1

I think the first time I heard “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die” was on WBAI, the public radio station in New York.

You see underground FM radio was the internet of its day. Not that it was truly underground, the stations were all legal, but they were an alternative, they were subversive… Do not conflate the FM radio of the sixties with that of the seventies, when the playlist was tightened and…

Then again, Country Joe and The Fish had something to do with that. They were an indelible part of the Woodstock movie, and that flick changed the course of history.

Before that, rock music was a sideshow. But Woodstock woke up the industrialists, they saw all those people and they saw all that MONEY!

And that’s what it became about. With the purchase of Warner and Elektra by Steve Ross, after the prior purchase of Atlantic. As for the consolidation today, with only three major label groups, back then new companies were popping up like flowers, there was money to be made, music SCALED! The costs of production were recouped quickly, and after that there was a ton of profit. The Warner music division paid for the Warner cable system. Movies got all the respect, and there were some great ones in the late sixties and into the seventies, but the true cultural action was all in music. And those films utilized music to set the tone, to root the action.

Now the first upheaval came from the U.K., the so-called “British Invasion.” But after that came the San Francisco Sound.

But unlike the British Invasion, it was more than music, it was cultural. Sure, we had Carnaby Street in London, and there were fashions in the Haight, but there was also a mind-set. That life was about loving your brother, doing drugs and f*cking your brains out. And this was all done to a soundtrack of music, played by acts that didn’t wear suits, that didn’t even seem to care about the system, they were subversive.

Yes, Jefferson Airplane had hits, but Grace Slick was unpredictable. She was America’s worst nightmare. She went to Finch with Tricia Nixon, but then she jumped the track. And she was not the only one. People came to San Francisco in droves, they wanted to be where it was at. Money? You could get by on the kindness of strangers. Or at least you believed you could. People were not going to work for the bank, they thought there was more in life than money. And many from that era still believe this is true.

2

Now you knew the names of the bands, but that did not mean you knew the music. Sure, the Airplane had successful singles, but the rest of the acts had nothing that could fit on AM playlists. It was all word of mouth. Until FM radio.

You knew if you were different, the credo was “question authority.” This was no longer the fifties, where you cut your hair and flew straight. High school became bifurcated, like society. Football was seen as brutal and fascist. And the athletes had contempt for those who had contempt for them, and oftentimes they got physical about it.

But the script flipped with the war. By time we hit ’66, ’67…it was clear that Vietnam was an aberration. We’d heard for decades that America was all powerful, but we couldn’t beat these lone rangers in ragged clothing.

Now if you were brain dead, you just supported the war. America, rah, rah! But for those who questioned the country’s path, there was a whole ecosystem of culture on the other side of the fence.

Start with Kurt Vonnegut. After all, the Grateful Dead named their publishing company, “Ice Nine.”

And there were the poets of San Francisco, not only Allen Ginsberg, but Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the City Lights bookstore and…

Off-Broadway was littered with anti-government work, like “MacBird.” And “Hair” started at the Public Theatre in ’67, it crossed over to Broadway the following year and became a phenomenon.

But music was the primary driver of the revolution. Music led the way. Music was all about freedom, something you could feel, and truth.

So when you heard “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die”…

3

Actually, it was entitled “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag.” And that was important. It hearkened back to the folk era of the early sixties, and there was no pretension that this was mainstream, for everybody, this was truth, with a sense of humor.

Now the world was smaller then. And there were fewer alternatives.

First you had to get a record deal, which was difficult to come by. But if you made a statement, if you rang the bell, there were people who were hungry for your music.

Now Country Joe and The Fish were on Vanguard Records, known primarily for classical music and some folk and jazz. Joan Baez recorded for Vanguard, but by time we hit ’67, her heyday was over, not to return until “Diamonds and Rust” in the next decade. Most of the folk fans were gone, starting families, but some of their leaders remained…and they led the protests, whether it be Mario Savio in People’s Park or Mark Rudd at Columbia or the Chicago Seven…

But really, the slate had been wiped clean. What did Jimi Hendrix say, “You’ll never hear surf music again”?

These were not the denizens of the fifties…the hipsters, the thinkers, the kids who blew up the music business were younger, wet behind the ears, and they were all ears.

