Paul Anka, Newly-Minted Documentary Subject, Looks Back: Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, ‘Goodfellas,’ and More

This can be written with great confidence: You know a Paul Anka song. Right now, you’re either thinking, “Well, yes, of course I do,” or you’re thinking, “I do not.” If you are in the latter group, you are wrong. There are, of course, his big hits like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” But then there are the songs he’s written for others, most notably “My Way,” which he wrote for Frank Sinatra and has been covered by Elvis, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Sid Vicious, and countless others. It’s in the conversation for one of the most famous songs ever written.

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That’s kind of the remarkable think about Paul Anka — who is at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, returning to his Canadian roots for the premiere of John Maggio’s documentary “Paul Anka: His Way” — that he’s written so many famous songs for others. There’s “She’s a Lady” for Tom Jones. Remember when Michael Jackson posthumously did a duet with Justin Timberlake, then later another with Drake? Yep, Paul Anka was the co-writer on all of those. (The long, strange story behind that is all explained in the film). Oh, then there’s the theme song to Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show,” which was, yes, written by Paul Anka.

Ahead, we spoke to Paul Anka about … well, quite a bit . There are his stories about Frank Sinatra. He explains why he knew his future was in songwriting after seeing The Beatles for the first time — and explains how he was involved with The Beatles making their debut in the United States. There’s the time he showed film of the Copa Cabana to Martin Scorsese so the director could make “Goodfellas.” And then, of course, how on Earth he wound up in “Captain Ron” with Kurt Russell.

The following interview has been edited and condensed.

IndieWire: Hello, sir, it’s great to talk to you .

Paul Anka: Well, I’m going to call you Mike and you’re going to call me Paul.

Alright, I will do that.

OK, Mike, hit me with your best shot, buddy.

My best shot? I don’t have one of those. I did enjoy your documentary .

I had a lot of fun doing it.

I keep thinking about this part of the film, in the early ‘60s the British Invasion happens and you decide to focus primarily on writing instead of performing. How tough was that?

Well, let me take it back a few steps. I realized I was the writer first, because no one would write for me. I was just sitting around in Ottawa, coming down to Toronto. When I got lucky and left home at 15 when “Diana” hit, I realized even more, without me being a writer for myself, there was no way I was going to make it. As I got a little older, I’d confer with friends like Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon, and we all innately realized that we can’t be doing this forever. This squeaky little kid who was so successful who wound up working for the mafia, Vegas, Frank Sinatra. A lot of the guys I worked with weren’t writers and there’s no more career. Thus, Buddy Holly, who became a very dear friend, may he rest, and that was the first big one, writing for him [“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”]. We know the sad story after that, it was the last song he recorded. But no one saw The Beatles on the horizon. No one saw Hendrix on the horizon.

I was in France, in Paris, I went to a theater to see a friend of mine, a French artist. And the announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to The Beatles.” And I went, “Beatles? What the hell is that?” And these guys come out and start singling covers of guys I knew and worked with, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.

Oh, yeah, they did a lot of Chuck Berry songs.

They were totally influenced by all of the American blues. All the British bands that I got to know and watched them evolve, they were influenced by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, et cetera. Watching that and kind of being instrumental in The Beatles coming over to the United States, because I came back and told my agent. Because they didn’t know. They laughed at me! “What Beatles”?

Ultimately, my agent, Sid Bernstein, flew over, made the deal, and brought The Beatles. When they came over, I realized things were changing. I realized if I didn’t change with it, I wasn’t going to survive it and I just started really laying into my writing. Trying to reinvent myself knowing I’d be left behind if I didn’t.

In the documentary, we see The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. It’s interesting that Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and yourself are all around the same age still out there touring and doing this.

I knew all of them! But you’ve got to understand where I was coming from and what was within me, I wasn’t that . I thought, wow, guitars? And I started using them in my records, but I wasn’t a rock and roller or a blues driven artist like they were. But, I was on the charts. And I was the writer. So when I see what’s evolved today, where record companies aren’t as important as they were back then. Record companies took the time to invest, work with you, develop you. They don’t do that today. They are in the catalogue business. Those of us that survived on the pop side, yeah, that’s where we are making all of our money today, on the road. Different countries, all kinds of fans. And with Tik Tok, “Put Your Head on My Shoulders,” now a whole new demographic.

