Paul Anka may not be ready to retire, but he knows his day will come.
The 84-year-old singer, whose career spans an astonishing 60 years, exclusively told Page Six, “I have advice for all my peers who can’t sing well anymore. I say, ‘Keep your dignity, stop disrespecting the consumer, throw out the heroes and the winners.'”
But it looks like that day won’t come soon enough for the “Puppy Love” singer.
His voice is still strong and he maintains a globe-trotting touring schedule.
Anka said he learned a lot from spending time with the Las Vegas Rat Pack, and what not to do.
“I didn’t start drinking,” he told us. “I’ve never been a smoker…I decided that if I was going to pursue my creative career, I had to be healthy…and it paid off.”
The singer-songwriter was happy to share her health tips.
“I drink olive oil,” he said. “I drink lemon juice at a set time…I fast once a week. I exercise and do what I have to do. That’s it. It’s very simple. It’s nothing new. You just respect your vessel and do it.”
He also emphasized that he does not want any harm in his life.
“I’m at a point in my life right now where I don’t want to put stress on anyone,” he revealed. “Go away! I don’t need you. That’s the biggest killer.”
Anka, on the other hand, has experienced a career resurgence in recent years. It all started when teenagers discovered his 1959 ballad “Put Your Head on My Shoulders” and shared it on TikTok.
“It gave us a range,” he said, adding that he recently played a show in Mexico to a crowd of 10,000 people, “and 30 percent of them were just teenagers holding the album and screaming.”
HBO Max will also release the documentary “Paul Anka: His Way” on December 1st.
The title comes from Anka, who heard the French song, bought the rights to it, and wrote the English lyrics for the song “My Way,” which became a huge hit for Frank Sinatra.
Anka was only 24 years old when he wrote these lyrics.
The documentary also explores how Anka ended up writing the Tonight Show theme song and ultimately giving half of the publishing rights to the show’s original host, Johnny Carson.
He doesn’t regret doing that.
“It was money,” he explained, estimating that he was making $1 million a year from it.
“It’s a ridiculous number,” he said, adding that he named the song “school song” because it paid for his six children’s college education.
Anka, who has written songs for artists such as Tom Jones and Michael Jackson, is set to release a new album called Inspiration of Life and Love early next year.
