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ESO (ESS-oh)

Spanish word for that
Common clues: Paul Anka's “___ Beso”; That, in Toledo; “___ Beso” (1962 hit); That, to Pedro; That, in Tabasco
Crossword puzzle frequency: 3 times a year
Frequency in English language: 73709 / 86800
Video: Paul Anka – Eso Beso (That Kiss)

Mmm, eso beso, ooh that kiss

Aah, eso beso, ooh your kiss

It's got something, don't know what

But whatever it's got, it's got a lot

- Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka, OC (born July 30, 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor of Lebanese origin. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1990.

Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hits songs like Diana, Lonely Boy, and Put Your Head on My Shoulder. He went on to write such well known music as the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Tom Jones' biggest hit She's A Lady, and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra's signature song My Way.

Anka recorded his first single "I Confess" at age 14. In 1957 he went to New York City where he auditioned for Don Costa at ABC, singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church whom he hardly knew. The song, "Diana", brought Anka instant stardom as it rocketed to number one on the charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling 45s in music history. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, including "It's Time to Cry", which made #4 and "(All Of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached #15, making him, at 17, one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain and then, with Buddy Holly, he toured Australia.

His talent went beyond singing the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (reworked in 1962 from a song Anka wrote earlier called "Toot Sweet" which had been rewritten with lyrics and recorded by Annette Funicello in 1959 as "It's Really Love"); Tom Jones' biggest hit record "She's a Lady"; and the English lyrics to "My Way," Frank Sinatra's signature song sung by many well known artists.

In the 1960s Anka began acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie The Longest Day. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded one of his greatest hits, "Lonely Boy" and also "My Home Town", which was a #8 pop hit for him the same year. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos. Anka returns to Canada several times a year, regularly playing to sold out crowds at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in NBC's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven, starring Skip Homeier and set on the Sunset Strip of West Hollywood.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Paul Anka".