Date: July 13, 1959
Weeks: 4
This song is a mess on every level. Paul Anka's voice is high-pitched and trembling and generally unpleasant. He was 18 years old at the time, but his voice sounds like he's about 14. These days some people will tell you that Justin Bieber is the first teenage pop star whose appeal is based more on looks than on talent, but there seem to be undertalented allegedly-attractive teenage pop stars all the way back here to the beginning of the pop charts, with Paul Anka.
The music is that uptight 50s pop sound that sort of wants to be like rock and roll but isn't. It's bland background music designed to showcase the singer's voice. A better singer could make it work, but Paul Anka can't.
The lyrics are pandering teenage tripe. "Oh, I'm just a sad and lonely teen pop idol, if only I could find a girl who was right for me." Paul Anka isn't selling a single, he's selling a fantasy to teenage girls of getting to date an attractive(?) teen idol. It's classic pandering teenage tripe, but teenage tripe nonetheless.
My verdict: Don't like it. I guess it's good to know that promoting a singer based on looks more than talent or even quality music is as old as the pop charts themselves.
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