It may be freezing outside Englewood, NJ’s BergenPAC this Tuesday, November 12, 2019 evening, but it’s toasty warm inside as audience members ready themselves for a live Anka Sings Sinatra concert by the legendary singer/composer, Paul Anka.
As we wait for tonight’s show to begin, we chat with Paul from Port Murray who says, “I’ve been a fan of Paul Anka forever,” joking, “I’ve been listening to him for 70 years — ever since I was in the womb.”
Explaining, “Paul Anka is a true entertainer — he loves what he does, and he gets it back from his audience,” Paul confesses, “His songs have always touched me. He writes heartfelt lyrics, and his audience respects him.”
Acknowledging, “I’m a musician — I play with an oldies band,” Paul recalls, “Paul Anka definitely influenced me. I remember playing along with my sax on his song, ‘Diana,’ when I was a kid.” Adding, “Can you believe Paul Anka was only 16 years old when he recorded it?” Paul concludes by stating, “I still love that song, I still love performing, and I still love listening to Paul Anka.”
We also chat with Sharon from Clifton who reveals, “This is my second time seeing Paul Anka. I love everything he does — he puts on such a good show.”
Carla from Tenafly concurs adding, “I’m very excited to see Paul Anka tonight! Even though he was born in Canada, he spent many of his younger years right near here in Tenafly. In fact, he wrote some of his early hits here, so I’m excited to see our local hero coming back for this ‘hometown’ performance.”
Lastly, we converse with Roberta from Englewood Cliffs who comments, “Paul Anka is a real entertainer. I first saw him back in ’78 in Las Vegas and this is my third or fourth time seeing him since. His music is fabulous and he respects his audience. He is a consummate performer who really knows how to put on a show.”
The lights dim and the packed house is treated to a short film detailing Paul Anka’s rise from a kid singing “Puppy Love” through his teenage years and early career. As the film fades, the screen flashes: “Anka Sings Sinatra — His Songs, My Songs, My Way.”
Looking sophisticated in his three-piece suit with red pocket square, Paul Anka energetically enters through the rear of the theater. Stopping to shake hands with fans as he makes his way down to the stage, he performs “You Are My Destiny.” His voice sounding full, powerful, and resonant on this dynamic arrangement, he performs with charm and personality before taking the stage saying, “Good evening everybody — it’s good to be home!”
After tipping his hat to the members of his talented band, Anka, 78, announces, “This is the first song I ever wrote.” Here, he launches into an upbeat arrangement of his ‘50s-style rocker, “Diana,” where the audience joins him in singing the “Oh, please/Stay by me, Diana” refrain.
The crowd cheers and Anka jokes, “I just wanted to get that song out of the way! It will be 61 years this month that I’ve been doing this,” before adding, “Tonight’s concert features songs from an old friend of mine, and some arrangements he gave me.”
Launching into Frank Sinatra’s “All of Me,” Anka’s voice is smooth and legato while he croons, “All of me/Why not take all of me/Can’t you see/I’m no good without you.” As bassist Enrique Toussaint’s bass line grooves to the swinging beat, audience members bop their heads to the easy Sinatra big band sound.
Revealing, “This one’s mine — I introduced it long ago,” Anka performs “My Heart Sings.” Red hearts rain down on the screen behind him as Anka sings from his heart, “All of a sudden my heart sings/When I remember little things/The way you dance and hold me tight/The way you kiss and say good night” on this tender ballad.
After telling the audience about how he helped to discover singer Michael Bublé, Anka performs Sinatra’s classic Nelson Riddle arrangement of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” With the full sound of a big band going on behind him, Anka energetically dances as he sings and musical director Jon Crosse plays a bright and brassy saxophone solo.
“Give it up for the guys!” announces Anka before adding, “This next song is about nostalgia and memories. I realize at this stage of my life that the things that matter are family, friends, and health,” prior to acknowledging, “This is for you.”
Here, Anka and Co. perform a nostalgic version of his original composition, “Times of Your Life.”
As Anka sings, “Good morning, yesterday/You wake up and time has slipped away,” photos of Paul with friends including The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra appear on the screen — in addition to pictures of family members including his five daughters and 14-year-old son.
The crowd warmly applauds and Anka responds by saying about BergenPAC, “This is a special place. They have the best crew, and they really support the community,” before launching into another Frank Sinatra tune — the “Chairman of the Board’s” 1966 chart-topper, “Strangers in the Night.” Putting his own spin and style on the number — interpreting the lyric with style and grace — Anka’s dulcet tone creates a lovely vocal performance before violinist Eliza James is featured on the instrumental break.
Acknowledging the veterans in the house, Anka performs a theme song he wrote for the film, The Longest Day. On this march-type number, drummer Graham Lear and percussionist Daniel Lopez play a matching snare drum part which adds to the patriotic feel of this powerful ballad as an American flag waves on the screen behind them.
The audience cheers and Anka reveals, “I wrote this next song when I was 18 — right here in Tenafly,” prior to launching into his 1958 smash, “Put Your Head on my Shoulder.” The audience sings along on the song’s “Put your head on my shoulder” refrain, and Anka responds by stating, “You like the oldies!”
At this point, he quickly makes his way into the audience singing his 1960 hit, “Puppy Love,” where he takes a fan’s cell phone away and sings into it, “Yes, this is Paul Anka and you’re getting this for free!”
The audience chuckles and Anka takes his place on a platform set up in the middle of the orchestra seats where he croons his 1959 chart-topper, “Lonely Boy.” After singing, “I’m just a lonely boy/Lonely and blue/I’m all alone/With nothin’ to do,” he segues into an upbeat and rockin’ rendition of “She’s a Lady,” a song he composed for Tom Jones. Moving through the crowd, audience members can’t help but stand to watch him as he energetically sings and interacts with fans before returning to the stage and acknowledging his top-notch band.
Turning back around to face the audience, Anka notices a woman in the crowd who has followed him up to the stage. Holding up a photograph of herself and Paul for Anka to see, she reveals, “This picture of us was taken 53 years ago!” After asking Anka to autograph it, he stops the performance to promise, “I can’t sign it now, but if you come backstage after the show, I’ll sign it then.”
The crowd cheers and Anka comments, “Don’t you love that?” before adding, “People ask why do I keep doing this? This is my passion! I thank you guys for sharing it, and I thank you for welcoming me back home to Tenafly.”
Anka follows up by moving to the Steinway grand to perform “Do I Love You,” a song he recorded with Dolly Parton.
Accompanying himself on the piano as he sings this tender ballad, his emotional vocal contrasts to his rolling keyboard sound. Eliza James enters with a lovely string line, adding to the beauty of the composition as Anka’s voice pleads, “Do I love you/Yes in every way.” Jon Crosse follows with a jazzy Phil Woods-style alto saxophone solo before the song builds in intensity and morphs into a dynamic rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” As images of purple rain flow down on the big screen behind them, Crosse duets with guitarist Josh Sklair and the song segues back to “Do I Love You,” the crowd bursting into applause and cheers.
“Give a hand to Jon on sax and Josh on guitar!” exclaims Anka before revealing, “Buddy Holly showed me how to play guitar. He once asked me to write him a song.”
Here, Anka, Josh Sklair, and Jon Crosse all don acoustic guitars for a performance of “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” a country two-step which features an Eliza James fiddle solo and Josh Sklair playing a twangy Glen Campbell-inspired guitar line that echoes Anka’s vocal.
“Stay with me, guys!” exclaims Anka as the group segues into The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love.” The audience happily sings along on the well-known “Bye bye love/Bye bye happiness” refrain, and Eliza James joins in on the fun with her fiddle before the group segues back to “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” for a country jam which brings several in the crowd to their feet.
The jazzy sound of a big band fills the auditorium on Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” Singing with conviction, Anka owns the song, demonstrating the power and range of his voice.
Acknowledging, “I wrote this for Sammy Davis, Jr. — he was very special to me,” Anka performs “I’m Not Anyone” in the form of virtual duet with Davis who appears on the screen singing along with Anka and the live band. The audience is so moved by this heartfelt performance, they react with a standing ovation before Anka respecfully responds, “Goodnight, Sammy.”
Music notes fly across the big screen as the band is featured on “Jubilation,” an exciting instrumental number. Enrique Toussant slaps out a superb bass solo to open the song, and multiple keyboards converse with the grand piano while Anka energetically conducts with a drum stick, bringing band members in and out of the mix, pointing to one and then another and giving each an opportunity to shine.
Once Graham Lear plays a Gene Krupa-inspired drum solo, he and percussionist Daniel Lopez take a percussion break — their intricate rhythms building in speed as Lopez is reduced to a blur of hands on drums while Lear uses sticks to beat out an accompaniment. Soon, Lopez switches to sticks and the pair plays fast and furiously creating a symphony of rhythm which delights the crowd.
The audience roars and Anka recognizes his band members before telling a story about how he met Frank Sinatra at the Copacabana nightclub. Here, he performs “Let Me Try Again,” his slow dramatic vocal accompanied by the song’s lush musical arrangement.
The crowd cheers, Anka takes a bow, and then he performs one of his greatest compositions for Frank Sinatra, “My Way.”
As Anka effortlessly begins, “And now, the end is near/And so I face the final curtain,” the audience cheers and applauds. As the piece continues, Anka’s dynamic vocal performance crescendos before being accompanied by a Josh Sklair classical guitar interlude. By the end of the number, the entire BergenPAC audience is on its feet cheering and whistling as they happily applaud.
The packed crowd joins in as Anka and his ace band perform “New York, New York.” The audience sings along on the famous, “Start spreading the news” lyric, and Anka does high kicks before slowing down at all the right places on this homage to Englewood’s neighbor to the east — New York City.
The band plays Anka off with a disco version of “My Way” as hot colors fill the screen. The crowd continues to cheer and applaud and Anka returns, joyfully telling the audience to “Get your hands above your heads!”
Here, he and the band perform an exhilerating rendition of “Proud Mary” where the audience echo-sings with Anka — “Hey, hey, hey” — as he energetically sings downstage.
“Thank you for all the years you’ve given me!” exclaims Anka before ending the show singing the final line of his signature composition — “I did it my way!”
Clutching a bouquet of flowers given to him by a fan, Anka bows graciously while his cadre of musicians take a bow alongside him. After Anka high-fives each of his band members, they exit the stage leaving Anka to bow one last time as he holds his hand to his heart and warmly waves goodnight.
While audience members begin to filter out of the auditorium, we chat with several in the crowd who share their opinions about tonight’s performance with us.
Comments Daisy from Clifton, “Paul Anka was awesome! I’m amazed by his voice. You don’t hear that kind of singing anymore — that power — and he has so much energy,” before noting, “You know, the oldies really are the goodies, and Paul Anka wrote so many of those classic songs.”
Bob from Bergenfield confesses, “I never thought I would appreciate Paul Anka’s music like I do. My mom used to play his music at home, but now I can appreciate it. My whole family and I are fans now,” acknowledging, “There’s really nothing else like the classic performers.”
Bob’s mom, Vivian from Bergenfield, agrees adding, “I’ve been a fan of this type of music since Sinatra.” Continuing, “Paul Anka was excellent,” Vivian declares, “I’ll be back when he performs here again!”
Theresa from Bergenfield contends, “Paul Anka’s voice is phenomenal — he’s outstanding!” Recalling, “I met Paul Anka when I was 16 years old,” she explains, “At the time, he was with The Royal Teens who did the song, ‘Short Shorts.’ My girlfriend and I were looking in their window at them and Paul Anka came out — with Frankie Avalon and Fabian. We flipped! My friend and I were so excited we couldn’t stop screaming!”
Jodi from Paramus reveals, “This was my first time seeing Paul Anka and he was fabulous,” whereas Frank from Bergenfield exclaims, “I loved this show!”
Mary from Hillsdale agrees calling Paul Anka “Great!” and explaining, “He’s still got it! He looks great, he sounds great, and he can still hit every single note,” before concluding, “His entire show is so enjoyable.”
Mary from River Vale contends, “Paul Anka is such a great showman — I first saw him over 50 years ago in The Bronx, and he is still great.”
Tom from Saddlebrook concurs adding, “He kept us on the edge of our seats. I enjoyed the entire show. He’s so personable, and he makes you feel like he is singing just for you.”
Remarks Donna from River Edge, “Paul Anka’s voice is fabulous, and his show is so much fun! When he took that person’s phone and sang into it, ‘I’m Paul Anka and you’re getting this for free!’ that was so funny!”
Acknowledging, “This is my third time seeing him,” Donna reveals, “I’m 48 years old and Paul Anka is 78 years old and he has more energy than I do!” before concluding with a smile, “He was amazing as always!”
To learn more about Paul Anka, please go to paulanka.com. To check out future upcoming performances at BergenPAC — including Holiday Doo Wop Vol. II with Lou Christie, Jimmy Gallagher & The Passions, The Capris, The Happenings, Larry Chance and the Earls, and Belmont Ave, A Tribute to Dion on December 14 — please go to bergenpac.org.
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