Music icon Paul Anka brings two outstanding performances to Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18, 2017 at 8 p.m.Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 at 10 a.m. Fans will have access to presale tickets beginning Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 at 10 a.m. through Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Born on July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Canada, into a close-knit family, Paul Anka didn’t waste time getting his life in music started. From an early age, he sang in a choir, studied piano and honed his writing skills with journalism course and even worked as a cub reporter at the Ottawa Citizen. By age 13, Anka had his own vocal group, the Bobbysoxers. Blinded by determination, he would steal his mother’s car and drive to perform at every amateur night he could. Soon after, he won a trip to New York by winning a Campbell’s soup contest that required him to spend three months collecting soup can labels. It was there that his dream to make it as a singer composer was solidified.
In 1956, Anka convinced his parents to let him travel to Los Angeles, where a meeting with Modern Records led to the release of Anka’s first single, “Blau-Wile Deverest Fontaine.” Although it was not a hit, Anka kept plugging away. When Anka returned to New York in 1957, he scored a meeting with Don Costa, the A&R representative for ABC-Paramount Records, playing him a batch of songs that included “Diana.” The rapid and enormous success of “Diana,” his first No. 1 hit, made him a star at the young age of 15. By the age of 18, Anka had a total of five Top 20 hits.
Anka went on to write for stars such as Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra “My Way”, Tom Jones, “She’s A Lady”, Michael Jackson, and many more. Other hit songs include the Academy Award-nominated theme for the 1962 film in which he starred, “The Longest Day.” He notably penned the longest running theme in television history for “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”
Songwriting and performing “are what gave me the confidence to keep going,” Anka said.
His later achievements as a recording artist included “Hold Me ‘Til the Morning Comes,” a hit duet with Peter Cetera in 1983, the Spanish-language album “Amigos” in 1996, and “Body of Work,” a 1998 duets album that featured Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Tom Jones and daughter Anthea Anka. He also co-wrote Michael Jackson’s posthumous No. 1 worldwide hit, “This Is It,” which has further cemented his place upon the most prolific and versatile songwriters of any generation.
Anka’s albums “Rock Swings” and “Classic Songs, My Way” featured songs originally created by some of the biggest rock performers of the day. “Rock Swings” went Top 10 in the UK, and was certified gold in the UK, France, and Canada. The album was also a hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums chart and half a million of this album was sold worldwide.
On November 15, 2011, Anka released his first Christmas album in decades, “Songs of December.” The album featured lush romantic versions of popular Christmas songs, such as “Let It Snow,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” All were recorded with a full orchestra in the renowned Capitol studios.
In April 2013, Anka released his New York Times Bestselling autobiography, published by St. Martin’s Press, entitled “My Way.” This autobiography is a remarkable story of a decades-long career as an entertainer, actor, and songwriter. During the same time, Anka’s new 14-song album entitled “Duets” was released by Sony Music Entertainment and featured artists such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, Celine Dion, and Michael Bublé (who Anka was with from the start of his career as well as co-producer on his self-titled album in 2003).
“Duets” provides a musical journey through the life and times of Paul Anka and includes heartfelt liner notes written by Anka himself as an introduction to the classic songs he and his collaborators have chosen. The album set a milestone in Billboard Chart history; Anka became the only artist to have a CD on the Billboard’s Top 100 Chart for seven consecutive decades.
In 2014, Anka saw the release of a song he co-wrote with Michael Jackson entitled “Love Never Felt So Good” off of Jackson’s album “Xscape,” which was the lead song and first single off of this album. As a result, “Love Never Felt So Good” received massive radio, sales, and critical success and reached No. 1 in more than 50 countries.
Tickets cost $105, $90 and $70.* All seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets online atwww.myhrl.com, www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply.