Ep. - 1485 - PAUL ANKA: HIS WAY
Reality Life with Kate Casey
Kate Casey
4.4 • 7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
John Maggio, director of the HBO documentary Paul Anka: His Way, about the life and legacy of one of popular music’s most enduring figures.
Paul Anka, born in 1941 in Ottawa, Canada, rose to fame at sixteen with the hit single “Diana.” Unlike many artists of his era, Anka maintained early control over his songwriting and publishing, a decision that enabled a career spanning more than six decades. In addition to his own recordings, he wrote songs for artists including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Tom Jones, most notably “My Way.”
Reality Life with Kate Casey
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The amazing Kate Casey. Welcome back for another episode of Reality Life with KKC. |
| 0:08.4 | Today's episode is about a music documentary. And honestly, there's something about music documentaries |
| 0:13.1 | that feel especially right this time of the year. Because they're reflective, immersive, |
| 0:18.3 | and perfect for the holidays, because you finally have a moment to sit down |
| 0:21.5 | and to really watch something instead of scrolling past it. And honestly, everybody in your house |
| 0:26.8 | will love a music documentary. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a documentary called Paul |
| 0:32.1 | Anka His Way on HBO. Today, I'm thrilled because my guest is the director of that film. Paul Anka was born in |
| 0:40.1 | 1941 in Ottawa, Canada, to Syrian Lebanese parents, and at a time when the idea of a global |
| 0:45.9 | pop star, it barely existed. Yet, by the age of 16, Paul Anka isn't just successful. He's really |
| 0:52.9 | everywhere. In 1957, he released a song called Diana. |
| 0:57.8 | He wrote it himself, inspired by a teenage crush, and it became one of the biggest singles of the 1950s. |
| 1:03.8 | So almost overnight, Paul Anka becomes a teen idol, screaming fans, television appearances, magazine covers, and the full machinery of |
| 1:13.0 | fame and long before anyone truly understood what the machinery did to the people inside it. |
| 1:18.4 | But this is where Paul Anka's story veers away from that familiar cautionary tale, |
| 1:23.5 | because while many teen idols were controlled, packaged, and quickly discarded, |
| 1:29.9 | he was paying attention to something else entirely. |
| 1:31.2 | Ownership. |
| 1:34.5 | He controlled his songwriting and his publishing early, |
| 1:37.6 | a move that was rare and incredibly smart. |
| 1:41.8 | That decision gave him power, leverage, and longevity in an industry that usually offers none of those things to young artists. |
| 1:45.8 | And I'm sure we can all agree that many artists today probably use him as a template. |
| 1:51.1 | Also, Paul Anka wasn't just a performer, he was a songwriter and not only for himself. |
... |
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