Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone[1]
(born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor, and writer.
He was a
successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early
1960s. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared
in more than 12 Hollywood movies.
According to
Billboard, Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only
Elvis Presley but ahead of
Ricky Nelson and
the Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind
the Rolling Stones and
Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as
Aretha Franklin and
the Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top 40 Artists 1955–1995.
[2]
Boone still holds the
Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.
At the age of twenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour
ABC variety television series,
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960).
Many musical performers, including
Edie Adams,
Andy Williams,
Pearl Bailey and
Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of
rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. In 1955
Elvis Presley was the opening act for a show in Cleveland starring Pat Boone.
[3]
As an author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (
Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Prentice-Hall).
In the 1960s, he focused on
gospel music and is a member of the
Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, and a
conservative political commentator.
| Pat Boone |
|---|
Boone, February 2011
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Charles Eugene Boone |
| Born |
June 1, 1934 (age 81)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Origin |
Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres |
pop, country, gospel |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer-songwriter, actor, motivational speaker, spokesman |
| Instruments |
Vocals |
| Years active |
1954–present |
| Labels |
Republic, Dot, Tetragrammaton, Melodyland (Motown), Hip-O, MCA |
| Associated acts |
Debby Boone (daughter) |
| Website |
patboone.com |
Biography
Early life
Boone was born in
Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Margaret (Pritchard) and Archie Altman Boone.
[4]
Boone was reared primarily in
Nashville, Tennessee,
a place he still visits. His family moved to Nashville from Florida
when Boone was two years old. He attended and graduated in 1952 from
David Lipscomb High School in Nashville. His younger brother, whose professional name is
Nick Todd, was also a pop singer in the 1950s and is now a church music leader.
[5]
In a 2007 interview on
The 700 Club, Boone claimed that he is the great-great-great-great grandson of the American pioneer
Daniel Boone.
[6]
He is a cousin of two stars of
western television series:
Richard Boone of
CBS's
Have Gun, Will Travel and
Randy Boone, of
NBC's
The Virginian and CBS's
Cimarron Strip.
[citation needed]
In November 1953, shortly before he turned 19 years old, Boone married Shirley Lee Foley, daughter of country music great
Red Foley and his wife, singer
Judy Martin. They have four daughters:
Cheryl Lynn, Linda Lee,
Deborah Ann (better known as Debby), and Laura Gene. Starting in the late 1950s, Boone and his family were residents of
Leonia, New Jersey.
[7]
In college, he primarily attended David Lipscomb College, later
Lipscomb University, in Nashville. He graduated in 1958 from
Columbia University School of General Studies magna cum laude[8] and also attended North Texas State University,
[9] now known as the
University of North Texas, in
Denton, Texas.
[citation needed]
Career
He began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of
Fats Domino's "
Ain't That a Shame" was a hit. This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering
R&B songs by black artists for a white American market.
[10]
Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R&B single by the
Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song from the
later
LaVern Baker
one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had
failed.
This became the B side of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two
Kisses", originally by the Charms – whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been
covered by the label's
Fontane Sisters.
Once the Boone version was in the shops, it spawned more covers by the Crewcuts,
Doris Day and
Frank Sinatra.
A No. 1 single in 1956 by Boone was a second cover and a revival of a then seven-year-old song "I Almost Lost My Mind", by
Ivory Joe Hunter, which was originally covered by another black star,
Nat King Cole.
According to an opinion poll of high school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the
"two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls..."[11] During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's
Ozark Jubilee, hosted by his father-in-law.
Boone cultivated a safe, wholesome, advertiser-friendly image that won him a long-term product endorsement contract from
General Motors during the late 1950s, lasting through the 1960s.
He succeeded
Dinah Shore singing the praises of the GM product: "See the USA in your
Chevrolet...drive your Chevrolet through the USA, America's the greatest land of all!" GM had also sponsored
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.
In the 1989 documentary
Roger & Me, Boone stated that he first was given a
Corvette
from the Chevrolet product line, but after he and wife started having
children, at one child a year, GM supplied him with a station wagon as
well.
Many of Boone's hit singles were covers of hits from black R&B artists.
These included: "
Ain't That a Shame" by
Fats Domino; "
Tutti Frutti" and "
Long Tall Sally" by
Little Richard;
[12] "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by
The El Dorados; and the
blues ballads "
I Almost Lost My Mind" by
Ivory Joe Hunter, "I'll be Home" by
the Flamingos and "
Don't Forbid Me" by
Charles Singleton.
Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie
Exodus, which lyrics he titled "This Land Is Mine." (
Ernest Gold had composed the music.)
[13]
As a conservative Christian, Boone declined certain songs and movie
roles that he felt might compromise his beliefs—including a role with
sex symbol
Marilyn Monroe.
In one of his first films,
April Love, the director,
Henry Levin, wanted him to give co-star
Shirley Jones
a kiss (which was not in the script). But, since this would be his
first onscreen kiss, Boone said that he wanted to talk to his wife
first, to make sure it was all right with her.
[14]
He appeared as a regular performer on
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends from 1955 through 1957, and later hosted his own
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, on Thursday evenings.
In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including
Twixt Twelve and Twenty. The
British Invasion ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he switched to
gospel and
country, and he continued performing in other media as well.
In 1959, Boone's likeness was licensed to
DC Comics, first appearing in
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane
#9 (May 1959) before starring in his own series from the publisher
which lasted for five issues from September 1959 to May 1960.
[citation needed]
In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as
gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as
The Pat Boone Family and
The Family Who Prays.
[citation needed]
In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label
Lamb & Lion Records. It featured artists such as Pat, the Pat Boone Family,
Debby Boone,
Dan Peek,
DeGarmo and Key, and Dogwood.
[15]
In 1974, Boone was signed to the
Motown country subsidiary Melodyland. The label was later to be renamed Hitsville. The country subsidiary was closed in 1977.
In 1978, Boone became the first target in the
Federal Trade Commission's
crackdown on false claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had
appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four
of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help"
in keeping their skin clear
The FTC filed a complaint against the
manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free
of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he
promised not only to stop appearing in the ads but to pay about 2.5% of
any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the
manufacturer to refund to consumers.
Boone said, through a lawyer, that
his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to
learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically
established as he believed."
[16]
Later career
In 1997, Boone released
In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of
heavy metal covers. To promote the album, he appeared at the
American Music Awards in black leather.
He was then dismissed from
Gospel America, a TV show on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network.
After making a special appearance on TBN with the president of the network,
Paul Crouch,
and his pastor, Jack Hayford, many fans accepted his explanation of the
leather outfit being a "parody of himself". Trinity Broadcasting then
reinstated him, and
Gospel America was brought back.
[17]
In 2003, the Nashville
Gospel Music Association recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its
Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
In September 2006, Boone released
Pat Boone R&B Classics – We Are Family,
featuring cover versions of 11 R&B hits, including the title track,
plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A
Woman Needs Love", and six other classics.
Boone and his wife, Shirley, live in Beverly Hills, a suburb of
Los Angeles. His one-time neighbor was
Ozzy Osbourne and his family.
A sound-alike of Boone's cover of Osbourne's song "
Crazy Train" became the theme song for
The Osbournes (Though the original Boone version appears on
The Osbournes soundtrack).
In 2010, plans were announced for the Pat Boone Family Theater at
Broadway at the Beach in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
[18]
The attraction was never built.
[19]
Religious background
Pat Boone grew up in the
Church of Christ.
[20]
In the 1960s, Boone's marriage nearly came to an end because of his
use of alcohol and his preference for attending parties.
After having a
charismatic
encounter, Shirley began to focus more on her religion and would
eventually influence Pat and their daughters toward a similar religious
focus.
[21]
At this time, they attended the Inglewood Church of Christ in
Inglewood, California.
In the spring of 1964, Boone spoke at a "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 at the
Shrine Auditorium in
Los Angeles. The gathering, which was hosted by
Anthony Eisley, a star of ABC's
Hawaiian Eye series, sought to flood the
United States Congress with letters in support of
school prayer, following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 of the
United States Supreme Court which struck down the practice as in conflict with the
Establishment Clause of the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
[22]
Joining Boone and Eisley at the Project Prayer rally were
Walter Brennan,
Lloyd Nolan,
Rhonda Fleming,
Gloria Swanson, and
Dale Evans.
Boone declared that "what the communists want is to subvert and
undermine our young people. ... I believe in the power of aroused
Americans, I believe in the wisdom of our Constitution. ... the power of
God."
[22]
It was noted that
Roy Rogers,
John Wayne,
Ronald Reagan,
Mary Pickford,
Jane Russell,
Ginger Rogers, and
Pat Buttram had endorsed the goals of the rally and would also have attended had their schedules not been in conflict.
[22]
In the early 1970s, the Boones hosted Bible studies for celebrities such as
Doris Day,
Glenn Ford,
Zsa Zsa Gabor, and
Priscilla Presley at their Beverly Hills home. The family then began attending
The Church On The Way in
Van Nuys, California — a
Foursquare Gospel congregation led by pastor
Jack Hayford.
