A few years ago, American singer, actor and writer Pat Boone released a tribute album to evangelical Christian evangelist Billy Graham. In the first of May, Boone is releasing a tribute album to The Ink Spots featuring Take 6. Boone also will appear at the Honeywell Center in Wabash Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $25, $36 and $60. From his Los Angeles, Calif., home April 19, Boone talked about his latest music releases and his stop in Wabash. Boone said The Ink Spots were a black group with many hit songs in their day. “So many of their great songs crossed over from what they called race songs at the time to pop culture,” Boone said. The Ink Spots formed in the early 1930s in Indianapolis. They were popular in the 1930s and 1940s and helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock music, as well as the subgenre doo-wop. Boone said The Ink Spots influenced many artists afterward, including Boys II Men and Take 6. “It’s just really great entertainment,” Boone said. He said they are expecting big things from his tribute album to The Ink Spots. His own granddaughter came across a greatest hits album of The Ink Spots. She liked it so much, she told her mother that it had to be shared with her grandfather. After listening to it, Boone agreed on how great the music of The Ink Spots is and decided to record some of their songs. There are about 10 songs on the CD. Boone has two personal favorites on the release. The first is “Cow Cow Boogie” with him, Take 6 and Ella Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald previously sang the song with The Ink Spots before her death. To make their version, Boone said they took Fitzgerald’s recording, recorded their own and mixed it together. The end result is a recording like Natalie Cole did with her late father, Nat King Cole, on “Unforgettable.” Boone’s second personal favorite also will be the first single, “Java Jive.” He spoke briefly about his previous tribute album to Graham. Boone said it featured multiple artists, including Bono and LeAnn Rimes. “Thank You, Billy Graham” has a lot of spoken word testimony on it, he said, and can be bought on his official website. Boone said he did not want to wait until Graham was gone to let him know how much he was appreciated. Boone will never go on tour again, but he will does individual show dates. Before hitting Wabash Saturday, he will perform his show “Music & Memories” Friday in Bloomington, Ill. His show, he said, is a lot like what Cary Grant was doing the last few years of his life. Grant’s show was a one-man show where Grant would talk to the audience, play them some movie clips and talk about what went on behind the scenes. Grant died in Utah after giving one of his shows. “I’m not planning to go out like that in Bloomington or Wabash, but it’s the same idea,” Boone said. There will be a lot of live singing, but he also will play some video clips of his appearances that only Boone has copies of.“I show some of the embarrassing moments of my career,” Boone said, as well as his proudest moments. “It’s a journey through a life and career that covers about 55 years. People tell me they thoroughly enjoy it. I’ll also take some questions from the audience. I enjoy it. There’s no two shows alike. We’re still refining it,” Boone said. “I do a good bit of singing live.” Sunday, Boone then will deliver a commencement address at Adrian College. He’ll return home for a little bit, then go to his 60th high school class reunion. From there, he will travel to Omaha, Neb., to speak and be the guest at a film festival. The festival is showing the original movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which Boone was in. “The film lives on, it’s still doing well,” he said. “I will tell behind-the-scenes stories.” For more information on Boone’s Honeywell Center performance or to order tickets, visit the Center’s official website at www.honeywellcenter.org Boone’s official website is at www.patboone.com
