It’s something not many artists will achieve: singer Paul Anka is still going strong in his eighth (!) decade as a professional artist. Originally from Canada but now officially American, the crooner released his first single, I Confess, at age 14. It didn’t take him long to become a bonafide teen idol, scoring hits such as Diana, Put Your Head On My Shoulder and Puppy Love. But Anka has also had a lot of success as a composer: he wrote the English lyrics to Sinatra’s My Way and composed for and with, among others, Buddy Holly, Tom Jones and Michael Jackson. In recent years, he released two very successful albums of jazz swing versions of well-known mainstream hits; 2005’s Rock Swings and 2007’s Classic Songs: My Way. Following a Christmas album in 2011, his new record, Duets, is expected later this year.
