Paul Albert Anka, OC (born July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor of Lebanese origin. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1990.
Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hits songs like "Diana," "Lonely Boy," and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder." He went on to write such well known music as the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for which he was paid $5,000 per episode and Tom Jones' biggest hit "She's A Lady," and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra's signature song "My Way." "Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957. It was inspired by a high school friend named Diana Ayoub.[1] The original Paul Anka 1957 recording reached #1 and has reportedly sold over 9 million copies.[2]
Recorded in May of 1957 at Don Costa studio in New York.
After signing with RCA Records, Paul Anka rerecorded Diana, along with many other hits in 1963. All these versions were also published in Italian for a special LP. The song has also been covered multiple times; Ricky Martin sang a duet with Anka himself on the album Amigos, while the horror punk band Misfits.