“Are You Experienced” came out in 1967. Actually, the Mothers of Invention’s debut, “Freak Out!,” came out in ’66! But that was on Verve, which was not much better than Vanguard, and they were from Los Angeles and it took longer for Frank and his minions to gain traction. L.A. was seen as flash, but San Francisco had soul. And infrastructure for said soul. With the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore and Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, with their Acid Tests.

So we were primed. We were paying attention to San Francisco.

And that’s when I heard “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die.”

4

I had to buy the album, it was not like the song was in regular rotation on any radio station. Which now included multiple outlets on FM…WOR, WABC, WNEW…with AM jocks now speaking slowly in deep tones, like Scott Muni.

So I purchased the album, also called “”I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die.”

So what I did, after breaking the shrinkwrap, after shutting the door to my room, was drop the needle and study the album cover.

And Country Joe was almost the most normal looking of the bunch. Barry Melton had his frizzy hair. David Cohen looked like a magician. And Chicken Hirsch? These were aliens, they didn’t fit in anywhere in America, and they didn’t care. They were just doing their thing.

The music was insight into another world, that of San Francisco.

And I couldn’t get enough. Who could? Either you were on the bus or you were off.

This record was unlike anything I’d previously purchased. These were not tight singles made for radio play. Especially the second side. It was atmospheric, you either bought in or you didn’t.

I did.

And that made me a member of the club. Because I was hip to Country Joe and The Fish.

5

Now when you had the album of a band and it became your favorite, you had to see them live.

It wasn’t like today, there was nowhere else to be exposed. And it wasn’t your motivation, but if you got on the bus early enough, you had bragging rights.

But I must say, my mother hipped me to the Country Joe and The Fish show at Woolsey Hall in New Haven on May 26, 1968.

Now you’ve got to know, my friends and I were only fifteen, we didn’t have driver’s licenses. Which meant…

We had to take the train. The New Haven Railroad, it got you there but it was dirty and scummy and…

The last ride back was at midnight.

Furthermore, it was Sunday night. But that didn’t make a difference to my mother, when it came to culture, all limits were off. Truly..

So I went with two buddies and…

We had to walk from the train station to the hall and…at that point New Haven was dangerous, full of racial tension, most people would not even walk in this area at night.

But we got to Woolsey Hall and…

This was not the Heman’s Hermits crowd, this was unlike any crowd I’d experienced previously. There was no rabidity, there was a lot of milling around, and there was marijuana in the air and…

There was an opening act, and then Country Joe and the band took the stage, started with “Rock and Soul Music,” and then played for nearly an hour with no tunes recognizable to me. We were in New Haven, but they were in San Francisco. They were loose. And they left the stage saying they’d come back for a second set.

WHAT?

This was not fair!

We ultimately ran to the railroad station and made the train…and if you didn’t, you had to stay in New Haven all night…but not before I bought a poster. You needed ownership, evidence of your fandom.

6

So I bought the follow-up, “Together,” which was less out there, more traditional, but playable. I was a deep fan.

But that was the end. The album after that, “Here We Are Again,” was substandard.

But I was still a fan of the band…it was more than the music, it was the attitude, the irony, the humor…THIS WAS THE COUNTERCULTURE!

And the counterculture had its moment in August 1969, when the general public was positively shocked that all those kids showed up at Woodstock. Today it’s de rigueur, back then it was unfathomable.

But Country Joe didn’t gain mainstream notoriety until the movie came out. With its “Give me an F!” cheer.

What’s that spell?

A movement. And Country Joe was at the epicenter.

Not every market had an underground radio station. People may not have even heard of Country Joe and The Fish.

But now they had.

So you’d be places and someone would yell…GIVE ME AN F!

Yup, it was part of the culture, bedrock.

And then the band broke up and Country Joe put out solo albums and “Rolling Stone” wrote about them and he’d play solo here and there, but ultimately there was a long fade-out from public consciousness, until he died a few days back.

7

And that brings it all back. Not only Country Joe, but the sixties. We were optimistic, we felt we had power, we were testing limits, we were in control. And our leaders were musicians. Not selling perfume or tchotchkes…

That’s the modern paradigm, become a brand and leverage it.

