About The Song
“Put Your Head on My Shoulder” is one of the most cherished love songs of all time. Paul Anka wrote and recorded it in 1959, at the height of his fame – being the most successful teenage-singer of the ’50s who wrote his own song. He had been a star for two years, having a No. 1 hit with “Diana” in 1957.
Like his previous hits, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” captured the coy tenderness of the 1950’s teenage popular culture. Anka’s inspiration came from his fans, whom he would notice in the audience during his performances.
“I was very much aware of the ambiance of these record hops…that was a room full of kids, and a lot of ballads and everyone was holding each other, and I am up there singing along to all of these teenagers, and everybody’s head was on each other’s shoulders,” Anka said. “It was kind of important back in the ’50s, a time of innocence and romance…”
However, he never heard a song that expressed such feeling, “so one night I went back to my hotel room and wrote ‘Put Your Head on My Shoulder.’”
“Put Your Head on My Shoulder” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Nine years later, the song was again popular at No. 44 on the charts with The Lettermen’s 1968 rendition. Canadian singer Michael Bublé – who started as Anka’s protégé – also covered “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” on his widely successful self-titled debut album in 2003.
But nobody does it better than Paul Anka. The music legend started being one of the biggest teen idols of the late ’50s. By 1961, when the teen idol craze began to cool off, Anka could boast of the over 125 compositions under his belt, as well as his own record label called Spanka, and the recognition of being behind the second-best-selling single of all time. But instead of resting on his laurels, Anka moved to the adult sphere and became a successful performer, songwriter, recording artist, and music businessman staying so well into the new millennium.
Tune in below for his breathtaking performance of “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.”
Video
Lyric
Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh so tight
Show me that you love me tooPut your lips next to mine, dear
Won’t you kiss me once, baby
Just a kiss goodnight, maybe
You and I will fall in love
(You and I will fall in love)People say that love’s a game
A game you just can’t win
If there’s a way
I’ll find it someday
And then this fool will rush inPut your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear
Tell me, tell me that you love me too
(Tell me that you love me too)Put your head on my shoulder
Whisper in my ear, baby
Words I want to hear, baby
Put your head on my shoulder
Saw Paul Anka this month in concert~ At 82 years of age, he danced on the stage like a teenager! He laughed about keeping fit and watching his diet saying, “he’d been on Jenny Craig more than Mr. Craig.” At that point it suddenly occurred to me that because I had older teenaged sisters, Paul Anka’s music was the first music I’d ever heard! He was a showman in every sense of the word giving tribute to his being included in the Rat Pack, friends with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. He went into the crowd and shook hands, took kisses from all the ladies who could get near enough and even danced with one! I drove 2.5 hours to see him and he was worth every second.