On The Front Lines
Pat Boone, Rock and Roll Legend, Talks About God, Country, and Ozzy Osbourne in an Exclusive oldSpeak Interview
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-- oldSpeak, an online publication of The Rutherford Institute, this week hosts an exclusive interview with rock and roll legend Pat Boone. In his interview with John W. Whitehead, Boone talks about topics ranging from what it was like to live next door to Ozzy Osbourne to how a recent court ruling that threatens to change the Pledge of Allegiance prompted him to write the new song "Under God." Boone recalls remarkable moments in his rock career: personal encounters with Elvis Presley, his recording of hits by black artists, his return to gospel music, and his friendships with heavy metal rockers, which raised a few eyebrows amongst his gospel fans. The interview and song clips from his latest album, American Glory (2001), are available at www.rutherford.org.Born and raised in Nashville and a Bible-toting Christian since his early teens, Boone was an unlikely candidate to become one of rock and roll's first stars. But with 38 of his songs reaching the Top 40 charts, his commercial success rivals Presley's. Boone graduated from Columbia University in 1958 and eventually returned to his gospel roots, forming his own gospel label and recording over 20 albums for it. In the 1990s, he found himself at the center of controversy when he released an album of heavy metal songs and appeared on national television sporting fake tattoos, an earring, and a leather vest. His Christian fans lambasted him for his attire and lyrics. Boone maintains it was simply in fun and defends the album. "My heavy metal album is something I can defend for its musical merits and even for its lyrical quality," Boone tells oldSpeak. "Take, for instance, the Ozzy Osbourne song 'Crazy Train.' . . . I really appreciated the lyric of Ozzy's song because he was saying something very positive about the way kids today are deluged with contradictory messages, hypocrisy and double standards. It's hard for them to cope with it. . . . I did it my way and my style. I didn't think he liked it because he never mentioned it to me when we were neighbors. But then I turned on the TV show that's raising all that dust, and sure enough, he's using my version as his theme song."
oldSpeak is dedicated to publishing interviews, articles and commentary on subjects often overlooked by the mainstream media in the areas of politics, arts and culture, law and religion. The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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