But Country Joe and The Fish were just a band. Making music. Sure, they wanted to get paid, but that was not the primary motivation…the experience was.

And we all joined in, wanted to be part of that experience too.

Now it’s not like I ever forgot Country Joe, but I must say I always wondered what he was living on, how he made ends meet. You die young and all your problems are solved, live, and they pile up.

And he lived to 84. That’s not a bad run.

But now he’s in the rearview mirror, and either you were there or you were not.

And in the modern era, we find out the backstory that was unavailable in the pre-Internet era. His parents named him after Joseph Stalin. And he called himself “Country Joe” because Stalin used that moniker.

His parents were Communists. My grandfather was a member of the Workers Circle. He came from Russia, with nothing, he had a sense of equity and opportunity, two factors that are absent in today’s society.

So it was a different time.

But what a time it was.

Music was not the background, it was positively foreground. If you wanted to know what was happening, what to think, you listened to FM radio. Musicians were gods, we listened to them opine. They were thinkers, they had something to say.

And Country Joe was right at the center of it.

To me he’s a founding father.

From: Kevin Cronin

Paul Anka was a bit before my time, but of course I had heard of him. I’m not gonna lie, I saw him as a Rat Pack wanna be. I knew he was a writer, but the songs were not really my thing. Then I watched the documentary!

The first thing that got me was the sound of his voice. It was unique, almost Sting-like. At the age of sixteen, he had solid pitch and time. And a certain little quirk in his tone and phrasing that I had never noticed. The scene where he is sitting at the piano, figuring out the ubiquitous C, Am, F, G chord progression blew me away. I did that exact same thing when I was in high school. Those chords form the infrastructure of all pop songwriting … “Handy Man”, “This Boy”, “Rhythm of the Falling Rain” … the list goes on forever. “In Your Letter” from our Hi Infidelity album could have been written by Paul Anka. It’s those same four chords.

And his pure desire and drive! He personifies the idea that to make it in music, you have to need it. Everybody wants to be a star. Everybody wants to write hits. But some people actually need it for their very survival. It is what they were put on Earth to do.

Anyway, once again I totally agree with you. Anyone who is in the entertainment business, or  wants to be a professional entertainer needs to see this doc. I freaking loved it. … kc

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Your post is a masterclass on everything that’s wrong with AI-generated music.

Craig Anderton

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I watched it last night.  Brilliant!

Johnny couldn’t screw Skitch Henderson………..UNTIL he got half the song and cowriting credit.  Skitch who?

Mike Bone

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Couldn’t agree more, Bob. Loved this biopic. As a former musician (cellist in Lighthouse and eventually a writer and associate professor of screenwriting), I’ve always been connected to music and film. I saw the Paul Anka film at the Toronto film festival a year and a half ago. What I left feeling was the significance of reinvention and how, in some ways, plastic surgery and externals aside, reinvention can actually be a spiritual act. So, for all the outward trappings, there is a spiritual underpinning to Anka’s journey in that his actual Voice never wavers. Just so happens that his drive is as strong as his voice which doesn’t hurt if you want to make money too.

When the Beatles came along his goose was cooked, even though he was an international teen Idol. But at that young and tender age he began to cultivate the art of reinvention. He learned to put his ego aside and pivot with his gift and remain on the path.

Howard Wiseman

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Hey Bob:

A few years back Paul Anka released a rock ‘n’ roll record and when I heard him interviewed by Steve Jones and they played Black Hole Sun, I had to call him and tell him how much I loved it. I’ve known Paul my whole life. My dad, Roy, and my godfather Norman worked with him as agents and managers from the 60s on. As a matter of fact, it was because of a tip from Paul that that they went and signed the Beatles to GAC and ended up booking their tours in the US. He is a true gentleman and icon. A couple of days later after the call, I received a package with DVDs of his interviews about the record and all the reviews. There’s nobody like him. He is the most professional/CEO/ Star ever. He’s also funny and immensely charming. A couple of years ago he was playing the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills and the audience was comprised of every demographic, but they all had in common the knowledge of all the words to all his Brilliant songs and they were singing away.  His daughters and sadly, deceased wife, are amazing people. He also has a son in law Jogi who is an 8 time Tour de France finisher.  As you said he could teach people how to be a star. Any interview with him is a master class in superstardom, but also in the history of the entertainment business. Anybody on the road to success needs to ask what would Paul do?

