Paul Anka performing in Chile in 2025.Sergio Cortese/Paul Anka Productions/Supplied
My interview with Paul Anka was set for 2 p.m., but the crooner’s assistant asked whether it could be pushed back an hour because of a studio session. The 84-year-old former teen idol, who has a pair of Canadian concerts this month, keeps a busy schedule. And though I had hoped for a Zoom interview, Anka preferred a phone call from his California office.
We did it his way.
The Ottawa native’s breakout hit was Diana, released July 2, 1957, three months after Elvis Presley gave his first Canadian concert at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and a week after John Diefenbaker became prime minister. In 1969, his songwriting career took off with Frank Sinatra’s recording of My Way, Anka’s English rewrite of the French song Comme d’habitude.
Last year saw the release of the HBO documentary Paul Anka: His Way, and he’s currently working on a Broadway musical about his life with composer Rupert Holmes. His 2026 album, Inspirations of Life and Love, includes an orchestral version of the Sinatra classic That’s Life. Anka changed the song’s last line from “I’m gonna roll myself up in a big ball and die” to “I’m gonna jump on a big bird and I’m gonna fly.”
Never say die, literally.
Here, the singer-songwriter shares his thoughts about staying young and the secrets of show business.
Living the right wayOpen this photo in gallery:
Paul Anka at the Ed Sullivan show in either 1960 or 1961.Paul Anka Productions/Supplied
It’s all about the music. To function you have to be coherent and in good health. I watch what I eat. I’m not a drinker. I don’t smoke. I exercise. It takes me back to what I saw with the mob guys and the Rat Packers as a kid. I saw how their lifestyles messed them up, and I told myself I wasn’t going to do that. So, everything in moderation.
I was in the green room for Real Time with Bill Maher recently. John Mellencamp was there, and he smokes. It’s just not good for you. But that’s his thing. He smokes and he goes on stage in a T-shirt and jeans. He’s got no laundry bill. But that’s not me.
Being healthy is a choice. I want to be able to function, and I don’t want to be dependent on people. When I’m onstage, I want to be able to move. And I’m not lip-synching − I’m not conning anyone. There are performers out there who aren’t giving 100 per cent. It’s embarrassing.
Living the write way
When I started, singers didn’t write for themselves. Nobody wanted to help me, though, so I honed my songwriting skills. I knew my voice was going to change. I had that high, squeaky voice. I saw that pop stars weren’t lasting. I had this discussion with the Beatles in Europe − you gotta write, you gotta write.
In the beginning, I was packaged with other kids. We’re playing Toronto and Montreal, doing two songs each night. This was before Las Vegas. I talked to Bobby Darin about it − we weren’t developing our chops as performers. If all I had was my songwriting and my publishing, I’d be happy with that.
Frankly, it’s what kept me alive. In 1962, I wrote Johnny’s Theme, the theme song for The Tonight Show. I also wrote the theme song for the war film The Longest Day. It was always about diversifying, which you have to do to survive in an industry that will eat you up. I kept at it until My Way busted things wide open for me.
Paul Anka performing in 2025.Sergio Cortese/Paul Anka Productions/Supplied
No politics
I’ve known Donald Trump for years. He was always very good to me when I performed at his properties. But that’s where the conversation ends for me. His favourite song is My Way. I wrote a version of it for him before he became President. But I did not sing it at the inauguration in 2017. I did not want to get in the middle of that and expose myself to the divisiveness that we’re witnessing.
Love your country, but don’t trust those who run it. You think the business world is tough? In Washington, they’ll put a knife through your heart. It’s all about relationships. To run a business of the magnitude a lot of these guys are in, you need political participation and government approval. In four years, when somebody else is in charge, they will swap over to the other side if they can. That’s the reality. People are waking up to this. They know the game is on, and they don’t like it. People aren’t stupid any more.
The world has become very tribal, and it’s very frightening. I don’t ever want to get involved in that − I’m an artist. Music does not have the power it used to have politically. That’s over. Bruce Springsteen’s taking a shot, but it’s not going to work. I don’t take political positions. It does no good.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Paul Anka plays Casino Rama Resort, Rama, Ont., April 10; Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, Windsor, Ont., April 11.