Paul Anka wrote over 900 tunes!
Canadian singer/songwriter Paul Anka’s career had two successful eras. The first started off with his signature song Diana in 1957 and lasted until 1960.
During this time, he also had hits like You Are My Destiny (1958), Lonely Boy (1959), Put Your Head On My Shoulder (1959), and Puppy Love (1960).
Anka never had much chart success with his albums in the early years; it was all about singles.
After Puppy Love in 1960, he switched labels to RCA and released nine albums during the ’60s, none of which had any hits.
Apparently, the lack of success during the ’60s was due to the popularity of British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who brought a different sound that somewhat outdated Paul Anka’s style.
After a switch to Buddha for a couple of albums that didn’t do well either, he moved to United Artists and released two albums featuring Odia Coates.
The first album, Anka (1974), features two hits, (You’re) Having My Baby, and One Man Woman/One Woman Man.
The sound now was much more mature, using a big-sounding production and deeper voice.
The next release, Feelings (1975), has three hits; the first two also featured Odia: I Don’t Like To Sleep Alone and (I Believe) There’s Nothing Stronger Than Our Love. The third single, Times Of Your Life, was just Paul on his own.
These two years in the mid-’70s were the second peak in Mr. Anka’s career.
He would continue to release 14 albums on 7 different labels, but none of them produced hits.
One tune he didn’t do well with was She’s A Lady, but it was picked up by Tom Jones and became a huge success. Perhaps this made Paul realize he could write for other artists.
The biggest surprise is probably that Paul Anka wrote This Is It, Love Never Felt So Good, and Don’t Matter To Me for none other than Michael Jackson.
And let’s not forget that most famously, Paul Anka wrote the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra‘s signature song and worldwide hit, My Way.
In total, Paul Anka wrote and published over 900 songs.
Not afraid to sing other people’s songs, his 2005 release Rock Swings hears Paul sing big band versions of Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor), Everybody Hurts (R.E.M), Wonderwall (Oasis), Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden), Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), Lovecats (The Cure), Hello (Lionel Richie), Jump (Van Halen), The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson), and Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton).
Clearly, Paul Anka has a great ear for both writing and picking tunes!
Paul Anka Tunes | Related Pages
Diana
You can learn how to play Diana by Paul Anka using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| G | Em | C | D7 |
I’m so young and you’re so old, this my darling, I’ve been told…
Everybody Hurts
You can learn how to play Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| D | D | G5 | G5 |
When your day is long…
Tears In Heaven
Learn how to play Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, 2nd guitar, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Aadd4 E/G# | F#m A/E | D/F# A | E A/E E7 |
Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven…
Wonderwall
You can learn how to play Wonderwall by Oasis using chords, lyrics, TAB, chord analysis, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Em7 G5 | Dsus4 A7sus4 |
Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you…
Paul Anka on the web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Paul Anka tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
