{"id":581977,"date":"2026-04-04T15:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581977\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:47:11","slug":"paul-anka-on-health-songwriting-and-why-he-stays-out-of-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581977\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Anka on health, songwriting and why he stays out of politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Anka performing in Chile in 2025.Sergio Cortese\/Paul Anka Productions\/Supplied<\/p>\n

My interview with Paul Anka was set for 2 p.m., but the crooner\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

We did it his way.<\/p>\n

The Ottawa native\u2019s breakout hit was Diana, released July 2, 1957, three months after Elvis Presley gave his first Canadian concert at Toronto\u2019s Maple Leaf Gardens and a week after John Diefenbaker became prime minister. In 1969, his songwriting career took off with Frank Sinatra\u2019s recording of My Way, Anka\u2019s English rewrite of the French song Comme d\u2019habitude. <\/p>\n

Last year saw the release of the HBO documentary Paul Anka: His Way, and he\u2019s 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\u2019s Life. Anka changed the song\u2019s last line from \u201cI\u2019m gonna roll myself up in a big ball and die\u201d to \u201cI\u2019m gonna jump on a big bird and I\u2019m gonna fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Never say die, literally. <\/p>\n

Here, the singer-songwriter shares his thoughts about staying young and the secrets of show business. <\/p>\n

Living the right wayOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Anka at the Ed Sullivan show in either 1960 or 1961.Paul Anka Productions\/Supplied<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about the music. To function you have to be coherent and in good health. I watch what I eat. I\u2019m not a drinker. I don\u2019t 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\u2019t going to do that. So, everything in moderation. <\/p>\n

I was in the green room for Real Time with Bill Maher recently. John Mellencamp was there, and he smokes. It\u2019s just not good for you. But that\u2019s his thing. He smokes and he goes on stage in a T-shirt and jeans. He\u2019s got no laundry bill. But that\u2019s not me. <\/p>\n

Being healthy is a choice. I want to be able to function, and I don\u2019t want to be dependent on people. When I\u2019m onstage, I want to be able to move. And I\u2019m not lip-synching \u2212 I\u2019m not conning anyone. There are performers out there who aren\u2019t giving 100 per cent. It\u2019s embarrassing. <\/p>\n

Living the write way<\/p>\n

When I started, singers didn\u2019t 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\u2019t lasting. I had this discussion with the Beatles in Europe \u2212 you gotta write, you gotta write.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, I was packaged with other kids. We\u2019re playing Toronto and Montreal, doing two songs each night. This was before Las Vegas. I talked to Bobby Darin about it \u2212 we weren\u2019t developing our chops as performers. If all I had was my songwriting and my publishing, I\u2019d be happy with that.<\/p>\n

Frankly, it\u2019s what kept me alive. In 1962, I wrote Johnny\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Anka performing in 2025.Sergio Cortese\/Paul Anka Productions\/Supplied<\/p>\n

No politics<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known Donald Trump for years. He was always very good to me when I performed at his properties. But that\u2019s 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\u2019re witnessing. <\/p>\n

Love your country, but don\u2019t trust those who run it. You think the business world is tough? In Washington, they\u2019ll put a knife through your heart. It\u2019s 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\u2019s the reality. People are waking up to this. They know the game is on, and they don\u2019t like it. People aren\u2019t stupid any more. <\/p>\n

The world has become very tribal, and it\u2019s very frightening. I don\u2019t ever want to get involved in that \u2212 I\u2019m an artist. Music does not have the power it used to have politically. That\u2019s over. Bruce Springsteen\u2019s taking a shot, but it\u2019s not going to work. I don\u2019t take political positions. It does no good. <\/p>\n

This interview has been condensed and edited.<\/p>\n

Paul Anka plays Casino Rama Resort, Rama, Ont., April 10; Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, Windsor, Ont., April 11. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Paul Anka performing in Chile in 2025.Sergio Cortese\/Paul Anka Productions\/Supplied My interview with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,361,46,549,75,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-581977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-celebrities","23":"tag-economy","24":"tag-education","25":"tag-entertainment","26":"tag-environment","27":"tag-federal-government","28":"tag-foreign-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail","30":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","31":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","32":"tag-government","33":"tag-life-news","34":"tag-lifestyle","35":"tag-local-news","36":"tag-manitoba","37":"tag-national-news","38":"tag-new-brunswick","39":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","40":"tag-northwest-territories","41":"tag-nova-scotia","42":"tag-nunavut","43":"tag-ontario","44":"tag-pei","45":"tag-photos","46":"tag-political-news","47":"tag-political-opinion","48":"tag-politics","49":"tag-politics-news","50":"tag-quebec","51":"tag-sports-news","52":"tag-technology","53":"tag-travel","54":"tag-trudeau","55":"tag-us-news","56":"tag-world-news","57":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}