinatra. When Anka was a headliner in Vegas during the 1960s, he was able to spend a lot of time around Sinatra and the Rat Pack. He even went so far as to call Sinatra a “godlike creature.”
Number Eleven: He Wrote the Lyrics to “My Way” in One Night. The song was originally written for Sinatra’s impending retirement, and Anka says that he performs it at every show. He says that “My Way” is one of the staples that people still love to see him perform.
Number Ten: He Is Not a Fan of “She’s a Lady.” Though Anka wrote the song for tom Jones, he is not convinced that he could have made “She’s a Lady” a hit in the same way that Jones was able to do.
Number Nine: A Song He Wrote for a Commerical Made it to the Charts. Anka wrote “The Times of Your Life” for a Kodak commercial in 1975. The song was so good that it hit number seven on the charts!