Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Paul Anka

Artist:Paul Anka
Song:Lonely Boy
Album:Paul Anka Sings His Big 15





Paul Anka was the very first really successful teen pop singer. The secret to his success was he wrote his own songs. Lonely Boy was his first number one hit in 1959. He was born July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, ON. His parents immigrated from the Middle East and owned the Locanda restaurant in Ottawa. Anka sang and played piano and began songwriting at age 12. He released the single I Confess in 1956 on The Bihari Brothers' RPM label. Then he went to New York with his group The Rover Boys and he auditioned for ABC-Paramount Records producer Don Costa. He was immediately signed and the song he sang in the audition was Diana. It was his first single and it reached #2 on the pop charts. His other early top ten hit was You Are My Destiny in 1957. In the 1959 film Girls Town, Anka played a pop singer and he sang Lonely Boy in the film. Girls Town was a female juvenile delinquent film starring Mamie Van Doren. The movie didn't do well. But Lonely Boy topped the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by hits like Put Your Head On My Shoulder and Puppy Love. While Anka was shooting the 1962 film The Longest Day, he left ABC-Paramount for RCA. His RCA recordings in the 60s weren't as successful as his ABC-Paramount recordings. and he re-recorded the ABC-Paramount singles on RCA. So most of the Paul Anka CDs have the RCA re-recordings of Lonely Boy. One exception is this Hallmark Records re-release of an album first released by ABC-Paramount in 1960. It is available as a budget CD and these are the original versions. Though Anka's singing career faded in the 60s, he continued to have success as a songwriter with My Way, She's A Lady and the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Anka scored another number one hit with (You're) Having My Baby with Odia Coates in 1975 for United Artists. Anka is still around. His latest CD Duets was released by Sony in 2013. And he still tours. Here's Paul Anka performing Lonely Boy on the Dick Clark Saturday Night Beech Nut Show May 9, 1959.