Ron Onesti: Seeing 'eye to eye' with Paul Anka

Usually, as I welcome the audiences at our shows at the Arcada Theatre, I must walk out with my own hand-held microphone. I'm not a big guy, so the microphone is typically over my head on the mic stand. For the first time since we had Mickey Rooney on stage for his 89th birthday several years ago, I was able to walk on stage and use the main mic that was placed for the headliner, Paul Anka. He, too, is a whole lot of "stuff" bundled into a small package. And I have to tell you, it was very emotional for me!

While presenting over 200 shows a year, I have the honor of working with some of the biggest names in entertainment. But this guy is someone who I have never had the opportunity to work with before, though I've tried several times.

Growing up, we all thought Anka was Italian because he seemed to be a part of that East Coast rock 'n' roll movement of the late '50s/early '60s, and he hung with the Rat Pack in its later years. He was frequently spotted with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Dion DiMucci, Bobby Rydell (Ridarelli), and many other popular Italian-American pop stars of the day, so we automatically thought he was "one of us."

But, actually, he is from Ottawa, Canada!

Paul Anka has one of the most impressive catalogs of music by anyone in the biz, consisting of his own hits and megahits he has written for others. A little known fact is he actually wrote the theme song for "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Aptly called "Johnny's Theme," the song originally had words and was co-penned by Johnny himself. Anka added Johnny as a co-writer just so he would get a writer's credit and legitimize the song.

"I was only about 20 years old at the time, and there were some upset people out there," he said. "Namely, it was Skitch Henderson, Johnny's musical director, who was upset the most."

Anka said this theme song was performed more than 14 million times worldwide over Johnny's 30-year career as host of the show. And as co-writers and co-publishers of the song, both Carson and Anka received more than $200,000 per year for the rights! Not bad for an arrangement that was played only a few seconds each night, with no lyrics and no celebrity musician attached to it - outside of the show's bandleaders: Skitch, Tommy Newsome or Doc Severinson.

Anka's production manager gave me a great gift that night. After telling him what a fan of "Johnny's Theme" I was, he staged a surprise for me. As I walked offstage from welcoming the audience, the band played "Johnny's Theme" for me. A real trophy!

For one reason or another, on all three previous occasions I had booked Mr. Anka, the show had to be canceled. So here it is, show day, 6 o'clock, and he has yet to arrive in Chicago. "No way!" I thought. "Not again!"

However, Anka landed at DuPage Airport in his private jet just before showtime. He walked passed my security guys directly into the dressing room, slamming the door. All these years, and now Paul Anka is on MY stage! But I STILL didn't meet him! As I am usually up in front welcoming guests into The Arcada, security called me on my radio and informed me Anka was backstage. So I ran - running back-style, weaving in and out of the crowd filtering in - just to get back in time to meet him before he went on.

A video montage of his career began, so I was in luck. I would just stand backstage and introduce myself before he walked on. At least I thought that was a good plan. The lights went down, the video ended, the orchestra began to play. "You are my destiny" resounded in the main hall, in that all-too-familiar Anka voice. But where was Paul?

Wouldn't ya just know it, he appeared from the back of the room, entering from the exact door I was just standing at! I STILL didn't get to meet him.

He played for two solid hours, performing hit after hit after hit. He would walk around the audience, dancing with the ladies and walking on chairs through an aisle. He would take selfies and pose for pictures. In fact, he encourages picture taking! Who does THAT anymore?

And his voice was pure magic! Powerful as ever, smooth and spot-on! As he is staring 75 years old in the eye, it is truly amazing just how agile and powerful he still is. I don't care who you are, after doing ANYTHING for 70-plus years, you would be weak, too! But not this guy. It truly was one of the best shows we have ever had. A consummate showman, Paul Anka gave more to his audience that night than most do in a career.

And what a week we had at The Arcada! Several "heritage" acts, legendary performers who, in their "day," were the biggest voices in showbiz. They are all in their senior years, but just by watching and listening to them, you would think they are still in their respective heydays. This was all in one week (a typical week at The Arcada): Crystal Gayle (65), Frankie Avalon (76), Engelbert Humperdinck (80), Todd Rundgren (68), Jon Anderson of Yes (72), Anka (75), and Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. (73 and 78, respectively). And every one of them were nothing short of incredible vocally!

After Anka's show, I WAS standing in the right place! He performed his first megahit, "Diana," as his encore, and walked offstage to a long standing ovation. As he approached me backstage, he gave me a stern stare, as if he was trying to figure out who I was. Then his scowl turned into a warm smile. "You must be Ron," he said.

I turned into Jackie Gleason at that moment: "Homina, homina, homina," tripping over my words. "Yes, sir, that's me. It's an honor to meet you!" I said. "I just love that song! Who WAS Diana," I asked.

"She was a girl I went to high school with, and saw in church," he said. "I was 14, she was 18. When you are 14, short and a bit scrawny, it's hard to get a girl who looked like Diana, so I wrote a song for her. I met Chuck Berry around that time, and I convinced him to listen to my song. He hated it! Fortunately, the great Don Costa also heard it, and helped me record it. And I haven't looked back since!"

We hung out a bit after the show, talking about "these old theaters" and the industry in general. He said, "Next time we do two shows." I replied, "It would be an honor!"

"I like you, we see eye to eye," he said with a wink. I said, "Absolutely! Maybe we can trade jackets!" The smile went back into a scowl. "Let's not get out of hand here," he said. Then he abruptly left.

I think I tarnished our short relationship a bit. The last thing I wanted that night was a sprained Anka!

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp. and The Historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.