Pat Boone endorses Todd Akin

[LTR]

33. Pat's a tool, but I don't hold his whitewashing of the hits against him

Remember, back then radio was very segregated. Black artists were pretty much heard only on black-oriented stations. Plus, hit rock n roll songs were much more regional then, and often found on smaller indie labels. Due to these factors, it was quite common for multiple versions of the same song to coexist at the same time. This was also done across formats. One particular label had both R&B and country divisions, and the raunchy R&B hit would also typically be recorded and released on the country side.

Pat Boone watering down the 50s hits was just the way things were back then. It could be argued that he actually served as a gateway to black music for suburban kids and their over-controlling parents. And Fats Domino was very thankful for the royalty payments that made him much wealthier than if he just did it on his own. Scary thought, but Pat Boone was a big factor in the early growth of rock n roll. Nonetheless, he's still a douchebag.

I wonder if, while singing Tutti Fruitti, he ever realized that the original Little Richard lyrics had very graphic descriptions of gay anal sex, prior to some major rewrites and editing prior to its single release.