Paul Anka: Still Doing It His Way — New Album, Tour Plans and Why Retirement Isn’t an Option
Paul Anka, at 84, has a new album out and says he has no plans to retire — a development that matters because it underlines how longevity, reinvention and careful self-management have kept one of popular music’s longest-running figures active on stage and in the studio.
Paul Anka: No plans to retire at 84
The Canadian-born performer insists he will not retire and that performing and writing keep him engaged. In February 2026 he explained that he knows what retirement is but doesn’t want it: he offered a working rhythm of roughly 75 days a year on the road and the rest of the year to write and do what he wants. He described performing as energizing — every night getting better than the last — and said his off-stage life includes watching hockey and reading.
New album — Inspirations of Life And Love and a huge catalog
Just this past week Paul Anka released his latest album, Inspirations of Life And Love, issued in time for Valentine’s Day on Green Hill Music/Sun Label Group. It is one of more than 130 albums he has recorded and is described as a collection of music about love and life. His home outside Los Angeles displays more gold records than one can count, for both his own recordings and for songs he wrote for other artists.
Onstage at the McCallum Theatre and the live experience
Fans gathered at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif., to fall back into the era when drive-ins and back seats defined teen romance. Anka, who says he’s been in show business since about age 10, still commands a room: his voice remains strong, he struts the stage, and his self-deprecating humor is intact — including a line telling audiences they can take pills or go to the bathroom whenever they want. He performed early hits including "Diana, " the song whose lyrics frame youth and devotion and remain part of his live DNA.
A lifetime of reinvention and writing for others
Anka has remained on the pop singles chart for seven straight decades. He made the lyrical leap from 1950s teen idol to classic crooner, performing in the 1960s with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. When major shifts knocked him off radio, he rewired his career by writing for others. His songwriting credits in the provided context include a song recorded by Buddy Holly, the composition that became a hit for Tom Jones, and the theme for a long-running late-night television program. He also has a history of recording in multiple languages and of writing with major pop figures; a long-forgotten demo he recorded with a prominent pop star in the 1980s surfaced after that star’s death in 2009, and one of the songs became one of that star’s last hits. In 2020 a contemporary artist sampled his "Put Your Head On My Shoulder, " sparking a social-video trend.
Routine, health and sensible boundaries
Anka credits disciplined habits for his stamina. He follows a routine that includes a daily shot of olive oil with lemon, and he reads medical literature and tests health ideas. He says he never became a smoker or a heavy drinker despite early exposure to Las Vegas life and the Rat Pack era, in which drinking and smoking were commonplace. He described coming from a modest small-town background and the difficulty of being a young star — beginning with a squeaky voice as a child — and the ongoing effort to avoid negative industry pitfalls.
Career lessons: approvals, partnerships and perspective
He recalled doing only one commercial in his career and said he personally vets requests: nothing is approved without his expressed consent. He cited an active partnership with a catalog partner he works closely with. On the topic of emerging artists and fame, his view is blunt: he isn’t impressed by springboard popularity alone and cares about longevity. His advice for younger creatives includes learning the business, being cautious about companions and representation, staying focused and remembering that most things are temporary.
Tour plans, a recent documentary and unfinished anecdotes
Paul Anka is ramping up for a March tour leg of A Man and His Music. A recent documentary titled Paul Anka: His Way has also revisited his career. He has shared war stories from decades on the road and in studios — including a story about Frank Sinatra telling him he was thinking of retiring when Anka was 25 — but the full outcome of that anecdote is unclear in the provided context. He has also spoken about the growing role of A. I. in music, though the provided remarks on that topic are incomplete.
Across these strands — a new album, a March tour, a seven-decade chart record, songwriting for others, disciplined health habits and a refusal to step away — the portrait is of an artist intent on staying active on his own terms.