Bill Gerber

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Interesting read Bob.

In the summer 2022 we brought Paul, in conjunction with Shuki Weiss ,to Israel.

One show at the Roman amphitheater in Caesaria. Another at the Sultan’s pools in Jerusalem. Sold very well. Although he’s no youngster, Paul is the quintessential old school master entertainer. He worked the crowd without effort or a hitch, was thoroughly professional to work with  and has a crazy, resonant and  booming voice that he uses without any effects for a 2 hour plus show. Again, he and his crew were a real pleasure you work which as most promoters will tell you -is not a a given with some artists. I look forward to watching the doc.

Hillel Wachs

2b Vibes Music

Tel Aviv – Jerusalem

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And, he discovered John Prine, managing him and getting him signed. For that alone he deserves love.

Bob Anthony

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Couldn’t agree more.  This is one of the best music documentaries I can remember having seen.  And to add to what you’ve said, the guy is truly a lifer and destined to do this.  He couldn’t imagine doing anything else and doesn’t want to stop.  That level of dedication is rare and it should be celebrated.  Lastly, he’s not afraid to change with the times.  You hear him talk about Justin Timberlake, and Drake and embracing TikTok where he’s had his music trend.  The guy is hip and in-tune with the culture too and he loves interacting with people.  Truly a legend.

Richard Young

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Great perspective here. I came away from this documentary like a student reflecting on a lecture by a master. His ability to push forward, to pivot, to just show up. The harder he worked, the luckier he got. Imagine that.

Peter Barsocchini

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It’s gotta be great. He’s great. The bridge between the rat pack and Rock and Roll.
Saw him last year, the 75+ year old women love him!
Great songs great talent great stories.
C’mon Bob….he does it his way!
Av Miller

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Thanks for this wonderful letter about Paul Anka. He is the real deal and I have been consumed with his career, his  Our Way podcast, his interviews and stories from now and back in the day! A Tour de Force and I’m so glad you wrote this lovely and loving  letter in the midst of all the chaos right now.

What a pick me up! Thank you –

Best,
Sharon Wright

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Here’s the early doc on Anka. They lifted some of it for a really crazy 60’s movie called

“Privilege”, that’s about a state-sponsored rock star.

George Drakoulias

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Thank you so much for your recommendation of the Paul Anka documentary; an amazing life that is still contributing to this thing called Popular Music.  Your words, along with those recently about Neil Sedaka, truly give an accurate taste of what we loved back then in addition to Elvis, Buddy, and Chuck.

Dennis Brent

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Bob I’ve done work for Paul Anka and he’s someone. I wrote a lengthy bio for him in 2005 when he released his “Rock Swings” album of songs by Nirvana, Bon Jovi, and Oasis with updated arrangements.  The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.

Paul was so pleased with the bio that he used it for years on his home site. After our interview he sent me by courier 3 packages. 1) A gold record of “Diana”; 2) A 24×11 photo of himself signed with remarks to me. 3) Large sheet music of “My Way” that his band used, with the dedication, “You and I Larry, we did it our way.”

Over the years we have talked and met several times. I found that he has great recall memory, or exceptional recall. A subject we talked about at an event he would bring up the next time we met a year later and again a year or two afterwards. Not just recall the memory but adding to the conversation each time.

Along the way I learned how he and other ’50s pop stars were influenced by the mainstream success of Bobby Darin. How he picked up James Brown’s international music publishing. How he came to release albums in different languages in the ’60s and tour the different international countries. Why he bought back his entire recording catalog in the early ’70s, and then later sold it to Gordon Mills who managed Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.

Even 20 years after we met he still returns emails and answers his phone for me.

One of a kind.

Larry LeBlanc

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I saw him on Bill Maher a few weeks back and it’s like he had just emerged from a cryonics capsule.

The guy’s inability to age puts the late Dick Clark to shame.
Send Paul to NIH, figure out his genetic fountain of youth, and give it to us, asap.

It’s cliche to call someone a Force of Nature, but does it ever fit here.

I’d love to know how much dough the Tonight Show theme made Anka over Johnny’s 30-year reign.

