"Diana" is a song written and first performed by Paul Anka, who recorded it in May 1957 at Don Costa’s studio in New York City. Anka stated in his autobiography that the song was inspired by a girl named Diana Ayoub (13 March 1939 – 1 December 2022), whom he had met at his church and community events, and had developed a crush on.

Recording

Session musicians on the record included George Barnes playing lead guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli playing the "Calypso" riff on guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA Victor Studios in New York. Backup singers included Artie Ripp.

Release

Paul Anka's original 1957 recording reached number 1 (for two weeks) on the Billboard "R&B Best Sellers In Stores" chart, (although it climbed no higher than number 2 on Billboard′s composite "Top 100" 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 album Paul Anka's 21 Golden Hits.

Chart performance and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Duet with Ricky Martin

Paul Anka and Ricky Martin recorded a Spanish-language version of "Diana" and Anka included it on his album Amigos, and released it as a single in 1996.

Formats and track listings

CD Single

Charts

Other covers and adaptations

Frankie Lymon released a version of the song on his 1958 album Rock 'N Roll. Brazilian singer Carlos Gonzaga recorded a Portuguese version, released in 1958. 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 RPM Top 40 & 5, while reaching No. 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 23 on Billboard's Middle Road Singles chart, and No. 100 on the Record World 100 Top Pops. In 1975, Australian band Ol' 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 (also known as Mogol) and by the same Celentano; the Italian title was "Oh Diana". The punk band Misfits covered the song on their album Project 1950 in 2003.