Hey all, this will be my second blog!

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Paul Anka was born July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario.[1] He first showed an interest in music when he was young by singing in the choir at church as well as studying piano. At the age of thirteen, he was in his own vocal group. His dream of pursuing a career in music became especially clear when he went on a trip to New York; after that trip, he saved up his money and convinced his parents to let him

go to Los Angeles to pursue music. Working with Modern Records, he released his first single, though it was not a hit and did not do much to start his career.[2] What Paul really wanted was to move to New York; after some convincing, his father let him make the move under one condition: if he could not make it in New York then he would have to come back to Ottawa.[3]

In New York, Paul met with Don Costa, an executive at ABC/Paramount Records who showed great interest in Paul after listening to some of his music. A contract was written up and then signed by Paul. Following this, Paul wrote a song about a girl he had a crush on in Ottawa; the song was called “Diana.” Once the song was recorded and released, it became Paul’s first number one hit single.[4] By the age of twenty, which was then the late 1950s, Paul was travelling to perform songs such as “Lonely Boy” and “Put Your Head On My Shoulders.”[5]

Paul’s music tended to be influenced by artists like Nat Cole and Frank Sinatra. In particular, in “Put Your Head On My Shoulders,” Paul’s voice is strong, singular, and is the main element of the song. Also, his performance style exemplifies the characteristic of almost talking to the audience as he sings. These traits are certainly present in the music of Nat Cole and Frank Sinatra, whose voices are known to be the centrepiece of their music as they sing, and talk, to their audience.  Now consider “Unforgettable” by Nat Cole, which was a change in music style post-war and was ideal for slow dancing instead of the foxtrot.[6] When comparing this song with Paul’s “Put Your Head On My Shoulders,” one gets the sense that they have a similar feel to them. That is, Nat and Paul have a more personal way of performing, where they are sharing their feelings through singing, referred to as emphasizing the song to the singer. To add to the similarity in a small way, there is pizzicato present in Nat Cole’s song and also a small, subtle amount of pizzicato in Paul’s song.[7] On the other hand, the music of Frank Sinatra tends to be more upbeat, lively, and slightly less soothing then Nat Cole’s music.[8] This certainly seems to be a quality that influenced Paul, as his song shares this characteristic quite closely. For this particular Paul Anka song, it should be noted that, unlike the music of Frank Sinatra and Nat Cole, there is not much instrumentation in it; the lack of instrumentation seems to be made up for with the presence of minor vocalists.

Despite his success, Paul encountered a problem when he performed his music back in Ottawa: people were booing him and would not embrace his music—this resulted in Paul not performing there for decades. When the 1960’s came about, people started to like rock ‘n’ roll from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.[9] This led Paul on a different career route. He performed his music to an older group of people in nightclubs in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.[10] Unlike many other crooners of the time, Paul enjoyed writing music for other artists such as Tom Jones, Michael Jackson, and his friend Frank Sinatra (for whom he wrote “My Way”). It is also interesting to note that Paul co-wrote the popular Michael Jackson song, “This is it.”[11] In 1974, he released another song called “You’re Having My Baby,” which became number one on the charts despite being very controversial for feminists. In the 1990s, Paul continued his career through acting; to this day, he continues to make appearances in TV shows and movies.[12]

Paul Anka has had a significant impact on popular music. To recognize them, he has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame.[13]

End Notes

[1] “Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography,” accessed July 12, 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424.

[2] “Paul Anka – Canadian Music Hall Of Fame,” accessed July 12, 2018, http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/paul-anka/.

[3] “Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography,”

[4] “Paul Anka – Canadian Music Hall Of Fame.”

[5] “Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography,”

[6] Michael Campbell, Popular Music in America The Beat Goes On, Fourth Edition (Boston, MA: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2013), 153 and 154.

[7] Michael Campbell, 154.

[8] Michael Campbell, 155.

[9] “Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography,”

[10] Rachel Cole, “Paul Anka- American Singer and Songwriter,” accessed July 12, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Anka.

[11] Rachel Cole.

[12] “Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography,”

[13] Betty Nygaard King, “Paul Anka,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed July 13, 2018, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/.

Bibliography

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in American The Beat Goes On. Boston, MA: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2013.

Cole, Rachel. “Paul Anka- American Singer and Songwriter.” Accessed July 12, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Anka.

King, Betty Nygarrd. “Paul Anka.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed July 13, 2018. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/.

“Paul Anka- Canadian Music Hall of Fame” Accessed July 12, 2018. http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/paul-anka/.

“Paul Anka – Singer, Songwriter, Television Actor, Film Actor, Guitarist, Pianist, Actor – Biography.” Accessed July 12, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424.

 

Paul Anka and Justin Bieber are both from Ontario, Canada, and they were both only 15 years old when they released their first hit [5], but Anka’s success as a singer-songwriter helped pave the way for The Biebs, and this should not be forgotten. I will admit that prior to beginning the research for this blog post I was, for the most part, unfamiliar with Paul Anka. While his name was familiar to me, I was wildly unaware of his musical contributions throughout the last 60 or so decades. For this reason, I will begin with a brief biography.

Paul Anka: Who is he?

Paul Anka, Canadian heartthrob and crooner was born July 30th, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario [1]. As a boy he was part of a church choir and studied piano; at the age of 13 he had already claimed a spot in a vocal group named the Bobbysoxers [4].

“From an early age, it was clear that Anka had an abundance of confidence and big dreams of life on stage” -The Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Anka spent 3 months collecting Campbell’s soup can labels that led him to win a contest for a trip to New York [1,2,4]. This New York trip, along with his later travels in 1956 to Los Angeles, only led him to become hungrier for the singing career that awaited him. He recorded his first single “Blau-Wile-Deveest-Fontaine” while in Los Angeles, but unfortunately it was not a hit [1]. Later in 1957, upon returning to New York, Anka recorded his first hit song “Diana” with ABC-Paramount Records [1].

Following the release of Diana, Paul Anka was well on his way to becoming “one of the first and most iconic teen idols in pop music” [1]. His sound evolved throughout the 1960’s, and he also quickly found out that he was going to be a successful, long-term songwriter [1,2].

Anka’s Signature Talent

While he was no doubt a talented crooner, Paul Anka has a leg up on many of the other crooners of the time, such as Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole. At one point Anka described his songs as being “very autobiographical”, meaning that he wrote them about his own personal experiences [4]. For example, “Diana” was written about a woman from Ottawa that he was crushing on and “Lonely Boy” was about his struggles with feeling isolated during his initial teenage years in the music business. His early songwriting continued to develop throughout his career and over the years he wrote songs for many artists including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, and Tom Jones [1].

The fact that Paul Anka wrote his own songs is one of the biggest distinguishing factors between him and the other crooners we have studied. Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole typically performed older songs in their early years, taking them on and making them their own [3].

“Crazy Love”

There are, however, other things that set Anka part from crooners like Cole and Sinatra. I’ve decided to highlight Anka’s 1958 song, “Crazy Love” to show some of the major differences.

The very first thing I noticed about this song was how much Anka’s vocal style resembles that of Elvis! I think this resemblance is representative of the time; Anka was much younger than Sinatra and Cole at the time of this recording, who were both well into their 30’s. Not to mention that Elvis’s big bust into the music scene occurred 4 years prior to Anka’s release of “Crazy Love.” In the song, you may have noticed his whiny and somewhat melancholic voice; this feature is what I would compare directly to that of Elvis. Another song where I noticed this Elvis resemblance was in “Tell Me That You Love Me.”

Another difference that I noticed from some of the earlier crooners was the pitch of their voices. Anka’s voice is not quite as low and warm as Sinatra and Cole; this could be related to his young age, after-all, Anka was only 17 years old when the song was released. One of the signature features of the popular crooners was their warm, rich texture, and I feel that Anka’s sound in this song and many others is not nearly as robust. Anka seems to have more of that “pretty boy” voice, which is something that the crooners or song interpreters did not necessarily need because they were able to rely on their emotional delivery of the song [3].

As Campbell points out, “Song Interpretation begins with a distinctive vocal style”

This leads to another difference that I noticed in lyrical delivery and vocal style. While  many of the crooners singing was speech-like, Anka is much more reliant on the rhythm and melody of the song, as opposed to how Sinatra and Cole would “mold the song to their style” and not be as concerned with vocal timing. Now, this is up for debate. Because Anka wrote his own songs, he would not have to mold them to fit his voice; he could simply write them to his own liking in the beginning.

Crooner… Yay or Nay?

Despite the differences I pointed out above, Paul Anka is clearly considered one of the best crooners around for a reason. I’ve chosen to highlight the 1959 song “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” as an example towards some of the similarities.

The slower tempo, flowery melody, and deep, rich, and warm voice of this song is much more representative of the crooning and song interpretation that came before Anka. While the lyrics are still “sung” more than, for example, Nat “King” Cole’s “Unforgettable”, Anka’s delivery is more speech-like than in “Crazy Love.” By far, the most recognizable similarity between Anka and the other crooners is the lyrical content: this music is about sentiment. Songs about heartbreak, loneliness, and being in the throws of new love are no stranger to Sinatra, Cole, or Anka.

When considering the similarities and differences between Anka’s music and some of the rest we have heard by Sinatra and Cole, one may suggest that in his beginnings, Anka was on the margins of one of popular music’s greatest transitions. You can hear the tension between the classic and modern pop in his music, signalling the change to come.

21st Century Anka

At 76 years old, Anka is still going strong. Two unique albums that he created were released in 2005 and 2007 by the names “Rock Swings” and “Classic Songs, My Way”, respectively. In this album he revamped multiple classic songs from the past 50 decades in “his way”; some of the artists and bands include Nirvana, Oasis, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, and Bon Jovi [1]. These albums, along with the fact that he wrote the original 1962 theme song for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson [1], might just be two of the most interesting things I found out about Anka. His contributions to the North American entertainment industry are plenty. He has even acted in many TV shows and films throughout the years [1].

In 1980 Anka was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame [1]; a while later in 2008 Anka was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame [2]. He is even a member of The Order of Canada [6]. There is no disputing that Paul Anka put Canada on the map and inspired many generations of music to this day.

I’m totally a sucker for the sappy crooner and soul music of this era. I mean, how can you say no to some “Unchained Melody”, “Unforgettable”, and “Stand By Me”. I’m glad to have now become aware of one of the largest Canadian influences of this time, Paul Anka. His music will live on, time after time.

 

 

References:

1. “Paul Anka.” The Canadian Music Hall of Fame. http://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/paul-anka/
2. “Paul Anka.” Biography. https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424
3. Campbell, Michael. Popular Music In America: The Beat Goes On. Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2012.
4. “Paul Anka Biography”. The Official Site of Paul Anka. http://paulanka.com/biography/
5. O’Connor, Austin. “10 Things You May Not Know About Paul Anka”. AARP. https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-04-2013/10-things-about-paul-anka.html
6. “Paul Anka.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/

 

I’m Rory and here is my second blog post…………………………………… 

Earlier Career  

Paul Anka was born in 1941 in Ottawa, Canada, and became a hit singer at a young age in his teens. He travelled to Los Angeles and New York searching for fame, he found it in the form of ABC/Paramount Records executive Don Costa. His first song “Diana” landed him as a teen idol and the start to his musical career.   

During the beginning of his career still honing his ability, he was surrounded by artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Frankie Lyman, and Chuck Berry. Frank Sinatra was a huge role model for him as well, most likely because his musical style fits in with that Frank Sinatra’s, and moreover that Frank Sinatra was a teen idol as well. Paul Anka was part of the movement of musical history from the song to the singer, song interpretation. A major feature in song interpretation was a distinctive vocal style, another was moulding the song to their style of singing. Lastly, a key feature in song interpretation was making an impersonal song personal.  

Later on, in his musical career, the popular style of music shifted to that of rock and roll. The genre of rock and roll produced the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and more. In spite of the playing out of his music he continued in the music industry as a songwriter and went on to produce music for fellow artists. He also produced music for television shows such as writing and performing the song “Johnny’s Theme” for the Tonight Show and becoming the opening song for the show. He also created music for and performed in films such as The Longest Day in which he was nominated for an Academy Award, as well as creating the themes for No Way Out and Atlantic City. His acting career was made up of films like 3000 Miles to Graceland, Mad Dog Days and Captain Ron. He also wrote songs for add jingles, “The Times of Your Life,” written for a Kodak commercial, hit No. 7 on the Billboard charts. Paul Anka found success in everything he did it appears from singing to acting to writing add jingles, and today he is still a key figure in contemporary music, still writing and touring. 

Music  

Paul Anka’s song “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” was written and recorded in 1959 and was dubbed one of the best love songs of all time. Artists who covered the song include Ronnie Aldridge, Michael Bublé, Ray Franky, Leif Garrett, Good Charlotte the Lettermen, Maureen McGovern, P.J. Proby, Gustavo Rivera, Jerry Vale and Albert West. Paul Anka says his inspiration for the song came from the ambience created in his audience at his concerts, and as such he drawing the song from personal experience and it becomes very personal. Also in his song “Lonely Boy” drew from his experience of being one of the few teens in his career field and the isolation he felt from people his own age.  

Paul Anka was more than a great singer of his time he was also a great songwriter. He is responsible for many songs in the last half of the 20th century by huge artists. Some of these songs include; 

“This Is It” Michael Jackson  

“My Way” Frank Sinatra  

“She’s A Lady” Tom Jones  

His Significance  

He really was one of Canada’s stars, his long career of creating music that put Canada on the map in terms of popular music, his contribution to all forms of media; television, film, commercials. His contribution to artists of his generation who he helped gain fame through his songwriting. His contribution and guidance to a younger generation of musical artists. He shaped a large portion of the music industry in not just Canada but in the world. 

Other Facts 

Paul Anka was also a huge role model and mentor to the famous Canadian singer today Michael Bublé. Michael Bublé sounds while more modernized is a throwback to huge crooners like Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, and Nat Cole. His voice is distinctive to anyone familiar with the music of the past two decades, and like the singers similar to his sound in the past the music is melded to his voice rather than his voice positioning itself within the music. In fact, Michael Bublé did a tribute to Paul Anka in this song: 

Paul Anka also was referenced in the early 2000s American hit television series Gilmore Girls in which he was brought up as pop culture, as well as other influential titles. He also plays small roles in acting in the tv series. He also is named after the dog in the show and is featured in many dreams of the major character Lorelei Gilmore.  

 

Resources 

“Paul Anka.” Biography.com. April 28, 2017. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424.

“Paul Anka.” Bob Gaudio | Songwriters Hall of Fame. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.songhall.org/profile/Paul_Anka.

“Paul Anka.” Go Back to the Front Page. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://paulanka.com/biography/.

“Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.cshf.ca/song/put-your-head-on-my-shoulder/.

O’Connor, Austin. “10 Things You May Not Know About Paul Anka.” AARP. April 17, 2013. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-04-2013/10-things-about-paul-anka.html.