A number of expanded editions of classic Pat Boone albums have hit streaming services for the very first time.
These newly revitalized staples include Hymns We Love (1957), Four By Pat (1957), Pat’s Great Hits (1957), Pat Boone Sings Irving Berlin (1957), and Mardi Gras (1958).
These updated projects join a number of significant Pat Boone albums that have been expanded and sent to streaming services over the past year.
The legendary Boone is as well known for his country ballads as standing in front of a camera to perform a scene.
In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Boone explained how he approached the two art forms in similar ways.
He said: “I have always been unafraid to accept a challenge and confident that somehow I could handle it. So stepping in front of the camera — I’d already had so much experience in Nashville singing for every group there was, just being very extemporaneous and never having a script. So I could walk in front of a TV camera and just be myself. And it made me a natural kind of a host. I wasn’t stilted. I didn’t need cue cards. I could introduce people. I could introduce my own stuff. I could sing. I could even do a commercial.”
Boone, who turned 90 years old on June 1, is widely cited as the second most popular artist of the first five years of the rock era, behind Elvis.
He first debuted on the Billboard charts on April 2, 1955, and while most of his pop singles were released on Randy Wood’s Dot label, he was also affiliated with Berry Gordy’s legendary Motown label.
The company had many different imprints, the best-known of course 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.”
Listen to the best of Pat Boone on Spotify.