[17]
Politics
Boone campaigned for
Ronald Reagan
to become Governor of California in 1966 and 1970, and actively
supported Reagan's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in
1976.
He was a vocal supporter of the
Vietnam War.
In 2006, Boone wrote an article for
WorldNetDaily, in which he questioned the patriotism of
Democrats and others who were against the president during the
Iraq War.
[23]
He was interviewed by
Neil Cavuto on
Fox News, where he expressed his outrage toward opponents of
George W. Bush (in particular the
Dixie Chicks). He said that their criticisms of the president showed they did not "respect their elders".
[24]
In the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Boone campaigned for incumbent
Republican Ernie Fletcher with a prerecorded automated telephone message stating that the Democratic Party candidate
Steve Beshear
would support "every homosexual cause.
" As part of the campaign, Boone
asked, "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San
Francisco?"
[25] He assisted the McCain 2008 presidential campaign by lending his voice to automated campaign
robocalls.
[citation needed]
On December 6, 2008 Boone wrote an article for
WorldNetDaily wherein he drew analogies between recent gay rights protests and
recent terrorist attacks in
Mumbai,
India.
He reminded readers of hostage taking, exploding bombs,
systematic murder and chaotic conditions of carnage.
In it, he asserted
that marriage is a Biblical ordained institution, which the government
has no part in defining.
He then stated that equal rights for women and
blacks were not "obtained by threats and violent demonstrations and
civil disruption" but rather through due process.
He concluded by
warning that unless they're checked, the "hedonistic, irresponsible,
blindly selfish goals and tactics of homegrown sexual jihadists will
escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive."
[26]
On August 29, 2009, Boone wrote an article comparing liberalism to
cancer, likening it to "black filthy cells".
[27]
In December 2009, Boone agreed to endorse the conservative U.S.
congressional candidate John Wayne Tucker (R) for his campaign in
Missouri's 3rd congressional district against incumbent
Russ Carnahan (D) for the 2010 mid term elections.
[28]
In 2009, Boone, a "
birther", stated his belief that President
Barack Obama is
ineligible to serve as the
President of the United States.
[29][30]
Boone also has alleged that Barack Obama is fluent in Arabic and read the Koran in Arabic as a boy.
[29]
He has also claimed that President Obama "hasn’t celebrated any Christian holidays in the White House."
[29]
Boone received a lifetime achievement award at the 38th annual
Conservative Political Action Conference held in February 2011.
[31]
Philanthropy
Since 1977, Boone has hosted the annual Pat Boone Golf Tournament in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, a celebrity event that benefits a faith-based home for children of families in crisis.
[citation needed]
According to the
Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner, Boone partnered with
GOD TV
in 2010 to provide foundational funding for a community development
center in East Africa.
The Pat Boone Family Life Center in Loiborsoit,
Tanzania provides much needed health services and clean water through a
deep water well. GOD TV CEO,
Rory Alec
said "We are privileged to partner with Pat and Shirley Boone to impact
the everyday lives of several thousand Masai people.
Pat Boone is just
as well known for his artistic talents as his Christian faith and the
generosity of the Boone family has inspired us to reach further to help
bring about transformation in Africa."
[32]"
Clean water, and with it small medical clinics and even basic
primary and secondary schools, are literally life-changing developments,
offering healthy lives and unthought-of futures to countless thousands
who otherwise would live and die with no chance even to participate in
the 21st century," Boone wrote in an article about his trip to Africa,
in
WorldNetDaily.
[33]
Basketball interests
Boone is a basketball fan and had ownership interests in two teams.
He owned a team in the Hollywood Studio League called the "Cooga
Moogas."
The Cooga Moogas included
Bill Cosby,
Rafer Johnson,
Gardner McKay,
Don Murray, and
Denny "Tarzan" Miller.
[34]
With the founding of the
American Basketball Association, Boone became the majority owner of the league's team in
Oakland, California on February 2, 1967.
[34]
The team was first named the Oakland Americans but was later renamed as the
Oakland Oaks, the name under which it played from 1967 to 1969.
[34]
The Oaks won the
1969 ABA championship.
[35]
Despite the Oaks' success on the court, the team had severe financial problems. By August 1969 the
Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the Oaks,
[36] and the team was sold to a group of businessmen in
Washington, DC, and became the
Washington Caps.
[37]
Source: Wikipedia.org
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