Sunday September 19, 2021 “The Times of Your Life” Paul Anka
Paul Anka’s first hit, “Diana” is a 1957 summer song that takes me back to some of my earliest recollections of music on the radio and he went from that number one song to go on and become an almost unrecognized songwriter of legendary songs.
Canadian Paul Anka, an early roommate of singer/songwriter Bobby Darin, would of course write follow-up hits for himselff as a teen idol including “Lonely Boy” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and others and would almost end his career with his song “You’re Having My Baby” at the height of the feminist movement.
Perhaps more importantly he would grow as a songwriter and create the theme song for Johnny Carson’s Tonight TV show and the Tom Jones number one song “She’s a Lady”, the Buddy Holly song “It Doesn’tMatter Anymore” and the Frank Sinatra signature song “My Way” among many others.
This may seem both humorous and ironic but Paul Anka is a huge star in Italy and Finland. He has had roles in several movies and has made appearances in a number of TV adventures as well. Today’s song was originally recorded as a Kodak TV commercial then expanded into a number one hit song and it was written by Roger Nichols (not Paul Anka) who would also write many of the Carpenters' big hits.
Stay safe and well...and sure it’s cheesy pop but the sentiment and the music are just irresistible.