Pat Boone is recalling some of the most memorable celebrity encounters that he has had over his decades-long career.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the 88-year-old singer and actor, who is celebrating his 70th year in show business, reflected on the special moments that he shared with famous entertainers, U.S. presidents, politicians and royalty in the past. In one notable highlight, Boone looked back on the time when he met Elton John for the first time.
During the encounter, the legendary crooner confronted John over the similarities between the falsetto “la-la-la” hooks in both his 1962 song “Speedy Gonzales” and the U.K. native’s 1972 hit “Crocodile Rock.”
“I said, ‘Sir Elton, I have a little bone to pick with you,’” Boone remembered.
Pat Boone, left, recalled having a “little bone” to pick with Elton John when they met for the first time. (Getty)
He continued, “And he looked at me with a guilty grin, and I said, ‘You know, I did a song called ‘Speedy Gonzales.” [Boone began singing the ‘Speedy Gonzales’ hook ‘La la la la la la la la la’] And you used it.'”
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“And he said, ‘Yes, I used it in ‘Crocodile Rock,’ and I thought you were going to sue me.’”
However, Boone revealed that his reaction was actually quite the opposite.
“I said. ‘Sue you?’ You know, we performers, we’re thrilled when somebody does something that we did. I was honored.'”
Boone, who was one of the most famous teen idols of the 1950s and 1960s and second only to Elvis Presley as the top-selling rock ‘n’ roll artist during that time, said he discovered that John was a longtime fan of his music.
Pat Boone called Elton John out over similarities in the hooks between their songs “Speedy Gonzales” and “Crocodile Rock.” (Getty)
“He said, ‘I had all your records. I had ‘Love letters in the Sand’ and ‘April Love’ and all those songs,” Boone recalled. “‘But when I heard ‘Speedy Gonzales,’ I knew I was going to have to use that ‘La la la la la la la la la.” And he used it in ‘Crocodile Rock.’ So we celebrated that together.”
“Speedy Gonzales” was written by Buddy Kaye, Ethel Lee and David Hess, also known as David Dante. Dante was the first artist to record the track, which appeared on the Hot 100 in April 1961.
Boone’s cover peaked at #6 on the Hot 100, where it spent 13 weeks. It was an international Top 10 hit, reaching #1 in several European countries.
“When I first heard ‘Speedy Gonzales,’ I was appearing in the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, a 24,000-seat 10-day engagement,” Boone told Fox News in 2021. “Late one night in a little club, a little trio rocked the joint with this goofy song – which was number 1 there, an American record by David Dante on RCA… I had to sing it, it was such fun!”
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Elton John said that he thought Pat Boone would sue him, but the former teen idol had quite the opposite reaction. ( Michael Putland/Getty Images)
“I brought the original record home, added my own prologue and got sessions singer Robin Ward to voice Rosita and Mel Blanc as Speedy,” Boone continued. “We had a ball recording it – and it zoomed up the charts, here and around the world, faster than any other record I ever made. After all, the character was Speedy!”
Boone said that over the years, the song has remained a beloved favorite among fans.
“Through my subsequent career, everywhere I perform, I always sing ‘Speedy’ – and the biggest cheers are from the Latin audiences,” said Boone. “He’s their national favorite. Even Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu calls me ‘Speedy’ whenever we meet because he loved that song when he was at MIT in college – and it was my biggest hit in Israel, too.”
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Written by John and his collaborator of over 50 years, Bernie Taupin, “Crocodile Rock” became the hitmaker’s first U.S. number one single. The song went gold in 1973 and was certified platinum by 1995.
In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, John admitted that “Crocodile Rock” was a “really blatant homage to ‘Speedy Gonzales’ and all the great Fifties and Sixties records that we used to love, like Danny and the Juniors’ ‘At the Hop.'”
Pat Boone met Queen Elizabeth for the first time in 1958 when he headlined a royal variety performance at the London Coliseum. At the time, Boone told the press he would not wear his white buckskin shoes, which were his trademark, along with his suit. (Getty Images)
During his interview with Fox News Digital, Boone reminisced over twice having the honor of meeting and performing for the late Queen Elizabeth II. The first encounter took place in 1958 when he headlined a royal variety performance at the London Coliseum.
“I did two royal command performances,” he remembered. “One when I was still in college. Get this, I was doing rock ‘n’ roll, but I was a teen idol suddenly. I was still in college at Columbia and married already. And I went to my first command performance and sang for the Queen and Princess Margaret and the whole royal family, and then came back again about six years later and sang for her again.”
In 1962, Boone traveled to London for the Royal Film Performance, where he came face to face again with the monarch.
However, the singer’s second meeting with Queen Elizabeth did not go as smoothly as he would have hoped.
Pat Boone recalled “embarrassing myself terribly” during his second meeting with Queen Elizabeth in 1962. ( Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
“I embarrassed myself terribly because I didn’t think she would remember that first time,” he admitted. “So she’s walking down the gauntlet of all the other artists that are part of that particular command performance: Peter Finch, Peter Sellers, Claudia Cardinale and me. And I know all I have to do is bow and say, ‘Your Majesty.’ And if she says anything to me, I respond. And you don’t extend your hand. If she extends her hand, you take it, but you don’t extend your hand. You just say, ‘Your Majesty.'”
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“OK, I’m blasé. I’d already done it once before, but I did have a little fluttery stomach the closer she got to me,” he continued. “And suddenly the queen is standing in front of me. She comes up to about here on me. And she didn’t extend her hand, but she said, ‘We met before.’ I said, ‘We did?’”
“I meant, ‘You remember that?’ But the first thing that came out of my mouth when she said, ‘We met before,’ the Queen of England, was ‘We did?’”
“When was that? Really?” Boone added with a chuckle. “I mean, how embarrassed can you be? And I have a picture of me on the London Times newspaper front page just after that happened. And the queen is smiling with a big smile and Claudia Cardinale is laughing. Guess what she’s laughing at?”
“I fluttered to try to correct it, but it was already out of my mouth,” he recalled with a laugh.
Pat Boone told Fox News Digital that he had met and performed for almost every U.S. president since Harry Truman. He is pictured here with Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Getty)
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was far from the only head of state that Boone encountered over his lifetime. “The Mulligan” star told Fox News Digital that he shared memorable moments with almost all the U.S. presidents dating back to Harry Truman, who served from 1945 to 1953.
“I’ve sung for and known all the presidents since Harry Truman,” Boone recalled. “And he played ‘The Missouri Waltz’ with me on the piano in Independence, Missouri, after he was no longer president and I went to visit him.”
He noted, “The only one I haven’t met was Obama. And for some reason, it just never happened.”
The legendary performer said one of the highlights of his career was performing at President Nixon’s 1973 inauguration with his wife Shirley and his four daughters Cherry, Linda, Debby and Laurey. The Boone family is pictured here with Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon. (Getty)
The Tennessean said that performing at President Nixon’s inauguration in 1973 was one of the biggest highlights of his career. Boone remembered that he was invited to sing with his wife Shirley and his four daughters Cherry, Linda, Debby and Laurey.
“My girls were all teenagers at only three and a half years apart,” he said. “They were 14, 15, 16 and 17. And as a protective dad, I created a family act. It turned out my girls could sing as well as any girl act you ever heard. And my wife. So we were at the presidential inauguration — Frank Sinatra at the music center in Washington. And it was so big that we had to have two concerts, one hosted by Bob Hope, the other by Frank Sinatra. And in both of them, I sang with my family.”
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In 1985, Pat Boone visited the Reagan White House during Christmas with Natalie Cole, Tom Brokaw and Amy Grant. (R.M. Lewis Jr./NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)
After a career in entertainment that now spans seven decades, Boone is still going strong. Last year, he starred in the faith-based film “The Mulligan.” He hosts a weekly SiriusXM radio show, “The Pat Boone Hour,” and is touring to promote his 28th book, “IF-The Eternal Choice We All Must Make.”
Boone recently released his new single “Grits,” which marked a collaboration with a number of country stars, including Deborah Allen, The Gatlin Brothers, Dean Miller, Lorrie Morgan and Ray Stevens.
“Now I’m extolling the holiness of grits,” he said with a smile. “We all need to be eating grits. It’s good for us. It’s a Christian food. It’s pure.”
Pat Boone was a member of the National Day of Prayer organizing committee. President Reagan signs a proclamation honoring the day in an Oval Office ceremony. (Getty)
Though he has long been known for his squeaky-clean image and devout Christian faith, Boone told Fox News Digital that he is not as “square” as some might think. He noted that he has enjoyed his share of good times including his encounters with some of the world’s most famous faces.
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“Those are some great moments that have come my way. Meanwhile, I’m still thought of as a stick in the mud and Elvis, Mr. Excitement. And I’m that overly religious guy. But, you know, I’ve had many entertainers tell me now, a number of them, that, ‘You know I used to make jokes about you, and you seem to be so square,'” he said.
“I actually wrote a song called ‘Are There Any More Squares Out There?’ I kidded about the fact that Dean Martin used to say in his act, ‘You know, Pat Boone, he’s so religious. I shook hands with that boy the other day. My whole right side sobered up,'” he remembered with a laugh. “And I would quote that in my act because I would just make fun of my square image. And that was saying in a way, ‘Well, I’m not as square as they say.'”
“But it’s been fun all along.”
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Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.