Diana (Paul Anka song)
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| "Diana" | ||||
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| Single by Paul Anka | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Gamble With Love" | |||
| Released | July 2, 1957 | |||
| Recorded | May 1957 (Don Costa, New York, U.S.) | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:28 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Writer(s) | Joe Sherman, Paul Anka | |||
| Certification | Gold | |||
| Paul Anka chronology | ||||
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"Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957,[1] recorded in May 1957 at Don Costa studio in New York. Reportedly inspired by a high school friend of Anka's named Diana Ayoub,[2] in an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, Anka stated that it was inspired by a girl at his church whom he hardly knew. Session musicians on the record included Bucky Pizzarelli on Guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA studios.[3] Backup singers included Artie Ripp (who later in his career as a music industry executive was the first to sign and produce Billy Joel as a solo artist[4] after Michael Lang, who had given Joel a monetary advance, passed Joel along to Ripp--while retaining rights to a cut of profits from Joel's output--to focus his attentions elsewhere instead.)[5]
The original Paul Anka 1957 recording reached number one on the Billboard "Best Sellers In Stores" chart (although it climbed no higher than number 2 on Billboard′s composite "Top 100" chart) and has reportedly sold over nine million copies.[6] "Diana" also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers list chart.[7] It also reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart and sold 1.25 million copies in the UK.[8][9]
After signing with RCA Records, Anka re-recorded "Diana", along with many other hits in 1963. All these versions were also published in Italian for a special LP.
Contents
Covers
The song has been covered many times. In 1958 Paul Anka sang an Italian version of the song, also called "Diana"; the Italian lyrics were written by Mario Panzeri.
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers have their own version of the song.
In 1965, Bobby Rydell covered the song as a single, which reached No. 98 on the Billboard Hot 100[10] and No. 23 on Billboard's Middle Road Singles chart.[11][12]
Ricky Martin sang a duet with Anka on the album Amigos. Another duet was in 2006 with Anka and the famous Italian singer and entertainer Adriano Celentano, with new Italian words by Giulio Rapetti (also known as Mogol) and by the same Celentano; the Italian title was "Oh Diana".
The Bulgarian band Wickeda also covered the song in a style that includes balcanic folk elements, and the horror punk band Misfits recorded a version on their album Project 1950.
Charts
| Chart (1957) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores | 1 |
| US Billboard R&B Singles Chart | 1 |
See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s
- List of Top 25 singles for 1957 in Australia
- Billboard year-end top 50 singles of 1957
- List of Billboard number-one rhythm and blues hits
- List of CHUM number-one singles of 1957
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1950s
References
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- ↑ Paul Anka doesn't live here anymore: Part 1 paulanka.com
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- ↑ Paul Anka, History of Rock and Roll. (URL accessed May 14, 2006)
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- ↑ Bobby Rydell - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed May 22, 2016.
- ↑ Bobby Rydell - Chart History - Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed May 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Middle Road Singles", Billboard, February 13, 1965. p. 50. Accessed May 22, 2016.
