Diana

Album

Paul Anka

Label

ABC-Paramount Records

Genre

Rock & Roll

Composer(s)

Paul Anka

Entered Chart

Jul 15, 1957

Peak Date

Sep 2, 1957

Released

July 2, 1957

Recorded

May 20, 1957 (Don Costa, New York City, U.S.)[1]

Catalog #

ABC-Paramount 9831

B-Side

Don't Gamble With Love

Paul Anka turned a crush on an older girl into his breakthrough hit. He was just 15 years old when he wrote "Diana" about his unrequited love for Diana Ayoub, who was five years older. "She was a little out of my league," Anka said. "She really didn't want anything to do with me, which made it even worse." Ayoub and Anka didn't cross paths all that often; he would see her at church and some other functions, and she would sometimes babysit his younger brother and sister. The crush didn't go anywhere, but the song did. It hit #1 in the US and UK, launching his career. Anka and his family moved from Ottawa, Canada to New Jersey, where they set up a publishing and management operation to support his career. Anka became one of the biggest hitmakers of the pre-Beatles rock era, and enjoyed a career revival in the '70s with another string of hits, including the #1 "(You're) Having My Baby." This was a #1 hit in America for one week, but in the UK it stayed on top for a remarkable nine weeks. In both territories, the song reached the top spot in September 1957. It was first released in America; when a European record distributor heard the song in a New York record store, he arranged for the song to be issued on that continent, where it proved immensely popular. Regarding the song's overseas success, Anka explained, "My record has a Semitic sound to it, like a chant. It gives my records a European feel." Anka was the first teenager to have a million-seller in the UK - he was 16 when it charted. At the time, it was the biggest-selling single in the UK history. This was not Anka's first single. In the summer of 1956 he visited his uncle in Los Angeles, where he recorded a song called "I Confess." Released that year on RPM records, it went nowhere. The following year he made a connection at ABC-Paramount Records in New York City, where he performed "Diana" at an audition for Don Costa, earning him a deal with the label. He recorded the song in May, and it started climbing the charts that summer - when school started back up in September, Anka didn't return, as he was busy touring to support it. Anka was one of the few teenagers writing and recording songs about teenage love in the '50s. Most hits of the era were written by professional songwriters who were much older. In 1963, Anka recorded a sequel called "Remember Diana," where she has left him and broken his heart. That one reached #39 in the US. Anka never reconnected with Diana Ayoub, the subject of the song. In 2002, the Ottawa Globe And Mail reported that she had two children, was divorced, and was managing a dress shop in the city.

I'm so young and you're so old
This, my darling, I've been told
I don't care just what they say
'Cause forever I will pray
You and I will be as free
As the birds up in the trees
Oh, please stay by me, Diana

Thrills I get when you hold me close
Oh, my darling, you're the most
I love you but do you love me
Oh, Diana, can't you see
I love you with all my heart
And I hope we will never part
Oh, please stay with me, Diana

Oh, my darlin', oh, my lover
Tell me that there is no other
I love you with my heart
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
Only you can take my heart
Only you can tear it apart
When you hold me in your loving arms
I can feel you giving all your charms
Hold me, darling, ho-ho hold me tight
Squeeze me baby with all your might
Oh, please stay by me, Diana
Oh, please, Diana
Oh, please, Diana