The seven-decade career of Paul Anka is chronicled in the new HBO Original documentary Paul Anka: His Way, which debuts on December 1. Available on HBO Max, the film, directed and produced by John Maggio (Mr. Saturday Night), documents Anka’s rise to fame as a teen and throughout a 70-year career.
Named after the 1969 hit Anka wrote for Frank Sinatra at 24, “My Way,” a song he translated from the French song, “Comme d’habitude,” originally written by Claude François, Jacques Revaux, and Gilles Thibaut in 1967, Anka’s career started a decade earlier while he was still in his teens.
Born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, by the age of 14, Anka recorded his first song, “I Confess,” using $100 he borrowed from his uncle. He used the recording to audition at ABC Records and later released the loving ballad “Diana” in 1957, about a girl he liked in church but barely knew. The song reached No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada.
In 1958, Anka released his self-titled debut album, and before the age of 18, he already had five top 20 hits.
“This journey through my life and career, editorialized through this documentary, has been
cathartic and very meaningful,” said Anka in a statement. “I am pleased that it will now be shared with everyone, everywhere.”
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During the 1950s, Anka continued building his fan base as a frequent guest on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, and went on to write and record a collection of his own hits, including “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” and “Lonely Boy,” in 1959 and another No. 1 in 1974 with “(You’re) Having My Baby.”
He also went on to write the theme song to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, “Johnny’s Theme,” which officially began airing in 1962, and even acted in a number of films and on television (That ’70s Show, Gilmore Girls).
Throughout his 70-year career, Anka wrote songs for Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, the Doobie Brothers, Sammy David Jr., Gladys Knight, Lesley Gore, and Annette Funicello, among others.
“Pop music was in its infancy when I started and I had the passion to begin,” Anka told the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022. “The important thing was to keep learning your craft. Listen and try not to be the smartest person in the world. Out of your failures, you become better.”
[RELATED: 6 Songs Paul Anka Wrote for Other Artists]
Anka is the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart throughout seven consecutive decades.
Along with the documentary, Anka released “Let Me Try Again,” the second single from his upcoming album Inspirations of Life and Love, out February 13. Written by Anka, Sammy Cahn, Michel Jourdan, and French composer Caravelli (Claude Vasori), “Let Me Try Again” was first released in 1973 by Sinatra. Anka later released his version in 1989 on the album Somebody Loves You.
Following Anka’s lead single “Anytime”—an updated version of his 1975 song “Anytime (I’ll Be There)”—”Let Me Try Again” is a plead to a lover for a second chance: To beg is not an easy task / And pride is such a foolish mask.
“The song is the thing,” said Anka. “It’s all part of everything and somewhat unknown who we are. There are not millions of people who succeed as songwriters and artists. If you are successful, don’t think it’s you … there’s something moving us spiritually. It’s magic and it isn’t just you.”
Photo: KC Armstrong/Deadline via Getty Images
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