—Emory Damron
Alexandria VA

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Bob nice day what a great article!!! You might  remember me I started  MLM an independent marketing company in the 70;s which turned out to be a very very successful venture our clients included Lionel Richie, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Billy Idol, Cher, Huey Lewis, Pointer Sisters, Al Stewart, Pretenders, Prince and Paul Anka, the list goes on….our  focus was not so much radio as was rcord retailers …. Paul had just switched to Columbia Records and the album was doing very well in Europe but not much in the U.S I suggested that Paul do a tour of Europe and at that time perform live on tv stations. I’m not quite sure of the date I think it was1984. I mapped out a 30 day tour using Paris as our base and with 9 markets left at the end of the tour he asked me to be his manager, that’s the part I played on this incredible tour…I told him thanks I’m flattered  but I’m not the type…one of the amazing experiences was that we flew the Concorde from New York to Paris in 2 hours!! Paul was recognized wherever we went ”palanka palanka” was the call ..we remained good friends for quite a while, thanks for bringing back some really good times …ciao, Macey Lipman

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From: Don Miggs

PA is a complete original. He’s been family forever and when we finally got in a studio together you felt his magic. A turn of phrase, a lift in melody and every word mattered. That’s what I was struck by. Up to that point (this is several years ago now) I was led more by gut than craft and sentence tense or a casual “but” or “and” wasn’t something to belabor. PA made all of that matter.

We finished one write where he didn’t dominate the room. He let it breathe and he took control when he had to but it was a true collaboration. As he’s leaving he stops in the middle of the hallways, arms out a little like he was catching himself, eyes closed but seemingly looking up- I thought he was having a heart attack. I swear to God. I was a second from dialing 911. I’m sort of softly calling his name, ready for a fall, while simultaneously keeping a respectable distance and he starts to hum….

Some words, a melody starting to form. He opens his eyes like I stepped on a toe and darts to the piano and starts this thing about “Michelle” and as he’s editing his thoughts in real-time he’s also reminding me- AND HIM- to be careful because the Beatles already have a famous “Michelle” tune. This went on for several minutes with making little suggestions I’m about certain he heard but never really acknowledged. I was just lucky to bear witness. And then it stopped.

He got up and said “we should finish that sometime.” And was gone.

He’s a bundle of energy. He knows when the moment needs to be capitalized on and how to do it with an old-school flair you can’t beat.

I have a few other stories with him that I cherish because he helped me feel “legitimate”. A real superstar who let me in, just enough. Very thankful for that.

Thanks for the reminder.

https://miggs.com/

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I watched the Paul Anka documentary recently and read My Way a couple years ago. Both were Deja Vu moments for me.

Fifty one years ago I went to work for Irvin Feld after he acquired Ringling Brothers Circus. Irvin’s business partner, Allen Bloom became my mentor and for 25 years we had a close personal and professional relationship. During this time I was privy to many great stories of the birth of rock and roll and Paul Anka years with Irvin, Izzy and Allen. Everything Paul says about loading up in a buss with all the other 50’s musical stars is true. Super Shows (Irvin and Izzy’s company) was the first Live Nation in that they toured acts nationally. Irvin was also Paul’s manager at this time. He also managed a few other acts like Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Allen used to add to the stories a few insider “extras” like the fact that there was one set of drums for the tour and the financial numbers for each tour stop. He had a small spiral notebook and it showed everything: who was on the bill,  ticket gross, concessions, programs, expenses, net and how much was deposited in the bank or carried overland. Allen was the road manager for the early acts and was there the “day the music died” in Iowa with Buddy Holly and others. Allen was an incredible raconteur and an encyclopedia of 50’s rock n roll history.

Allen told me a tidbit once that never made it into Paul’s book or documentary but nevertheless is a bit of musical history. Paul evidently had a relationship with Annette Funicello while on tour and it ended to his disappointment. Paul lamented his broken heart story to Irvin to which he consoled and replied: “Paul, it’s only Puppy Love, you will get over it.”…… Which became the title to a hit song written by, of course, Paul Anka.

