Songfacts®:

• In this song, Anka reveals that despite his success, he's still lonely:
  
  I've got everything you could think of
  But all I want is someone to love
  
  Anka was just 16 in 1957 when his song "Diana" topped the charts in both the US and UK, making him an international star. He quickly became one of the biggest stars of the late '50s, but there was something missing. "In moving around so much, I never had time to spend with the people really close to me," he said. "I wanted to experience more than just the success syndrome. I was reaching out, saying, 'Hey, I want somebody to share this with me." (Quote from the liner notes of The Very Best of Paul Anka.)
• Anka's mother, Camelia, was very sick when he wrote this song, which gave him the emotional impetus. She passed away on May 11, 1961 at age 37 after years suffering from diabetes.
• Anka had a talent for writing about the teenage experience in the '50s, as he was one (he was born in 1941). "I was a lonely boy and I'd see these lonely boys at all these hops," he said.
• Anka hit a dry spell in the '60s, but charted another #1 hit in 1974 with "(You're) Having My Baby." With 15 years between them, it was at the time a record for the longest span between #1 songs.