I have a modest proposal, but before you say no I would ask you to remember what time of year it is. After all, 'tis the season to be... er, jolly, or something like that, but what I had in mind was something closer to forgiveness. After many years of relegating him to the penalty box, we need to absolve Pat Boone. Simply put, let's cut the man a break.

I'll be the first to admit that I denigrated him as he (and I) grew older, possibly because I felt a little guilty about buying into the whole clean-cut Pat Boone thing when I was a teenager. I was typical for the time and place (1950's middle America) and he certainly seemed less threatening than the bad boys, at least to me. After all, he was a descendent of Daniel Boone and you don't get much more respectable that that. I don't remember my parents expressing an opinion one way or the other, but that might have been because I didn't appear to have any interest in less savory singers. If I had, they probably would have wondered if I was turning into a JD.

For those not conversant with the jargon of the times, a JD was a juvenile delinquent, the dreaded appellation given to problem teenagers (always boys) who were likely to wear a motorcycle jacket, have a cigarette hanging from their lip, and have their hair slicked back into a DA. (And if you don't know what DA stands for, then you really don't know the lingo.) JD's were also suspected of being on an inevitable path to reform school, but most kids figured that couldn't be too scary because our moms often used it to threaten us.

Pat Boone prospered in this atmosphere by presenting music that was modeled on that of the edgier performers, not only Elvis and his ilk but also the black R&B musicians who'd started it all. He recorded songs such as Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti", and had bigger hits with them than the original artists. He also recorded R&B ballads, such as "I Almost Lost My Mind," and then continued moving closer to the middle of the road, with songs such as "Love Letters In The Sand" and "April Love." (He also starred in a movie of the same name, one of several he made during that time period.) His smooth baritone voice was made to order for such songs and he continued to enjoy success in records and movies, and even had his own TV show for a while.