Born in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Boone is a direct descendant of the American pioneer Daniel Boone. He grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, attended David Lipscomb College and began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of "Ain't That a Shame" was a huge hit, selling far better than Fats Domino's original version. 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 market. Previously, rock 'n' roll had had only limited exposure outside of the African American community. Pat Boone's pale covers gave attention to the more authentic original artists, such as Little Richard and Fats Domino and to rhythm and blues in general. In addition, the songwriters and copyright holders benefited even when individual artists did not.
In fact, only six of Boone's many hit singles were R&B covers, and only four of those were rockers. All were released in the first two years of his long career. These were "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino and "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard, and "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by the El Dorados. The other two R&B covers were well-chosen blues ballads, "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Ivory Joe Hunter and "Chains of Love," a hit for Big Joe Turner and later B.B. King that had been written by Ahmet Ertegun. By 1957, Boone was concentrating on the middle-of-the-road music that dominated his career. He never recorded another R&B cover.
Known as "The Kid in White Buck Shoes", Boone sported a clean-cut image that appealed to white [teens]] and parents. His singing style, a rich baritone, followed in the tradition of his idol, Bing Crosby. Preferring to carry on in the Crosby tradition, he soon began turning more and more to ballads. Some of his biggest hits included "Love Letters in the Sand" (with the instrumental break featuring Boone's whistling), "April Love", "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)", and "Don't Forbid Me".
His teen idol popularity in the late 1950s was second only to that of Elvis Presley, and, like Presley, he soon tried his hand at acting. Boone's pictures included 1960's Journey to the Center of the Earth alongside Hollywood notable James Mason.
His recording of the theme song from the 1957 film April Love topped the charts for six weeks and was nominated for an Academy Award. Pat also wrote the theme song for the movie Exodus.
A devout born-again Christian, he was raised in the conservative Church of Christ, but has been a member of a Pentecostal church for more than thirty years. Boone has refused both songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards, including a role opposite the decade's reigning sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. Among his other achievements, he hosted a TV series in the late 1950s and began writing in the early 1960s, a series of self-help books for adolescents, including Twixt Twelve and Twenty.
The British Invasion effectively 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, most importantly radio. He is currently working as the disc jockey of a popular oldies radio show and runs his own record company which provides a much-welcomed outlet for new recordings by 1950s greats who can no longer find a place with the major labels.
Boone married Shirley Lee Foley, daughter of country music great Red Foley and singer Judy Martin, in 1953 and they had four daughters: Cherry, Lindy, Debby, and Laury. 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.
In the early 1990s, Boone joined Amway and spoke at many motivational seminars. He was also a distributor. He never reached the coveted Amway rank of Diamond.
In 1997, Boone released In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of heavy metal covers revamped to fit his style. To promote the album, he appeared at the American Music Awards in black leather, shocking audiences and losing his respectability among his largest constituency, conservative Christians. He was then fired from Gospel America, a TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. About a year later, the controversy died down and many fans, including Jack Hayford, accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". He was re-hired by Trinity Broadcasting and Gospel America was brought back.
In 2003, the Gospel Music Association of Nashville, Tennessee recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Boone and his wife live in Los Angeles, California. They are members of The Church on the Way in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley. His one-time neighbor was Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Boone's cover of Osborne's song "Crazy Train" became the theme song for The Osbornes. (It appears on The Osbornes Soundrack.) Osborne said that Boone "never complained once" about living next door to his less-than-traditional family.
Boone once claimed to use his own surname in lieu of curse words when upset.
In 2006, Boone penned an article for WorldNetDaily in which he argued that Democrats and others who are against the Iraq War cannot, under any circumstances, be considered patriotic. He also recently was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News, where he expressed his outrage against the opponents of George W. Bush (namely the Dixie Chicks) that their criticisms of the President showed they did not "respect their elders". Another article defended Mel Gibson after the actor was recorded making an anti-Semitic rant. Despite their differing political views, Pat Boone is friends with the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Stardust
Pat Boone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
In "Stardust," Pat Boone expresses the nostalgia and loneliness he feels as thoughts of a lost love continue to plague him. The "purple dusk of twilight time" metaphorically represents the melancholic feeling that often occurs during a time of transition or change. Boone sings of the little stars that climb higher and higher which remind him that he is alone. The next verse speaks of the lasting impact of his past love on him. He is haunted by a melody that represents the memory of his lost love. He describes the emotions he felt when he and his lover were together by recalling each kiss being an inspiration. Boone looks back fondly at his memories of being in love, but now his only solace is in the music of yesterday, which is like stardust - remaining and shining even after everything else fades away.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The end of day when the sky is a soft purple color.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
I feel a sense of sadness that is spreading like a shadow across my heart.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
The stars twinkle in the sky, as they usually do at night.
Always reminding me that we're apart
I am reminded that the one I love is far from me.
You wander down the lane and far away
You have gone away very far.
Leaving me a song that will not die
The love we shared is still alive in my heart through the music that you left behind.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
Love is now in the past, a memory that I cherish.
The music of the years gone by.
The music reminds me of the times long gone, of our love in the past.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
I often wonder, how do I spend my time.
The lonely nights
The long and lonely nights without you.
Dreaming of a song
I dream of the song that you left behind.
The melody
The beautiful arrangement of notes that fill my dreams.
Haunts my reverie
The melody occupies my thoughts often.
And I am once again with you
In my dreams, I am with you once again.
When our love was new
When our love was still fresh and new.
And each kiss an inspiration
Each time we kissed, it felt special, and I felt inspired.
But that was long ago
All of those beautiful moments are in the past, a distant memory now.
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The song you left behind is my only source of comfort now.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
I often find myself by the garden wall, looking at the stars.
You are in my arms
In my thoughts, I am holding you tightly.
The nightingale
The bird that often sings in the night.
Tells his fairytale
The nightingale often sings an enchanting song that feels like a fairytale.
Of paradise, where roses grew
The nightingale sings of a place that is considered a paradise where roses once grew.
Though I dream in vain
Even though my dreams will never come true.
In my heart it will remain
In my heart, I will always cherish the memory of our love.
My stardust melody
The melody that fills my dreams.
The memory of love's refrain.
The memory of our love that I will always remember and cherish.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Helbertson
Star Dust, com PAT Boone, a diferença de um clássico romântico e extremo bom gosto, para os apaixonados e que amam a excelência.
diana tello
Que voz más linda no hay nadie como él, todas sus canciones son preciosas e inspiradoras
Pilar MOROLLON DIAZ
Pat Boone tiene una voz maravillosa y aterciopelada muy caracteristica , de las que ya no hay , a mi me gusta mucho como las de Matt Monro ,Sinatra ,Andy Wilians etc .Estas voces son unicas
countrypaul
Gorgeous middle-road arrangement and vocal.
James Tucker
I love hearing this longer version, but the shorter version is perfection, a treasure for all, perhaps the greatest version by anyone. I feel sorry for people who have discovered and loved the song, but who have not heard the shorter version by Boone, possibly Boone's greatest recording.
jja kiefte
The alternative version isn't shorter; it omits the vocal-guitar intro but sports a gorgeous altosax solo in the middle. The combination of both versions would have rendered the perfect Stardust.
Owen Dureke
Good to hear these songs.
Milojka Vucinic
Krasna opuštajuća muzika.