And I love the earlier Stones stuff. You look at everything Keith has been though! That body has been through hell and back, it’s amazing he’s still standing. It’s unbelievable. And I lived through all of those stories. In England when those guys started to shudder because this new kid came to town at a little club, this new guitar player, and his name was Jimi Hendrix. They’d never seen anything like it. He changed it. You look at it musically how he’d edit. The brilliance of what he played and the editing of the notes, they’d never seen anything like that. They thought they could play. It was unbelievable.

I look at this universe and what it throws out spiritually … they say, how did you write “My Way”? I don’t know how the hell I wrote that. I think it was a spiritual moment.

“My Way” is one of the most famous songs of all time. The way you discuss it is similar to how McCartney talks about how “Yesterday” came to him.

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“Yesterday,” yeah. You know what it is. You have to write this story. You’re looking at a blank screen. I’m looking at a blank screen or paper. It’s tough. People don’t understand. You’re struggling there for a minute until you get the button you want to push and where you want to arrive at. To sit there in the middle of the night and be motivated by a guy like Frank Sinatra?

These guys were older. I’m running around the steam room with these guys passing women around. It’s unbelievable! He hated rock and roll. And all of a sudden he’s living in Miami Beach and you see the depression and what he’s going through, that he’s going to retire and the Rat Pack is over. He’s going to do one more album and he goes, “You never wrote me a song, kid,” and then in five hours you write this thing and you don’t know where the hell it’s coming from.

This is a little abstract, but you were 25 when you wrote “My Way” and you wrote it for Sinatra. But were you also subconsciously writing it for yourself down the line?

For sure. I’m not diminishing the feelings of anyone who is young and searching and not sure who they are yet, but still doing it their way. But the only guy — I mean, I refused to show it to anyone else — was Frank Sinatra. So he was the guy to do it, not me. But is there a part of me in there? For sure. And through the years now, and how I relate to it when I sing it? For sure. Without question.

Your songs also live on through movies. Sid Vicious’ version of “My Way” ends “Goodfellas.”

What started with that was, the Copacabana where I worked, Scorsese had no idea what it looked like. And I had film footage, what you see in the documentary, of what it looked like. Being the great director, and the authenticity he pursues all the time, he looked at it and said, “Wow, now I can portray the Copa.” He wanted me in the film to sing something, which I didn’t want to do. I don’t know if it was a payback, but he got what “My Way” meant and he understood the anger and the passion of how “My Way” was portrayed with Sid Vicious.

I was floored when I first heard it when they sent it to me for approval. Where I was reluctant — and I said, who the hell am I to tell somebody who could be very sincere representing “My Way” the way he feels? I went back and said, “Absolutely.” Even right now it’s the theme on this new Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie…

Oh, “Wolfs”…

Yeah, “Wolfs.” When it’s used in films, it’s reaching a lot of people in a different fashion. It takes it to another level with the consumer and how they are embracing it.

I have to know what your experience was like making “Captain Ron.”

[Laughs] Yeah! That was fun. You know, I knew Kurt Russell and they were making it down in Puerto Rico and he called and threw it out at me. And they knew I was doing a lot of TV stuff, like “Kojak.” I enjoy acting. It’s not my first love and it’s time consuming. But they called and I said yeah because one of the first countries I went to in the ‘60s was Puerto Rico and I liked it down there. It’s all encompassing with getting a vacation and being in it. It was a lot of fun. Well done. A good director.

I am under the impression movies with Kurt Russell and Martin Short are fun to do.

Very true. The both of them, Steve Martin, even [Adam] Sandler, I like the way he protects himself. You don’t see a lot of him out there, but it’s a lot of fun. I get all the fun stories because my son-in-law is Jason Bateman. My daughter and he, we see each other all the time. But I hear all the fun stories of what goes on.

Well, I really enjoyed the documentary and I’m glad it gets to premiere in Toronto because I know the city has a lot of meaning for you.

Well, absolutely. But I’ve got to tell you, it’s more than that. The challenge and the struggle, even though I was young, trying to pursue what I wanted was started in Canada. We lived in the shadow of the U.S. and there were not a lot of talented people from up there that got the opportunity to make it. They kind of poo-pooed us from down here.

Going back at this age to Toronto with a vehicle like this? It’s not like Cannes. It’s not like New York Film Festival. It’s not like any of the film festivals. It’s kind of a hovering emotion I’m trying to keep in check because it’s very special and I don’t know quite what to expect, but it means a lot to me because I’m going back home again and I hope I’m recognized for how I represented my country for all these years.

I’m going to make a prediction that I bet you will be.

Well, whatever it is, it is. You roll with the punches in life. Either way, it’s going to be great just to get back there and experience it.

“Paul Anka: His Way” will premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.