18 April 2005

WASHINGTON, DC: "Keefik?" Paul Anka asks over the phone from his hotel room in Chicago. It's the last week of March and in just seven days time the Lebanese-American singer-songwriter will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), a Washington D.C.-based organization that annually "recognizes achievements of prominent Arab-Americans." The award, according to ATFL Executive Director George Cody, will be presented to Anka at the 2005 ATFL Gala Awards Night "because of his outstanding achievement in the field of entertainment, lending pride to Lebanese worldwide in recognition of one of their sons."

The songwriter, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as well as the French title of Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters, has been recognized numerous times for his work. Furthermore, Anka has been on Billboard's Top 50 charts for five straight decades. He has written over 900 songs, including the much-loved hits "Diana" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder." His compositions have been performed by such artists as Elvis Presley, Nina Simone, and Donny Osmond, and, significantly, the 2002 Japanese TV series "Golden Bowl" was built around Anka's music.

When asked what the ATFL award means to him as opposed to others he's received throughout his career, Anka says that it elicits "more of a heartfelt emotion for me because it is my background. This is more within your home."

In his youthful tenor voice, Anka declares that he is "proud of [his] heritage." As a child growing up in Canada, he would attend "the haflis," where people would be "doing the dabkeh" and "musicians [would be] playing the oud." There, he felt the "passion of the music," and it "drove me to write something like 'You are My Destiny.'" His "Freedom for the World" is more directly influenced by Arabic music, as is the haunting, heart-breaking "Papa."

Andy and Camelia, Anka's parents, raised him with a "Middle Eastern attitude." "My mother and father brought me up so well," he says, his appreciation for his heritage clearly deeply entrenched. "One of the first books I read was 'The Prophet' by [Gibran] Khalil Gibran."

While the singer's father was Syrian, his mother was from the town of Kfarmishki, in Lebanon. "My mother ... was my big ally ... my mother really understood her child," he says. It was she who kept him connected to his Lebanese roots and it was to those he returned when he performed at the Forum de Beyrouth in 1999. At that time, the then Prime Minister Salim Hoss presented him with a "medal of honor." He recalls, "It was ... emotional. I was in tears a few times from the interviews" and from the experience of "meeting people."

While Paul Anka is deeply connected to his Lebanese heritage, he also has an international worldview. "I believe in the global community," he says, explaining his inspiration to write in different languages and national styles. "I've traveled since I was 18 throughout the world and I've become a part of each culture." Even his global perspective is, in part, due to his upbringing. "My dad was a believer in that," he explains. Having spoken French in Canada, he felt a "tie right away to Europe" and "the French." Little wonder, then, that at 63 he still tours regularly.

Charming and people-oriented, Anka is an energetic entertainer. Asked whether Paul Anka the singer, is much different from Paul Anka the songwriter, he responds, "The performer's the guy that goes out there and has a good time every night."

Speaking of his songwriting capability, he says. "It's something that I've cherished. I look at it as a very special gift that's been given to me." Unlike performing, writing, he explains, is "a lonely process ... You're by yourself ... When you're writing, you're waiting." He continues, "I like the longevity and impact of the writing."

Undoubtedly, Anka's durability as a composer is due to his ability to change with the times, musically speaking. How, one wonders, does he adapt to temporal shifts while maintaining his core musical sensibilities as a songwriter? "You never change the integrity; you never change the honesty of the components. You try to keep your stamp on it even though you may grow and stretch."

His latest CD, "Rock Swings," defies both temporal and genre-related boundaries. Anka points out that the rock songs featured here are standards to many music lovers. "When you strip [them] down, they're really great songs. They're all chords put in real heavy rock and roll. It's just music." The album, which will  be released worldwide later this year, has already  earned rave reviews in Europe. It features Anka singing big-band renditions of rock hits by such groups as Van Halen and Nirvana and 1980s classics such as Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," where Anka's triumphant vocals swing alongside an appropriately feline arrangement, including a prowling introduction, trilling trumpets, and jazzy cymbals.

Yet, an equally important reason for Anka's musical endurance is his commitment to quality. In answer to the query, "Do you have a musical philosophy?" Anka responds simply, "Just good quality," a blend of firmness and flexibility.  "I think that music is different and needs to be understood, even down to the rap. If it's done well ... it's all good."

Anka's appreciation for different types of music comes through in his own listening habits. He enjoys the classical and jazz genres, as well as the music of Sting, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John. It would seem, then, that Paul Anka is a socio-musical world citizen with a Lebanese heart. "Music," he says, "is music." Fast forward to April 5 and the ATFL awards in the grand ballroom of DC's Ritz Carlton. The curling bronze-and-crystal chandeliers hanging in the neutral-toned ballroom of the hotel are rather grand. There is, however, a brighter light in the room.

Paul Anka is looking tan, trim, and polished in a black suit and matching tie. A handkerchief peeps out of his breast pocket, picking up the white of his shirt. During his acceptance speech, fellow honoree Representative Ray LaHood addresses Anka, saying, "You have very good genes ... you look fantastic."

Dessert, a citrus tart topped with a swirl of meringue - itself adorned with a crisp orange wheel and a sprig of mint - has long since been served and eaten. Dr. Ray Irani, President of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, introduces Anka by saying, "I think music has magic in it, and Paul Anka has demonstrated ... that he's the world's best magician."

Press and attendees are soon treated to a glimpse of a teenage Anka in a clip from the documentary "Lonely Boy." They all laugh as they watch the scads of screaming female fans in various states of hysteria on the screen. "Oh, that is jolting," Anka says of the film snippet when he finally takes the stage. "I've come from that to my proudest achievement, my children."

Indeed, Anka is, as his friend Irani says, "a great family man." In his speech, the singer pays tribute to his parents, especially his mother, who "believed in dreams." Camelia Anka "didn't understand the [entertainment] profession, but she knew it was important to me," Anka says, his voice reduced to a wavering whisper as he recalls her support and untimely passing, a result of her struggle with diabetes. Anka reveres his family heritage as well as his ethnic one, and plainly, the two are intertwined in his mind. Addressing Irani, Anka speaks of his Lebanese background, saying, "It is a heritage for which we can both be proud."

A showman always, Anka peppers his speech with humorous one-liners and now moves on to his Uncle Taffy as a source of amusement, and one with a particularly Lebanese flavor. Mimicking his uncle's old-fashioned Lebanese-English dialect, Anka recalls that Taffy used to call him "Baul" and ask him to perform "The Butcher Song - Butcher Head on My Shoulder."

Earlier, pollster John Zogby, also an ATFL award recipient, spoke of Anka's famous "My Way," a song he adapted for Frank Sinatra from the French "Comme d'habitude." Zogby, directing his attention to Anka, said, "That song really is the anthem for all immigrants. Thank you ... for writing our song." His comment comes close to Anka's own philosophy: "People are not all that different."

For this occasion, Anka has created new lyrics for "My Way." "To be your honoree /  Means worlds to me  / This night of nights / Is ya habibi," he intones, drawing delighted giggles from the crowd. He ends on a phrase that seems to encapsulate his entire way of thinking: "May peace be our way!"

There is applause all around, but some of the more vocal members of the audience begin chanting, "Paul, Paul," in an attempt to persuade the singer to perform. After a few minutes, Anka concedes and takes his place on the stage. He riffs a bit, humorously explaining that he's "just killing time" until his accompanist is ready to play the piano, which, Anka remarks, is "out of tune." Still, he and his pianist manage to put on quite a show despite the instrument's condition, closing the evening with the classic "Diana." For his first selection, however, Anka chooses another perennial favorite - his Uncle Taffy's beloved "Butcher Song."