For a young teenage heartthrob, look no further than singer/songwriter Paul Anka who is still, at the tender age of 83, just as swoon worthy as he was as a confident lad with big dreams. He admits he was “pretty precocious, a pretty aggressive kid. I think my parents knew they had an unusual child.” He honed his big charismatic personality as he worked the crowds at his father's Canadian restaurant, the Locanda, helping out in the kitchen and kibitzing with the politicians, businessmen and journalists who frequented it.
At the age of 15, he set his sights on Los Angeles, with $100 in his pocket, with the goal of making his name as a singer, staying with his uncle at the time. Before long, he wanted to try for New York City. His father agreed on one condition: he had to return to Ottawa if he didn’t succeed. The rest, as they say, is history. Only days later, his father was singing a contract at ABC/Paramount Records, as Paul was too young to sign it himself.
To catch up with all the years in-between then and now, bop on over to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Wednesday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m to get up close and personal with ”Paul Anka All the Hits - His Way.”
As a mere 16 year old, Anka wrote a song for a hometown girl he had a crush on, a little tune called “Diana” that would launch his career, selling more than 20 million copies and become the number one song in the world. Soon the whole globe was dancing to hits like “Lonely Boy,” (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings,” and “Put Your Head on my Shoulder,” and he hadn’t even hit the big 2-0 yet.
When the world of music changed, Anka adapted himself into a “Rat Pack-style writer,” composing little successes like the theme song to Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show, “My Way” his tribute to Frank Sinatra and the Tom Jones’s hit “She’s a Lady.” It’s reported the royalties from Jones’s hit alone earned him close to a million dollars in one year.
In collaboration or alone he has written about 900 songs, appeared in films and on television, toured across the globe, released more than 120 albums, placing singles in the Top 50 in five different decades and he is still going strong.
For tickets ($69-109), call the Warner Theatre, 68 Main Street, Torrington at 860-489-7180 or online at warner theatre.org.
For Paul Albert Anka, he has always done it “his way,” living a life that is full. Come discover that exciting life for yourself. Watch for the world premiere of “Paul Anka: His Way,“ a documentary of his incredible career as “one of Canada’s most successful exports."
