"Yes, I think he helped open the door for rhythm and blues and rock'n'roll. That was his contribution, plus people really did like his music at the time. Y'see, back then, people could distinguish between the dark side and the light side. Pat Boone was the light side and later Elvis showed a bit of the dark side. These days, the music is so immersed in the dark side that people can't bear to even look at the light. That's what happened with Pat, but yes I do think he belongs in the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame.

"Oh hell yeah. He had a lot of great records and I definitely think he should be in there. He did and a good job and sold a lot of records, so why not?"

"I believe Pat Boone definitely does. I know that I liked rock'n'roll music as a teenager and I remember digging Pat Boone singing 'Why Baby Why,' 'Love Letters In the Sand,' and 'Don't Forbid Me.' I just thought they were fantastic and he had a great voice. He wasn't a growler or anything like that, but I thought he had a great voice and he definitely contributed in a lot of ways."

"I'm assuming by your tone that you assume most rocksters to have nothing but contempt for Pat Boone. But I have always liked his music and the man himself. In fact, I have very fond memories of his version of "Love Letters In The Sand," since it was to his record that I received my very first kiss from a teenager called Debbie Briggs in a punt (that's a low flat-bottomed boat) on a man-made lake at an upper-class holiday resort in East Anglia, England in 1957. Needless to say, I was a teenager, too. And what a kiss it was! Sent tingles all over me and I've never had an experience as intense since. Boone's record was what got her going. What these silly myopic rocksters don't understand is that Boone was a crooner in the great tradition of crooners, going back to the 1920s. And the mellifluous and comforting voices of the best crooners will continue to spread contentment long after the noxious caterwauling of the Dylans have been buried in a black hole. I'm sorry Boone decided to go heavy metal, thus denying his impeccable wasp background. Somebody must stand up for pure white traditions and if it has to be me, so be it."

"Yeah, I'd say so. That's how he got famous was by doing rock'n'roll. I liked a lot of the stuff he did, a lot of it was covers, but we used to do a lot of his stuff. 'Love Letters In The Sand,' stuff like that. Pat's problem is kind of like Ricky Nelson's. I thought Ricky Nelson was one of the best, personally. I really liked all his stuff, man he was good, but he was too laid back kind of like Pat Boone, and folks think they weren't wild enough. Heck, everybody wasn't wild playing rock'n'roll."

"Yeah, he probably does. He had some really big hit records. To be honest, I preferred Little Richard's version of "Tutti Frutti" and Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" to his. But he was a major star and a big influence at the time."

"I really do believe Pat Boone belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame because of his great contribution in making R&R Music popular with the white record buyers of the late fifties. Pat was the All-American Boy that the parents wanted their teenage daughters and sons to look up to as a role model. I really thought that Pat was already in the HOF. btw, I also believe that the Comets should there Too... :-) I think the R&R HOF is run by a group of people from the sixties era and they don't want to believe that R&R even existed in the 50's. They have inducted people that don't deserve it, and have NOT inducted people that do deserve it."

"I think that Pat Boone should be inducted in the RRHOF because, regardless of who he supposedly "copied" or tried to "sound like," he did something no other singer of his time did: He brought pop-rock into the mainstream of music, in a pretty good way I'd say. P.S.: I played guitar (and then bass later) on many of his things. He was doing stuff back then that the ordinary pop singer didn't do at all."

"I think he belongs in the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame if only for In A Metal Mood. Once he got past the things everyone is accusing him of, I liked the normal stuff — I liked 'Moody River,' 'Big Cold Wind,' and once he reached a point where he was kinda struggling, I thought he got pretty good. Most of his straight stuff is pretty good. His swing stuff is pretty good and I did appreciate his efforts to switch over in that one circus movie where he played a cynical drifter [Yellow Canary], and of course The Cross & The Switchblade. It's these fringe things that I think should land him in the Hall Of Fame. So yes, but for all the wrong reasons."

"Well, certainly. You think Prince does? Hell no! You think David Bowie does? Hell no! He sang songs that were known as rock'n'roll songs and sang them his own way. He had Billy Vaughn who had a good band. Even his ballads had kind of Fats Domino guitar figures behind them and everything. Sure, he copied black artists. I copied 'em too. Elvis copied all the old black artists he could find. So did Gene Vincent. Everyone is influenced by someone else. I think he belongs in. Why wouldn't he? He was on the rock'n'roll charts, he had records that sounded like rock'n'roll."

