Rock Swings

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Professional reviews
Rock Swings

Cover album by Paul Anka
Released	May 31, 2005 (Can) June 7, 2005 (US)
Recorded	November 2004
Genre	Swing Jazz
Length	58:18
Label	Verve Music Group
Producer(s)	Paul Anka
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link BBC.co.uk Negative link
Paul Anka chronology
Times of Your Life (1975)	Rock Swings (2005)

Rock Swings is an album by Paul Anka. Recorded in November 2004 and released on May 31, 2005 in Canada and June 7, 2005 in the United States, it contains swing jazz covers of popular rock and pop songs from the 1980s and 1990s.

Reportedly, the Michael Jackson song "Billie Jean" was slated to be on the album in the recording stages, but Paul Anka could not get through a vocal take without bursting into laughter.^[1] The album features 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi, a song which includes the line "Frank said he did it my way" - a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Sinatra classic 'My Way,' the English lyrics to which were written by Anka.

After the release of this album, Anka was awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. A DVD release of the same name, including live performances of these songs by Anka, was released on December 6, 2005.

1 Charts
2 Track listing
3 Samples
4 Personnel
- 4.1 Musicians
5 References
6 Footnotes
7 External links

[edit] Charts

Debuted at:

#120 on the Billboard 200
#9 on the Official UK Album Chart
#2 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart
#1 on Amazon.de

[edit] Track listing

"It's My Life" (original version by Bon Jovi)
"True" (original version by Spandau Ballet)
"Eye of the Tiger" (original version by Survivor)
"Everybody Hurts" (original version by R.E.M.)
"Wonderwall" (original version by Oasis)
"Black Hole Sun" (original version by Soundgarden)
"It's a Sin" (original version by Pet Shop Boys)
"Jump" (original version by Van Halen)
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" (original version by Nirvana)
"Hello" (original version by Lionel Richie)
"Eyes Without a Face" (original version by Billy Idol)
"The Lovecats" (original version by The Cure)
"The Way You Make Me Feel" (original version by Michael Jackson)
"Tears in Heaven" (original version by Eric Clapton)

[edit] Samples

Smells Like Teen Spirit (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as covered by Paul Anka on his album, Rock Swings.
It's My Life (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "It's My Life" as covered by Paul Anka on his album, Rock Swings.
Problems playing the files? See media help.

[edit] Personnel

Paul Anka: Executive producer
Alex Christensen: Session producer
Al Schmitt: Session engineer
Jon Crosse: Conductor
Patrick Williams, Randy Kerber, John Clayton: Session arrangers and conductors

[edit] Musicians

Paul Anka: Vocal
Randy Kerber: Piano on all tracks except 5, 8
Mike Lang: Piano on tracks 5, 8
Jon Crosse: Tenor Saxophone on track 12
Vinnie Colaiuta: Drums
Mike Valerio: Bass
Larry Koonse: Guitar on tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14
Dean Parks: Guitar on tracks 1, 5, 8, 10
Emil Richards: Vibes
Charles Davis, Gary Grant, Larry Hall: Trumpet
Warren Luening: Trumpet on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14
Sal Cracchiolo: Trumpet on tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11
Steve Holtman, Andrew Martin: Trombone
Alex Iles, Bill Reichenbach: Trombone on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14
Bob McChesney, Bryant Byers: Trombone on tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11
Gene Cipriano: Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Dan Higgins, Greg Huckins: Alto Saxophone, Flute
Bill Liston: Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet
Joel Peskin: Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone
Joel Derouin (Concert-master): Violin on tracks 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14
Rebecca Bunnell, Mario De Leon, Tiffany Yi Hu, Patricia Johnson, Peter Kent, Miran Kojian, Haim Shtrum, Mari Tsumura, Shari Zippert, Kirstin Fife, Razdan Kuyumjian, Dennis Molchan, Les Terry: Violin on tracks 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14
Bruce Dukov (Concert-master): Violin on tracks 6 and 7
Jennifer Munday, Anatoly Rosinsky, Charles Everett, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Darius Campo: Violin on tracks 6 and 7
Marilyn Baker, Jorge Moraga, James Ross, Harry Shirinian, Karie Prescott, Evan Wilson: Viola on tracks 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14
Simon Oswell, Pam Goldsmith: Viola on tracks 6 and 7
Larry Corbett , Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, Miguel Martinez, Steve Richards, Andrew Shulman, Anne Karam: Cello on tracks 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14
Ernie Ehrhardt: Cello on tracks 6 and 7
Peter Doubrovsky, Frances Liu-Wu: Bass on track 14
Gayle Levant: Harp on track 14
Brad Warnaar, Jim Atkinson, Kurt Snyder: French Horn on track 14