From the very beginning of his two-hour tour-de-force performance last Saturday night at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa, Paul Anka signaled his intentions to offer far more than a regurgitation of songs from an almost-70-year-long career that shows no sign of abating.
Rather than walk onstage from the wings, the seemingly supernaturally indefatigable 84-year-old pop culture titan made his entrance — following a video presentation that included archival clips from Our Town (specifically related to his Steel Pier appearances) — from the back of the house and walked down an aisle singing his first smash hit, 1957’s “Diana.”
From that auspicious (and wildly effective) opening, Anka kept things interesting and entertaining as he surveyed his unprecedented life in show business with songs and stories that referenced a Who’s Who of entertainment giants from Frank Sinatra and Buddy Holly to Barbra Streisand and Michael Buble.
Sure, all of his signatures — including “Puppy Love,” “You Are My Destiny,” “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and “You’re Having My Baby” were included, but these obvious crowd-pleasers, while well-rendered and enthusiastically received, were hardly the program’s peaks. Instead, the real rewards were to be found in the many twists and turns that colored many of his other offerings.
One striking example was the version of “Do I Love You (Yes in Every Way),” which he recorded with Dolly Parton on his 2013 “Duets” album. Anka started the song seated at the piano accompanied only by a whisper of keyboard-issued strings. After a couple verses and choruses, his entire 12-piece backing unit joined in for a soulful sax solo which segued into, of all things, a couple of minutes of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” The piece concluded with a full-band return to “Do I Love You.”
Wow!
Another unexpected twist came when Anka sat down with an acoustic six-string guitar and, accompanied by his guitarist who also wielded an acoustic six-string, played “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” a song he co-wrote with 1950s rock immortal Holly. It was, Anka informed the packed Event Center — which included a unexpectedly large number of kids and young adults — the last song Holly recorded before the 1959 plane crash that claimed his life.
The peppy rockabilly/country tune — which seems like a perfect song for Ringo Starr to cover — was a crowd-pleasing foot-stomper. And, because that’s what he does, Anka segued into the Everly Brothers’ “Bye, Bye Love,” which was the perfect capper to the segment.
Anka also flat-out rocked with the energy of someone a third of his age on several tunes, most notably “She’s A Lady,” the 1971 Tom Jones hit he composed. His atomic-powered rendition — which he delivered from a small, raised platform in the middle of the lower seating area — contained enough swagger and electricity to make Jones’ version seem like a track off a James Taylor album.
But there seemed to be no doubt that Anka’s true happy place can be found in songs that swing. There was something about his body language, facial expressions and joyful, finger-popping delivery that set three songs apart from the pack and seemed to reveal his true feelings.
The first was a slick piece of arranging magic that seamlessly blended Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life” with the Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer standard “Come Rain or Come Shine.” The second was Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Completing the troika was “More (Theme from Mondo Cane).”
While the first two were a tad restrained in their execution, they both made their points thanks to Anka’s obvious passion and unbridled enthusiasm for the material and arrangements. But it was the exuberant “More” that allowed Anka and his musicians to successfully swing (pun intended) for the fences.
And regardless of song or genre, Anka’s vocals were nothing short of astounding. If there were any misses, they totally escaped these ears. Nor did he choose to take the easy way out by speak-singing lyrics. His clarion light baritone well-serviced the material, even during more challenging moments like the final note of “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.”
But Saturday’s affair was far more than a mere musical recital. Seven decades of performing have made Anka a consummate showman; he peppered the program with fascinating anecdotes about Holly, Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. (the latter two were paid tribute in video presentations)and regularly scored legitimate laughs with scripted jokes and sharp ad-libbed interactions with audience members.
For instance, when a late-arriving couple went looking for their down-in-front seats, Anka humorously caught them up on what they missed by recapping the show to that point. And when the man blamed issues with Ticketmaster for their tardiness, Anka ignited more laughs with his simple, two-word response: “F— Ticketmaster!”
During “Puppy Love,” he noticed another front-row denizen live-streaming and sang directly to whomever was on the other end the words, “And you’re getting my show for free!”
We could go on, but surely, you’ve gotten the point by now: Paul Anka is a true treasure, and last Saturday’s turn will surely go down as one of the year’s best in Atlantic City.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
