Editing Paul Anka (section)

===Early success===
[[File:Paul Anka Gröna Lund 1959.jpg|thumb|upright|Anka at [[Gröna Lund]] in Stockholm, 1959]]
Anka recorded his first single, "I Confess", when he was 14. In 1956, with $100 given to him by his uncle, he went to New York City, where he auditioned for [[Don Costa]] at [[ABC Records]], singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church whom he hardly knew.<ref name="am">{{allMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000745915|tab=biography|label=Paul Anka: Biography|first=John|last=Bush|access-date=September 24, 2013}}</ref> The resulting song "[[Diana (Paul Anka song)|Diana]]" brought Anka stardom as it went to {{Abbr|No.|number}}&nbsp;1 on the Canadian and US music charts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian Charts from 1957 – 1986|work=1050chum.com|url=http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx|access-date=December 3, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312100423/http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx|archive-date=March 12, 2009|url-status=dead}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> "Diana" is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist.<ref>{{cite web|title= Gold & Platinum certification of albums at RIAA|work= www.riaa.com|url= https://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070608063940/http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp|archive-date= June 8, 2007}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958,<ref>{{cite magazine| title= U.S Billboard chart rankings| magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_index.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903144110/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_index.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2006}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> including "[[It's Time to Cry]]", which hit {{Abbr|No.|number}}&nbsp;4 and "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached {{Abbr|No.|number}}&nbsp;15, making him (at 17) one of the biggest [[teen idol]]s of the time. He toured Britain, then Australia with [[Buddy Holly]]. Anka also wrote "[[It Doesn't Matter Anymore]]" – a song written for Holly, which Holly recorded just before he died in 1959. Anka stated shortly afterward:

{{blockquote|"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" has a tragic irony about it now, but at least it will help look after Buddy Holly's family. I'm giving my composer's royalty to his widow – it's the least I can do.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{Cite book|first= John|last= Tobler|year= 1992|title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition= 1st|publisher= Reed International Books Ltd|location= London|page= [https://archive.org/details/nmerocknrollyear0000unse/page/69 69]|isbn= 978-0-600-57602-0|url= https://archive.org/details/nmerocknrollyear0000unse/page/69}}</ref>}}

[[File:Paul Anka 1961.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Anka in 1961]]
Anka composed the [[Johnny's Theme|theme]] for ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' (reworked in 1962 from a song Anka wrote earlier called "Toot Sweet"; it had been rewritten with lyrics and recorded by [[Annette Funicello]] in 1959 as "It's Really Love").<ref name=JazzWax>{{cite web|author=Myers, Marc|author-link=Marc Myers|url=http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/01/tonight-show-theme-evolution.html|title=''Tonight Show'' Theme: Evolution|website=JazzWax.com|date=January 7, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104115115/http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/01/tonight-show-theme-evolution.html|archive-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> He wrote "[[Connie Francis|Teddy]]" – a Top 20 hit for [[Connie Francis]] in 1960. Anka wrote the English lyrics to "[[My Way]]", [[Frank Sinatra]]'s signature song (originally the French song "[[Comme d'habitude]]"). In the 1960s, Anka began acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit film ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' (which also was the official march of the [[Canadian Airborne Regiment]]), in which he made a cameo appearance as a [[United States Army Rangers|U.S. Army Ranger]]. For his film work he wrote and recorded one of his greatest hits "[[Lonely Boy (Paul Anka song)|Lonely Boy]]". He also wrote and recorded "[[My Home Town]]", which was a {{Abbr|No.|number}}&nbsp;8 pop hit for him the same year. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] casinos. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in [[NBC]]'s short-lived crime drama ''Dan Raven''.

In 1963, Anka purchased the rights and ownership of his ABC-Paramount catalog and re-recorded his earlier hits for [[RCA Victor]], which he had joined in 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQsEAAAAMBAJ&q=Anka+buys+rights+back+from+para&pg=PA6 |title=Billboard |page=6 |website=Books.google.com |date=March 16, 1963 |access-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref>