Classy crooner, Paul Anka
Paul Anka began his five-decade career writing hits such as “Diana” and the karaoke gold classic “My Way.” On his latest album, “Rock Swings,” Anka has adapted hits by Nirvana, REM, Bon Jovi and Soundgarden, injecting an unlikely big band swing sound into heavy rock hits.
HK Magazine: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – swings?
Paul Anka: Yeah. Dave Grohl was the first to call me up afterwards. He said, “I didn’t even know the words until now!” It’s important to get people to hear these songs on a different emotional level.
HK: How well do you know Hong Kong?
PA: Really well. I was there in ’59 and they asked me to leave the city because there were 10,000 screaming fans at the airport. I played there during the Handover celebrations. I rewrote “My Way” for Uncle Ray. It’s such a condensed place, but it gives you a real special vibe. I was there recently because I’ve been going to Macau with Steve Wynn, who is building a casino there. When he opens that casino it’s going to be really special and I’ll come back for that.
HK: You must have really seen Vegas change...
PA: I watched it evolve from a mob-owned place (which was run very well, by the way). You shook a hand and had a deal. Every door was left open. There was no crime. It’s run as a business today. I know all the guys that run it now. It’s Disneyland for adults, and Macau will be a variation of it.
HK: Tell us a story from the good ol’ Vegas days.
PA: You’re a young kid sitting in a hotel bar with Sinatra in Vegas and you find out that Howard Hughes has just bought the hotel. Sinatra gets up to get some money and Mr. Hughes suddenly doesn’t want to give it to him. You see Sinatra get up on a casino table. He’s up there screaming, “It was sand when they built it and it will be sand when I’m done with it.” A man named Cohen comes out of his office to see what is going on. Cohen is a wonderful man who then goes back to his room. He’s sitting there with a pot of coffee on the table. Sinatra walks in, drunk and yelling. Cohen says, “Frank, you can’t go acting that way in here.” Frank yells, “You fat Jew bastard!” and flips the table over. Cohen gets up, punches Sinatra, and his teeth literally go flying all over the room. I’m watching all this. What happened then is they put him on a private plane to get his teeth fixed and nobody heard about it again. That’s my story.