"Yes. We lived in an area where rhythm & blues wasn't a reality for our listening pleasure, and those who didn't like Elvis as much as I did, thought of Pat Boone as a rocker. He was there at the very beginning and his style was more in line with Bing Crosby's, only with a rock'n'roll beat."

"You mean the Hall in Cleveland?? There, yes, because Pat Boone is more of a R'n'R singer than many of the fools they inducted. But if you mean a REAL Rock'nRoll Hall Of Fame, then definitely NOT, because Pat was not a rocker but a pop singer attempting to sing some Rock'n'Roll!!"

"Yes, I believe Pat Boone deserves a place in the Rock'n'Roll HOF. A lot of people have a very narrow view of what constitutes Rock 'n' Roll. I believe there were many "styles" of Rock 'n' Roll, especially in the beginning of the music during the middle 50's and early 60's. The three most different styles I can think of, during the 50's, were Little Richard, Elvis, and Pat Boone. However, in there own right, they represented the music trend of the times and were considered Rock 'n' Roll artist. Just because Pat Boone had a "Crosby" type voice and could do the smooth ballads doesn't take away from the Rock tunes that he also did and made both hits of the day. Pat Boone was just another "Style" of the Rock 'n' Roll beginning. His style paved the way for many artist of the 60's who came along such as Fabian, Neal Sedaka , Bobby Rydel, etc. These guys were a "style" and/or type of Rock 'n' Roll. By the time that the "Stones" arrived, we referred to them as "Hard Rock" at the time. The "Stones" style of Rock 'n' Roll has also evolved into the term "Rock Music". Pat Boone had his day and should be recognized for his "style" of Rock 'n' Roll just as Elvis and Little Richard were recognized for theirs. Pat Boone has my Vote."

"Yes, I believe that Pat Boone belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was popular, had several hit records and in the early years it was Elvis and Pat Boone. He was laid-back and Elvis was all energy. But he was a part of Rock and Roll history, so he should be there."

"Sure he does! OK, stylistically, maybe he's not a rock'n'roller per se, at least not as far as my tastes go, but he did have all those hits and technically they're rock'n'roll. They've got a drumbeat, saxophones and all that. I think if somebody else besides Pat Boone, say Bat Poone had recorded these songs and he wasn't well-known, they would be considered rock'n'roll by other people. For me, there's not any difference between him and say Freddie Bell or the Crew Cuts — which people do consider rock'n'roll. Some people consider Tommy Sands rock'n'roll! OK, that's not my cup of tea, but Pat Boone does belong in there. Also, if I say this maybe he'll let me borrow money from him."

"Yes, only because of his 1997 release "In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy."

"Does Pat Boone belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? Absolutely! First, put aside all the peripheral and irrelevant stereotypes about his image. They were the fabrication of the trend-copping hippie era rock-journalists-as-superstars phonies who were bent on rendering anything and everything pre-Sergeant Pepper as irrelevant. Fortunately, time has proved them to be dead wrong, as I said it would thirty years ago.

"I believe Pat Boone deserves inclusion solely on the basis of his heavy metal album. Best damn version of "Smoke On the Water" I ever heard. Or were you looking for something less facetious?"

"Pat Boone? That white loafer-wearing crooner, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Should Pat Boone be allowed a place alongside such greats as Ray Charles, the Staple singers, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams? Hell, why not? If they let that loser Billy Joel in, Boone deserves a spot too. At least Boone has earned a spot with 50 hit records. In fact, Pat Boone should be inducted to to show the world the evolution of Rock and Roll, that and for the cringe factor from all our parents who bought his albums."

"I am 100% in favor. Pat Boone is too cool! And 50 hit records? I had no idea there were that many! I think he deserves a place in the RRHOF."

"Yes, Pat Boone should be in the Hall. His "statistics" are overwhelming, although personally, I don't think that "numbers" should be the most important factor. But if you set the numbers aside, you'll still find that Boone did influence rock and roll and he did influence pop culture. There is NO disputing his immense popularity at the time. He was VERY instrumental in bringing r'n'r into the mainstream. He wasn't ALL about whitewashed cover versions, although unfortunately, that seems to be all some people remember. Ballads like "April Love" and "Love Letters in the Sand" certainly have their place alongside the "Mystery Train's, "Be-bop A Lula's and the "Rock Around the Clock's. I'm sure there were plenty of black leather rebels who enjoyed the occasional slow dance to a Pat Boone number, whether they choose to admit it or not."

