"Diana" is a song written and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957, recorded in May 1957 at Don Costa studio in New York City. Anka stated in his autobiography that the song was inspired by a girl named Diana Ayoub, whom he had met at his church and community events, and had developed a crush on. Session musicianson the record included Bucky Pizzarelli on Guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA studios. Backup singers included Artie Ripp. Paul Anka's original 1957 recording reached number 1 on the Billboard "Best Sellers In Stores" chart and has reportedly sold over nine million copies. "Diana" also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart. It also reached number 1 on the UK's New Musical Express chart, staying there for nine weeks, and sold 1.25 million copies in the UK. After signing with RCA Records, Anka re-recorded "Diana", along with many other hits in 1963, for the albumPaul Anka's 21 Golden Hits.
released a version of the song on his 1958 album Rock 'N Roll. French singerMarcel Mouloudji recorded a French version, with lyrics by Jacques Plante on April 22, 1958, with The Michel Villard Ensemble. Paul Anka sang an Italian version of the song, also called "Diana"; the Italian lyrics were written by Mario Panzeri. This version was released on Anka's 1963 album Italiano. In 1965, Bobby Rydell released the song as a single and on the album Somebody Loves You. Rydell's version reached No. 12 on Canada's RPMTop 40 & 5, while reaching No. 98 on the US BillboardHot 100, No. 23 on Billboards Middle Road Singles chart, and No. 100 on the Record World 100 Top Pops. In 1975, Australian bandOl' 55 released a version as their debut single. The song peaked at number 95 on the Kent Music Report. A duet was in 2006 with Anka and the famous Italian singer and entertainer Adriano Celentano, with new Italian words by Giulio Rapetti and by the same Celentano; the Italian title was "Oh Diana". The Bulgarian band Wickeda also covered the song in a style that includes Balkanic folk elements; and the horror punk band Misfits recorded a version on their album Project 1950. In 1959, the song was covered twice in Hindi film music. One is in the film Dil Deke Dekho with lyrics Kaun yeh aaya mehfil me, music by Usha Khanna. The other is in the film Baap bete with lyrics Bol bol bol my little dove, music by Madan Mohan. Both songs are sung by Mohammad Rafi. The version in Dil deke dekho has a small portion at the end where Asha Bhonsle joins in.
