Pat Boone — the second most popular artist of the first five years of the rock era, according to rock historian Joel Whitburn — turns 90 on June 1. He’s been in the spotlight since his Billboard chart debut on April 2, 1955, but surprisingly, even after 69 years, there are at least a few things you probably don’t know about the singer famous for his white buck shoes and clean-cut image. Most of his songs on Billboard ’s pop singles charts were released on Randy Wood’s Dot label, followed by one solitary title on the brief-lived Tetragrammaton imprint.
Then Boone was signed to Berry Gordy’s legendary Motown label. The company had many different imprints, the best-known being Motown, Tamla and Gordy. In 1974, Motown launched Melodyland, a country label.
The very first single, released in October of that year, was Boone’s “Candy Lips.” That was followed in Feb. 1975 by “Indiana Girl” and six months later with “I’d Do It With You,” a duet with Pat’s wife, Shirley.
The B-side was Pat’s solo cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday.” A fourth single, “Glory Train,” was issued in Feb. 1976.
By the time Motown issued Texas Woman, the first of two Boone albums for the company, the name of the Melodyland label had been changed to Hitsville, due to a lawsuit from the Melodyland Church, a Pentecostal institution in Anaheim, Calif. Motown didn’t just sign Pat; his wife Shirley and his four daughters also joined the roster. �.