"Yes! Debate irrelevant. 50 hits - reason enough!"

"Yes, I very much think Pat Boone should be in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. I just assumed he already was. When Rock 'n Roll was at its zenith in the mid-50's to early 60's, Pat Boone was one of the top artist of the day. He was among the top artist with the rock and rollers of that generation."

"Yes, of course Pat Boone deserves to be at least considered for membership the R&R Hall of Fame. Whether he should win or not is another question. First, he deserves points for running off and marrying Red Sovine's daughter, against her father's wishes...a classic rock & roll act of rebellion. Second, he was a bonafide star of his time, so he and his music always need to be considered in that context. People of the '50s loved him, and his covers of many rock & roll songs certainly caused some listeners (such as myself) to later discover the original recordings and artists. His later "religious transformation" was also typical of performers of his generation, so must also be considered in context. Finally, he totally redeemed himself, as well as having displayed a keen sense of self-irony, by having released the "In A Metal Mood" CD, which is remains a camp classic. So I say, "Let the critics be damned, and let the voting begin" (Although I hope that other, more important artists continue to squeeze him out of the final winner's circle)."

"Yes I do. Very Much so. He worked for it, he earned it, and he deserves it."

"Yes. Absolutely. His image with the white-buck shoes shouldn't take away from that. Everybody has an image. William Lee Golden he has the image with the beard. Jerry Lee Lewis has his image. David Allan Coe has an image of wanting to be a hoodlum. Pat Boone wanted to be a goody two-shoes, and it worked for him for a number of years. I have worked with Pat Boone over the years at festivals and I have never, never, known him to be anything but a gentleman."

"Cleveland's Hall Of Fame, yes. Not ours."

"Yes. People forget that Pat was considered a rock'n'roll artist in the context of times and in some ways, was even bigger than Elvis. Plus, his example kept doors open when anti-rock forces tried to shut the music down. To deny Pat Boone induction into the Rock'n'Rock Hall Of Fame is to be guilty of revisionist history, which I am dead-set against."

"Sure! It's understood that some people consider Boone to be an agent of oppressing the poor black artists. But, unlike Hall-of-Famer Woody Guthrie, Pat Boone never took money from the Communists to tour our country as a Nazi sympathizer. And if this is new to anybody, then it's no wonder they waste their time worrying about Pat Boone being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

"Will, or Must, Pat Boone be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Why not?? Like Elvis, he did a lot of sweet ballads. My old girlfriend loved that warm and tender voice, and by telling her that Pat Boone was MY favorite too (but then, what I DIDN'T tell her was I was really a Rocker at heart!), I scored many points and left other guys, who were after that same girl, far far behind me. That's why "good old " Pat ought to be inducted: So that other people won't forget him either."

"It's all relative, and there are people nominated and selected that have less to do with rock 'n' roll than him. As far as his place in the scheme of things, he was someone who watered down rock 'n' roll, but I enjoy some of his records, so I'd say YES. For one, he put out a great record produced by Terry Melcher called "Beach Girl" in '64 (written by Melcher and Bruce Johnston, who also did backing vocals). The flip-side was "Little Honda."

"Yes, Pat Boone should be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Rock Beat International" Magazine

"I am opposed to the entire concept of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - music is not a competitive sport where an individual1s performance can be statistically measured against another individual1s performance.

"I have a DEFINITE opinion on the matter. The answer, by the way, is Yes."

"HALL OF FAME!!! YESYESYES!!! PAT BOONE!!! GO GO GOOO!!!!"

"Sure. Why not? Because he's a square? Besides, he wrote the words to my Dad's hit of the theme from Exodus ("This Land Is Mine")."

"Yes, but only by virtue of that cocktail version of "Stairway to Heaven" he did a few years ago."

"Certainly, Pat has made a magnificent contribution to our national and international musical achievements. Pat is still one on my all time favorites!"

"Certainly anyone with 50 hit records deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. There are a lot of one-hit-wonders out there. His credentials have absolutely earned honors."