Irvin Feld was a genius. He was also mercurial to be around. You were either a superstar or worthless based on your performance. His mind for math and numbers was uncanny. One day not long after I went to work for Irvin he sent me to Baltimore to check in with Shirley Feld (his brother Israel’s wife) at the box office. Shirley supervised Washington D.C. and Baltimore ticketing operations back in 70’s. You always had to have the numbers handy if Irvin or Allen showed up unannounced (which they did often). Irvin walked up to me in the box office and wants the numbers for the weekend and I have them. He asked me a series of questions about sales trends (which I have) and remarks offhandedly that the gross was up 13.82 percent over the previous year. He thanks me and leaves to watch the first half of the show. Fixated on his percentage comment I get a calculator and run the numbers and it was exactly 13.82 percent as Irvin spontaneously calculated. He was amazing and knew everything about his business. Later that day he checked in to get the final number from the matinee and made an indelible comment to me: “Young man, If you treat my money like your money, we’re going to get along just fine.” I never forgot it for 45 years working for Irvin, Allen and later Kenneth Feld when he took leadership of the company.”

Back to Paul, the whole shift from teen star to Vegas was Irvin and Paul repositioning his career towards away from teeny bopper to MOR. Once again amazing stories from decades of listening to Allen Bloom.

I am proud to have worked for Irvin Feld for 10 years before he passed unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm. He taught me so much about being tough but fair in business with his partners. His son Kenneth carried on this tradition and is universally respected in the industry. So many great memories.

Thanks for the post on Paul. While we never met I kinda know Paul Anka through the lens of Irvin and Allen and their history with him and the birth of rock and roll.

Bill Powell

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Thanks for the tip and will subscribe for a month just to watch it.

BUT… it will be tough to beat your interview with him, Bob, one of your best ever.

DG

This guy is DRIVEN! If for some reason his singing voice went, he could go on the road giving lectures on how to be a star, and remain a star.

First and foremost, he tips. That limo ride to the plane, he whips out a bill. This happens again and again. Maybe he learned this from the Rat Pack, but when you acknowledge someone’s presence, ask their name, share the wealth, that goes a long way. This is your audience.

Anka is well-adjusted compared to many, he’s got kids, family, but his career is number one. And he’s thinking about it all the time.

Now the difference between Paul and his initial contemporaries, between Paul and so many of today’s “stars,” is he writes the songs. Turns out that’s more important than name recognition, than seeing your moniker in lights on the marquee. Songs last. And they pay forever.

Where did he get this skill?

Well, first and foremost Paul was hungry. Living in Ottawa, raised by immigrant parents, his dad ran a restaurant, Paul realized the only thing he was good at was singing. Not schoolwork. His singing gained him notoriety. So he dug in deep, practiced the piano, bought the records and sheet music and traveled alone to New York City as a teenager and got a publishing deal.

That’s the difference between the wannabes and those who succeed. Their talent is undeniable. The gatekeepers recognize it immediately. Today the gatekeepers, to the degree they still exist, do not have the power of yore. So the channel is filled with both quality and the lack thereof. And this confuses the public. People get overwhelmed and detach. Or else attach themselves to a star believing it will make their lives whole while the rest of us scratch our heads and wonder what this devotion is all about.

But not only could Paul write, he could SING!

What a concept! Today you’ve got people who can sing but not write and vice versa. The two together? Seems like a lost formula.

Just like it was in the fifties when Paul Anka broke through.

Now it was a different era, one of ubiquitous Top Forty radio and one-nighter tours. If you could break through, everybody knew your name.

But you didn’t necessarily get rich. That came later, post-Beatles. Sure, there was Elvis, but that wasn’t the main motivation, it was the music, the lights, the adulation.

That’s what Anka needs, the people. These stars are different from you and me. Driven for attention, the love of the public. That is who Paul is married to. He sacrificed his first marriage, the mother of his kids, because she wanted him to retire and he still wanted to work, because the work is everything. Paul is better adjusted than many stars, but if you think he’s normal…

That’s what you get by the end of this documentary. This guy is different. He’s thinking about his career all the time. Not lying watching cartoons while drunk or stoned. Certainly not complaining. Looking at the future and wondering how he’s going to survive.

