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We pick on Pat Boone because he is the symbol of all this. Nobody is more lily white than him. And he was exactly the guy they wanted to market instead of black people. Hey he probably played fairer than most. I don’t remember him being on the wrong side of any of the myriad lawsuits. But he is the poster boy for white people doing black music. Cause he’s so white.

But he is the poster boy for white people doing black music. Cause he’s so white.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Richard Harris and Donna Summers both did MacArthur Park, and Harris is pretty white himself (with messier hair), and his version is over the top Lounge Singer White. Donna Summers' version is Disco Diva Black. Both were huge hits. Both were made mercilessly fun of.

Less than a year after Barbara Streisand (Jewish, but sings 'white' stylistically) scored the #1 song of the entire year with The Way We Were, Gladys Knight and the Pips were not shy about doing their own version less than a year later, and Miss Knight made it her own, scoring a Top 20 hit here, and doing even better overseas.

BTW, I do own Pat Boone's "In a Metal Mood", and found that he made some heavy metal music more accessible to me.

Also note, that Pat Boone was a music "bad boy" without even trying. You can find some pretty filthy lyrics on the FM dial these days, but try finding Pat's #2 hit record "Speedy Gonzales" even on the oldies' station.