Paul Anka Set for Mohegan Sun Arena on April 17

Press release

Paul Anka Set for Mohegan Sun Arena on April 17th

Tickets on sale Friday, November 21st

UNCASVILLE, CT –– Legendary entertainer Paul Anka brings his celebrated career to Mohegan Sun Arena for a special performance on Friday, April 17th at 7:30pm. With a career span of more than seven decades, Anka continues to captivate audiences worldwide with timeless classics and unforgettable showmanship. Fans can enjoy live renditions of iconic hits including “Diana,” “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” and the signature anthem “My Way.”

Tickets go on sale on Friday, November 21st at 10:00am via Ticketmaster.com. Starting Saturday, November 22nd, tickets will also be available at the Mohegan Sun Box Office, subject to availability.

Paul Anka didn’t waste time getting his life in music started. From an early age he sang in a choir, studied piano and honed his writing skills with journalism courses, even working as a cub reporter at the Ottawa Citizen. By 13, he had his own vocal group, the Bobbysoxers. Blinded by determination, he would take his mother’s car and drive to perform at every amateur night he could across the river in Quebec.

Soon Paul found himself traveling by bus with the ‘Cavalcade of Stars’ with the top names of the day. He honed his craft surrounded by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Frankie Lymon, and Chuck Berry. Anka was the youngest entertainer to ever perform at the Copacabana.

After a few hit songs, Anka confident in his talent as a writer wisely knew that being a songwriter meant the power was in the pen. As a result, he went on to write for Connie Francis, Leslie Gore, and Buddy Holly (including the last song Holly ever recorded, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”). Other hit songs include the Academy Award-nominated theme for the 1962 film in which he starred, The Longest Day. He notably penned the longest running theme in television history for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

His later achievements as a recording artist included the charted song, “Hold Me ‘Til the Morning Comes,” a hit duet with Peter Cetera in 1983, the Spanish language album Amigos in 1996, and Body of Work, a 1998 duets album that featured Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Tom Jones and daughter Anthea Anka. If this wasn’t enough, it was revealed upon its release in 2009, that Anka co-wrote Michael Jackson’s posthumous #1 worldwide hit, “This Is It,” which has further cemented his place upon the most prolific and versatile songwriters of any generation.

In April 2013, Anka released his New York Times Bestselling autobiography, published by St. Martin’s Press, entitled My Way. This autobiography is a remarkable story of a decades-long career as an entertainer, actor, and songwriter.

In 2018, Anka’s collaboration with Michael Jackson and Drake on the song “Don’t Matter to Me” was released on Drake’s Scorpion. The song alone had over 400 million downloads and reached the top 10 on Billboard charts.

At 81 years old, Paul Anka continues to write and record. His latest two albums, Making Memories and Sessions, were released in 2021 and 2022 respectively. The albums featured new and never before recorded songs as well as new takes on old classics — notably “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” with Olivia Newton John, one of her last recorded songs, and “My Way” featuring Michael Bublé and Andrea Bocelli.