And taking advantage of opportunities. Not only finding and getting the rights to the melody for a French song, but turning it into “My Way” for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra told him he was going to retire, Paul always wanted to write a song for him…listen to the lyrics, they apply…I never knew this was the motivation. But all great art comes from inspiration. A light bulb goes off in your head and you have to run to the piano or your instrument of choice and lay it down. The thrill of creation…that’s what an artist is seeking, knowing that he can’t reach the mountaintop each and every time. But when you’ve got a thread, you’ve got to PULL IT! Paul sat down at the piano and finished “My Way” in five hours.

As for “The Tonight Show” theme… He knew Johnny Carson a bit.

If you want to make it in showbiz, you’ve got to know people, you’ve got to be nice, it goes a long way, it delivers OPPORTUNITIES! Most people are not open to these moments of luck, and they certainly don’t know how to capitalize on them.

So Paul goes home and writes “The Tonight Show” theme, Johnny loves it, but can’t use it, because Skitch Henderson, the bandleader…he’s got the right. Paul is an outsider, not part of the show’s machine. So, Paul sweetens the pot… How about if he gives Johnny half the song and cowriting credit. BINGO! Done!

You’ve got to give to get. If you need everything, you’ll get less.

Now in the past, acts got screwed. Today acts know too much. It’s a relationship business, and a leverage business, and you’ve got to act accordingly.

And learn.

Paul did at the feet of the Rat Pack, but he also had a great manager, Irvin Feld. No one’s career grows and sustains without a great manager, who is passionate about their work and strategizes about their future. You’ve got to find someone who believes, who wants to do the work. And your garage manager may graduate into the big leagues, but Paul had success before Feld found him and they decided to work together.

Now I’ll be honest, I’m of the rock era. This fifties stuff is a bit hazy. And it’s the black and white history that is truly intriguing, I’m stunned all this footage exists. From pictures on the road to “Ed Sullivan” to… This is history, this is the way it was.

Now unlike his contemporaries, like Frankie Avalon, who actually makes an appearance in this film, Paul’s career survives. But it’s through acknowledgement of the landscape and hard work. The Beatles came along and wiped everybody out, Paul accepted this, and focused on the writing.

And the writing… Never forget that Paul wrote “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” for Buddy Holly.

And to see Sammy Davis, Jr… His memory has faded, that’s what happens when you don’t write the songs, your fans remember you, but then they age and die.

Paul was part of that world. And he ultimately had a few more hits as an artist. But it was about writing and performing. It’s STILL about writing and performing.

And the goals were different back then… You worked clubs, you wanted to headline in Vegas. Which was seen as anathema by the rockers, but now everybody wants to play Vegas. Started with Celine Dion… You don’t have to go on the road, you can have a life, the people come to you.

But Paul eventually went back on the road, he’s still doing 150 dates a year, and he’s 84!

Now unlike so many legendary rockers, Paul’s still got his voice, and it’s amazing. But let’s be clear, he needs that love, that connection with the audience. And he’s cognizant of the importance of that connection, how without it he has no career. People have to be riveted, have to love the experience, SO THEY COME BACK!

Paul diets, works out and improves his appearance at the advent of his career, he’s got to look good to the audience to survive.

Paul is constantly delivering for those who write the check, the promoters, the Mafia, the people…

He’s aware 24/7, scanning the landscape, seeing where he sits in it, how he will maintain his status and continue to climb.

Yes, Paul is still hungry. He wants more. Like I said above, he’s DRIVEN! He can’t give up, he doesn’t want to give up.

Now this doc has got the usual elements, Paul’s accomplishments, the peaks, the screaming girls. But somehow it’s different from the run-of-the-mill efforts, because it transcends the facts. It ends up being a lesson. Akin to the books by Robert Evans and Jerry Weintraub. You watch this documentary and gain knowledge. It’s a good ride, especially the history, but it’s the little things that are so fascinating. Sure, there are the achievements, the songs, the stats, but more interesting is the person…how did he get here, how did he sustain. This is not “Behind the Music.” That is not the arc. Not success, failure and rebirth. No, this is a guy who is sui generis, who recognized the system and rather than denying it, or decrying it, made it work for himself.

Sure, the doc is testimony to Paul Anka’s greatness, but how did he do it? That is explored here, and that is what is so fascinating.

The records that were hits at the same time as the British Invasion.

Tune in Saturday March 7th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz