Paul Anka, whose 68th birthday it is today, is one of those "mixed bag" types in musical history. On the one hand, his back catalogue includes some really cheesy pap such as the massive teenybopper anthem of the 50s Diana and the godawful You're Having My Baby. On the other, he has written some enduring standards. In a similar vein to artists like Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, George Harrison and even Bruce Springsteen, however, his songs are often best when sung by other people.
How many people realise that Mr Anka wrote the English version of My Way, for example, or that he wrote She's A Lady (the Tom Jones hit), Buddy Holly's It Doesn't Matter Anymore, Puppy Love (Donny Osmond's biggest hit), and the much-covered Eso Beso (That Kiss)?
Today, after six decades of writing and recording, stage and TV appearances, Mr Anka has turned his canny attention to parody - his brilliant album Rock Swings gives the big band swing treatment to modern artists' songs such as those by Nirvana and Oasis. I love it! Happy birthday to a musical legend...
Here is a medley of some of his own hits:
And of course, his classic - My Way:
Paul Albert Anka (born 30th July 1941)
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