Pat Boone
Pat Boone was born Charles Eugene Boone - the
great-great-great-great-grandson of pioneer Daniel Boone - in
Jacksonville, Florida, on 1 June 1934 and started singing in High
School. One of his fellow students at North Texas State College
was Roy Orbison who was spurred on to his own singing career
following Pat's initial success.
In 1954, Pat sang on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour Show
and ended up winning first prize. This was followed by a spot on
the famous Arthur Godfry Talent Scout Show - the
springboard to success for so many major recording artists,
although Elvis Presley failed the audition to appear in 1954.
Boone won the show again and was signed to a contract with Dot
Records by the label's president, Randy Wood. It was under
Wood's direction that Boone covered a string of songs first
recorded by blacks, beginning with his version of Fats
Domino's Ain't That A Shame, which made the
British and American Top 10 in late 1955.
The following year, he scored with his versions of Little
Richard's Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally,
Ivory Joe Hunter's I Almost Lost My Mind, and his
biggest UK hit, I'll Be Home - originally recorded
by The Flamingos.
For seven years, Boone was second only in popularity throughout
the world to Elvis, and in a four year period from 1955 to 1958 he
had the distinction of always having at least one single in the
American Hit Parade.
During this time he also enjoyed a successful
career in movies, including State Fair, April Love,
The Main Attraction and Mardis Gras. A devout
born-again Christian, Boone refused movie roles that he felt might
compromise his standards, including a role opposite the decade's
reigning sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. In April Love he
refused to give co-star Shirley Jones an on-screen kiss, because
the actress was married in real life.
Pat Boone was the complete all-American boy - from his
well-trimmed hair to his buckskin shoes - and became the
first rock star with that elusive 'all round appeal'. As such he
was despised by hard-core rock & rollers, who saw him as
"one of them" - If their parents approved of this
smiling smoothie who wouldn't even kiss his leading lady in a
film, then he couldn't be the genuine article. It must be
said in his defence that a great many more people than care to
admit it heard their first - albeit ersatz - rock & roll
on a Pat Boone record.
The British Invasion effectively ended his career, though he
continued recording throughout the 1960s, and in the 1970s he
switched to gospel and country, devoting his life to religious
entertainment and making several religious albums for specialist
labels, while his children (Debbie in particular) also entered the
recording field with some success.
In the early 1990s, Boone joined Amway and spoke at many
motivational seminars.
Despite the many criticisms fired at Pat Boone, several of his
hits from the fifties - including Friendly Persuasion, Love
Letters In The Sand, A Wonderful Time Up There (an
early hint at his post-hit career) and Speedy Gonzales - remain
well known, and his overall impact cannot be denied.
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