Paul Anka

Life's been good to Paul Anka - very good, in fact. But even as he enters his 50th year in the music business, he's not satisfied when his own work is merely good. "For me," he says, "the good has always been the enemy of great. To be great, you've got to forget about that select few who are going to talk about you if you don't quite make the mark -- you've got to challenge yourself."

Armed with a sense of tenacity as formidable as his talent, Anka has conquered many challenges in the last five decades, forging a career that's unlike any other in the history of pop. As he made the transition from '50s teen idol to celebrated songwriter to a contemporary torchbearer for all that swings, he has maintained a commitment to quality. Anka's most recent albums - Rock Swings, Rock Swings II, and Classic Songs, My Way - have inspired millions of music listeners to hear familiar songs in new ways.

Anka has had a song on Billboard's charts in every decade since 1957. He's recorded over 120 albums in a wide variety of languages, selling close to 15 million albums worldwide and landing three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 - "Diana," "Lonely Boy" and "(You're) Having My Baby."

His 900-song catalog includes such titles as "She's a Lady" (Tom Jones), "Puppy Love" (Donny Osmond), "It Doesn't Matter Any More" (Buddy Holly) and "Teddy" (Connie Francis.) The theme he wrote for The Tonight Show was heard every night by millions of Johnny Carson fans. As for "My Way," it can be heard at any given moment in a karaoke bar somewhere on the planet.

A young musical talent, Anka started out with his own vocal group, the Bobbysoxers when he was just 13. In 1956, he convinced his parents to let him travel to Los Angeles, where he called every record company in the phone book looking for an audition and released his first single, "Blau-Wile Deverest Fontaine." When he returned New York in 1957, he scored a meeting with Don Costa, the A&R man for ABC-Paramount Records. He played him a batch of songs that included "Diana,” the number that made Anka a star.

By the '70s, the success of "My Way" and a string of hits like "(You're) Having My Baby" confirmed his status as an icon of popular music. His later achievements as a recording artist included "Hold Me 'Til the Morning Comes," a hit duet with Peter Cetera, Amigos, and Body of Work, a duets album that featured Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Tom Jones, and daughter Anthea Anka.

With Rock Swings and Classic Songs, My Way, Anka has made a triumphant return to the recording studio, proving that his abilities as an artist and performer have hardly waned with the passage of time.