It’s amazing. Elvis has been gone 30 years now, and so many of his peers are still around. Chuck Berry. Little Richard. Jerry Lee Lewis. Fats Domino. Paul Anka. Pat Boone.

Of all those musical giants, Pat Boone stands tallest. The clean-cut singer scored 38 Top 40 hits, far fewer than Elvis’ 114, but more than Fats, Ricky and all the others. 

Ben Fong-Torres & Pat Boone
    And yet, Boone is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As he would say, in his cover of the Fats Domino tune, “Ain’t That a Shame?” We talked about that when I interviewed him in the early 90s for a music magazine. We met again a few years later at Campbell Hall, a Los Angeles school that had been attended by his grandchildren. There, we talked about his entire career—including his rivalry and friendship with Elvis.

Presley, he recalled was amazingly shy, especially considering how he was on stage. You can hear Pat for yourself, here.