Pat Boone Speaks! (And Prays)

It's always a big deal when Rev. Billy Graham comes to town-at least to the New York Times. They send down reporters who all cover the event in the style of Margaret Mead. It certainly didn't take long before the veteran preacher's final NYC appearance in Queens brought out perfect examples of the usual pandering.

That's no surprise to Pat Boone, who's suffered through plenty of similar treatment. "I'm the original Beverly Hillbilly," explains the pariah pop star.

Boone's on the phone in search of someone in NYC who doesn't want to goof on the online debut of his new music video. The launch of "Thank You, Billy Graham" at PatBooneAndFriends.com is well timed. It's a touching little folkie ballad that could almost ring of the Dustbowl if it weren't for guest vocals by the likes of Kenny Rogers and Larry King.

At least Boone was able to recruit Bono to provide an introduction to the video. Any veneer of hipness is desperately needed-as Boone concedes when informed that the media is up to its usual tricks.

"Billy doesn't fit the perception of the New York lifestyle," understates Boone, "and yet he's a wonderfully sophisticated man. He's never condemned or criticized anyone else through the decades. Whenever there's been an international poll about the most admired people of the past 45 years, he's been right up there-not that he's jockeying for position."

Actually, Graham's dodging of controversy has garnered him kinder coverage than plenty of other popular Christians. Still, he's been a pretty decent guy over the years. Boone's quick to note that Billy Graham Ministries didn't assist in the making of the video. ("They told me that they don't promote the man, and he doesn't want to be promoted.") Any profits, incidentally, go to some world-hunger charities that will likely do more good than anything that comes out of Live 8.

The video's also helping to promote the release of Glory Train, Boone's new album of older sessions lost during a producer's messy divorce a few decades ago. You're welcome to call that a commercial bid. Like his old pal Billy, Boone is used to being a mobile Happy Hunting Ground for anyone looking to take a shot at the squeaky-clean.

"They've tried to get Billy," Boone notes, "but he's always been spotless. Throughout his adult life, Billy has never been alone with a woman-besides his wife and daughter-in a room with the door closed. He's never stayed alone in a hotel room, so no woman can claim to have been up to his room. We all need time to ourselves, but Billy's sacrificed all that over the years."

Boone, in contrast, has been known to scuff his legendary white bucks: "With me, I beat everyone to the punch. I've written several autobiographies about my spiritual journey, and I've made references to mistakes that nearly cost me everything. I don't get into details, but I don't leave any doubt that it's the grace of God that's kept me and my family together."

Maybe more details would get Pat closer to some sense of cool. He's skirted the perimeter-most recently courtesy of his unseen role in The Osbournes as Ozzy's idea of a perfect neighbor. Boone was in one of the few classic episodes of Night Gallery. Only John Wayne had a better celebrity cameo in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. Eminem wouldn't have the guts to cover a classic rock tune like Boone's "Speedy Gonzales."

And, like it or not, Boone was topping the legit R&B charts at the same time he was entertaining suburban teens with wholesome versions of dirty rock 'n' roll like "Long Tall Sally."

Don't forget 1970's amazing The Cross and the Switchblade, either. That forgotten film has Boone taking on a tougher NYC ministry than Graham could ever imagine-including facing down evil gang leader Erik Estrada and the temptations of Jackie Giroux as one of cinema's greatest sluts.

As Boone tells it, that coulda-shoulda-been blockbuster had to resort to indie distribution after the American Baptist backers passed on working with Hollywood types. That's a typical tale from Boone's career. "I've always identified with the circus performer who rides two or three horses at one time. I've had one foot in the entertainment business, and the other firmly planted in the Christian faith-and that includes my 40-year friendship with Billy Graham."

Boone's polite about trying to keep the focus on Graham, but even that's not totally selfless. I point out that it'll take divine intervention for Pat Boone to ever make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"I don't know if that'll ever happen," laughs Boone. "People like Chris Isaak wear t-shirts saying 'Put Pat Boone in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,' and I appreciate that. Maybe it's impolitic for me to say, but I'm in the Gospel Hall of Fame, and that rates a lot higher with my priorities. I don't think I'll be taking 'Tutti Frutti' to Heaven."