Paul Anka Does It His Way With Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame Induction
Monday March 03, 2008 @ 06:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Jean Chretien and Paul Anka

Former teen idol Paul Anka was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame with four other songwriters and 23 songs on Saturday night at the Toronto Centre For The Performing Arts.

The ceremony was hosted by Montreal singer and CBC radio host Gregory Charles. Quebec singer/songwriters Claude Dubois and Andre Lejeune, jazz pianist Oscar Peterson and '40s big band composer Alex Charles Kramer were also inducted.

"You have some hits and you have some misses," Anka said after former Prime Minister Jean Chretien inducted him. "You hopefully get better and try to capture with words and music the emotions and feelings that are shared by people, and when you do that it's one of the best feelings in the world."

The Chretien-Anka connection dates back to the former PM's childhood in Shawinigan, Quebec. Chretien knew Anka's parents, who had immigrated from Lebanon and ran a local tavern named Ou Est Joe? (Where Is Joe?). Chretien said its moniker was "a running Abbott and Costello joke among Shawinigan locals."

"Knowing how the Anka family got their start here in Canada makes the phenomenal success that their son Paul has experienced all the more meaningful," Chretien added more seriously. "Paul is not only a great artist, but he is a role model for the immigrant experience."

Anka was born in Ottawa in 1941 and became famous with his song "Diana" in 1957. But his most famous composition is "My Way," which he composed for Frank Sinatra. He took the melody from "Comme D'habitude," which was originally recorded by French singers Claude Francois and Gilles Thibault. It has been covered and lampooned by everyone from Elvis Presley to Sid Vicious. At the end of the show, Anka performed it with award-winning Canadian producer, artist and record executive David Foster.

Anka also wrote songs for Buddy Holly ("It Doesn't Matter Anymore"), Tom Jones ("She's A Lady") and many others. Those two songs, "My Way," "Diana" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" were inducted.

In his speech, Anka poked fun at those who derided his work throughout his career. He mentioned one critic who said the lyrics to "Diana" sounded like a 16-year-old had written them. "I took it as a compliment, because I was 15 years old," Anka said.

Dubois and five of his songs were inducted by Quebec singer/songwriter/poet Raymond Levesque. The late, great Peterson received the Frank Davies Legacy Award. His "Hymn To Freedom," which became an anthem of the U.S. civil rights movement, and his influential "Canadiana Suite" were inducted. Peterson passed away on Dec. 23 at the age of 82.

Another performance highlight was Anna and Kate McGarrigle's "Heart Like A Wheel," which they performed with Rufus and Martha Wainwright and Lily and Sylvan Lanken. Kate is the Wainwrights' mother, while the Lankens are Anna's children with journalist Dane Lanken. The song was the title track of Linda Ronstadt's 1974 album that topped the American sales chart.

—Kate Harper