"Yes. There was a lot more blues in Pat's style than that of Guy Mitchell, Charlie Gracie, or many others of that ilk. I prefer to think of rock'n'roll as a Pop derivation of the blues. In that light, Pat Boone was an essential rocker of the mid-50s."

"I truly believe Pat Boone should be inducted towards the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame immediately.

"As much as I am really not a PAT BOONE fan (but I do like a lot of his songs), I would have to admit that since he did have 50 charted hits, it would qualify him for being into the R&R Hall of Fame.

"Hmmmm. If he is inducted before Davy Jones from the Monkees and Tommy Lasorda, who surely are more to do with rock 'n' roll than Pat Boone, I will make Little Jimmy Osmond the editor of "Q Magazine."

"WHY PAT BOONE SHOULD NOT BE INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME:

"I don't think he does, to be honest with you. I don't think it's necessarily how many hit records you have that gets you in there. I think the induction should be based on whether the artist's contribution is a milestone for rock'n'roll or not. That's the way I look at it. I'm not anti-Pat Boone, I just don't think he belongs in the Hall Of Fame."

"Well Darlin', Pat's a great guy with a lovely voice. I really liked his record of 'Love Letters In The Sand,' but he's just not rock'n'roll. Why anyone would even think of putting him in the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame is more than I can imagine."

"No, I don't believe so. When I saw him do 'Tutti Frutti' I said, 'Man if I was Little Richard I'd cut his hands off.' I'm sure he's a very nice man but he is not rock'n'roll. He wasn't even good pop. I don't know him personally and I'm certainly not going to judge his character or anything. I think he's funny though. I thought that heavy metal outfit he wore a few years back — I thought it was great to have that kind of nerve

"I've heard Boone's rap on this -- about the importance of the popularizer, as well as the innovator -- my problem is that his God-awful records don't hold up. His "Tutti Frutti" is embarrassing, where Bill Haley's version of "Rip To Up" probably out-rocks Little Richard (heresy, shame). I say vote for Fabian. When it comes to phony rock and rollers, he's the real deal."

"Not with Ritchie Valens & Buddy Knox out. But perhaps he has a place there, for having given the white bread kids a bit of rock they could hang their hats on, while they were on their way to discovering the REAL rock'n'roll. The Hall is really more of a way to promote the business than a way to honor "founding fathers & mothers", and everyone should keep that in perspective. Blue Suede News is a way to honor the founding fathers & mothers. Buying their recordings and playing them is an even better way."

"He does not. Hit records do not necessarily translate into status for the rock and roll hall of fame. While pat's commercial accomplishments were impressive, he was not a rock and roll artist in any way, shape or form. In fact, he willingly and quite outspokenly took part in a sanitation of the form. Granted, there are some folks in the rock and roll hall of fame who are not, by strict definition, rock and roll; the beauty of rock and roll, however, is that it has no strict definition. It encompasses attitude, impact and outlook, too. But by any count imaginable, Pat Boone was not a rock and roll artist."

"I say no on Pat in the hall, but I'd also put him on equal plane with Buffalo Springfield as far as importance and greatness, so I'm obviously not on the same page as Cleveland."

"Now how 'bout these people here: Charlie Rich, Ronnie Hawkins, James Burton, Johnny Ray, Kingston Trio, Ernie K-Doe, The Move, Don Covay, Major Lance, Solomon Burke, Waylon Jennings, Zombies, Hollies, Esther Phillips, Gene Chandler, Sonny Boy Williamson (both of 'em), Jerry Butler, Ventures, The Guess Who, Lee Dorsey, W.C. Handy, T Bone Walker, Merle Travis, Little Junior Parker, Al Hendrickson, Allan Lomax, Moon Mullican, Charlie Christian, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Dixie Hummingbirds, Otis Blackwell, Mickey Baker, Bobby Charles, Huey "Piano" Smith, Alexis Korner, Doug Sahm, Johnny Jenkins & the Pinetoppers, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Hank Snow, Buck Owens, Johnny Ace, Sid King et. al. If just ONE of the artists in this list is not in the Hall of Fame, ol' Bland Eyes can just cool his heels in the parking lot, right along with Sopwith Camel, The 1910 Fruitgum Co., and Mrs. Miller!"

