Paul Anka speaks with ABC7 ahead of Sarasota Concert

Legendary crooner Paul Anka will be making a tour stop in Sarasota Sunday and he spoke with ABC7 ahead of his performance.

Anka recently turned 80 and shows no signs of slowing down. The Canadian singer first became famous in the 1960s with his singles “Diana”, “Lonely Boy”, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, and " Having My Baby.” He’s also enjoyed success as a songwriter.

He is touring with his new album, Making Memories, a brand-new collection of reimagined classics and new recordings including duets with Olivia Newton-John, Michael Bublé, Andrea Bocelli and Il Divo. Anka tells ABC7 he is excited about his new music and getting to perform again. The Van Wezel also happens to be one of his favorite venues.

The performance will be a mix of Anka’s hits, as well as tributes to his mentor Frank Sinatra.

In recent years, Anka’s music has found a resurgence of popularity on the app TikTok where a brand new generation has discovered his music. “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” has been featured in multiple trends on the app and Anka is on TikTok himself.

He discovered TikTok by talking to his son and his friend friends.

“My 16-year-old son showed up with a bunch of teenagers and they were all singing “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” I said, ‘How do you kids know that?’ They said ‘Tiktok.’ I said, what’s Tiktok? Now we’re all embracing it with and for good reason, there’s a lot of good content on there,” he told ABC7′s Melissa Ratliff.

Most recently, the song “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” was sampled by pop singer Doja Cat and was a trending sound on the app.

“To be walking around, and have kids at your show or to walk in the stores and to see a song you wrote for Annette Funicello, my little love when I was 17 or 18. It’s a big kick,” Anka reminisced.

Anka will perform this Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center. The concert begins at 7 p.m. For ticket availability, click here.