by Paul Anka
First published 2013
Paul Anka transforms from a fourteen-year-old kid stealing his mother's car to drive to Quebec gigs into a 1950s teen idol who creates the singer-songwriter-heartthrob template. He rockets to stardom with hits like "Diana" and "Put Your Head on my Shoulder," touring alongside Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. Anka writes Holly's final hit and narrowly avoids the fatal plane crash. When the British Invasion threatens his career, he reinvents himself as a shrewd businessman. He joins the Rat Pack, pens "My Way" for Frank Sinatra and The Tonight Show theme, then scores new hits with "Puppy Love" and "(You're) Having My Baby." His memoir reveals wild encounters with Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Brigitte Bardot, and circus acrobats across six decades in show business. From New York to Vegas, from casino stages to backstages worldwide, Anka delivers rollicking stories with sharp wit and brutal honesty about the music industry's inner workings.
Genres: 20th-century, american, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century, musicians
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate
Tropes: rags-to-riches, reinvention
Setting: New York, Quebec, Vegas
Period: 1950s, 1960s, 2000s
371 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press