"I was a teenager during the Boone plague, and I say he shouldn't even be allowed to visit the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Pat Boone was the ultimate anti rock-and-roll figure, created by record companies for the sole purpose of shielding white America from the likes of Fats and Little Richard, while ripping them off. And his music really sucked, which should be the ultimate criteria for determining worthiness."

"I think that someone like Steve Marriott or Pete Townsend who pioneered a sound, way of life and brought soul, definitely belongs there before Pat Boone does."

"Pat Boone was a major bugaboo of my youth. He covered great records by my favorite artists -- "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard, the magnificent "Two Hearts" by Otis Williams & the Charms on DeLuxe, and I can't remember what else -- before he found his true niche in the marketplace with "Love Letters in the Sand" and other sappy tunes like that. A precursor of guys like Bobby Darin and Paul Anka, he and his producers at Dot Records simply used rock & roll tunes to bring this matinee idol-type creep to the attention of the public. Bobby Darin at least made a couple of good rock & roll records like "Splish Splash" before entering the entertainment mainstream of the time, but Pat Boone NEVER made a good record. And you can quote me on that! Here's a poem with my take on this issue:

"I don't think he belongs. There are countless others that deserve the honor before him. The fact he re-recorded and made hits of already existing songs is just like plagiarism. I think he helped promote the rock and roll music to a "larger" amount of white kids, but his versions took out the raw energy that was rock and roll. Most white kids were already diggin' the sound of RnR. His versions are really not rock and roll though, they are pop versions of real rock and roll songs.

"HONESTLY, WHEN I THINK OF PAT BOONE. ROCK N' ROLL IS NOT THE FIRST THING TO COME TO MIND."

"Pat Boone? Pop Hall Of Fame …or the White Buck Shoe Hall. But NEVER Rock 'n' Roll! (P.S.: Where is the "ROADIE Hall"?)"

"Of course not, but I don't believe James Taylor should've been either. Neither one is a rock 'n' roll singer."

"Absolutely not. He is not rock 'n' roll."

"Pat Boone - no!"

"No, no, no, no and HELL no."

"No. Unless Phil Collins gets in. Because they are equals."

"Well no, but... he DID manage The Leaves!!!"

"The fact that Pat Boone even had even an inkling of a thought of changing "Ain't That A Shame" to "ISN'T That A Shame" makes me wonder if he even knows what rock 'n' roll is! When rock 'n' roll was fresh, new, and exciting.... where was he? He was singing Adult Contemporary! He wanted to make that song adult contemporary!!!!!!"

"What a non-issue. Seriously, Donny Osmond has a better shot of getting in than he does. It isn't just because he's a joke now -- he was a joke back then, when people actually bought his records. A better question would be why Black Sabbath has been nominated three times and still hasn't gotten in. But that, I suppose, is another poll."

"No, absolutely not. He doesn't have a rock 'n' roll bone (boone) in his body."

"My first instinct was no, never: It would be insult to Little Richard: RICHARD BOONE did more for rock 'n' roll as far as I'm concerned. But then I thought, yeah, why not? It only shows the RRHOF as the dumb hype tourist trap farce it really is.

I don't think he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but then many of the past inductees don't either, and his entry would at least inspire debate.

"2 words: "FUCK NO"! No further explanation necessary!"

"I LIKE several of Pat Boone's songs. But I don't think he belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because his appeal and presentation was decidedly "pop" and not rock 'n' roll."

"No. I'm tempted to add "Absolutely not!," but I'm aware of the arguments in Boone's favor. Give 'im his due: he did help to popularize many classic R & B tunes with his wretched, whitebread covers of "Tutti Frutti," "Ain't That A Shame," "Long Tall Sally," et al. But his bloodless covers were hits at the expense of the vastly superior versions by the likes of Little Richard and Fats Domino.

"No, not as far as I'm concerned. Why? Because I believe that Pat Boone was a crooner, or a pop artist, not a rocker. Even if he did take a stab at a few rock songs does not necessarily make him eligible for induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. To better illustrate take the song, "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones which was their contribution to Disco....If there was a Disco Hall of Fame you can be sure that The Stones would never be inducted or even nominated for that matter just because they took a stab at the Disco movement....bottom line is that the Stones are ROCKERS.

"I liked 'Don't Forbid Me' but for the most part I thought his other records were pretty lame."

"Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll."