The legendary singer-songwriter was surprised to discover he had written Jackson’s first posthumous hit – and had no idea until it was already on the air. Anka, 83, tells the story in the new documentary Paul Anka: His Way, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10.
Directed by John Maggio and produced by Blue Ant Studios, PA Doc and Ark Media, the film details Anka’s epic 70-year journey from Canadian teen idol to international superstar and one of music’s great masters pop.
He is responsible for hits such as the upcoming TikTok anthem “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, “You Are My Destiny” and “Diana” under his name, as well as “My Way”, “She’s a Lady” by Frank Sinatra . . Tom Jones, Buddy Holly’s “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” and Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show theme song. But even Anka was surprised to learn that he had written Jackson’s first song published after his death: “This Is It.”
The couple met in the 1970s, when Jackson – then performing with his brothers as the Jackson 5 – often attended Anka’s concerts on the glitzy Las Vegas Strip. As the new decade began, Jackson charted his own path as a solo artist and sought out Anka as a collaborator. “Michael came and stayed in my hostel and we went to the studio,” Anka recalls in the documentary. “We wrote and spent time together and recorded three or four songs. I recorded his voice and piano.” One of the songs they worked on during these 1980 sessions was tentatively titled “I’ve Never Heard.” “The title was prophetic. With the record success of Thriller, Michael Jackson’s 10th anniversary album in 1982, the songs written with Anka were put indefinitely and the musician forgot about them until contacted after Michael’s death, when they were released under the title “This Is Ajo”. “It made headlines. “One day I got a call from TMZ,” Anka says in the document. “[They said]: ‘We heard you wrote this song with Michael.’ I said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve never written a song called ‘This is it.’ Send it to me.” After a few bars, he realized that this “new” Jackson song was actually a full version of “I Never Heard” which had been modified with instrumental overdubs and given a new title.