In 1997, unassuming crooner Pat Boone did the unexpected: he released an album of rock and heavy metal covers, done in his style. In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy was the product of Boone and his band wanting to shake things up a bit and do something different.
Videos by American Songwriter
Boone was drawn to heavy metal albums at a record shop near where he was working. He would thumb through the racks, looking through albums, and purchase the ones he thought were interesting. However, to preserve his wholesome image, he vetted every song he thought was promising.
“People wondered why I was looking at albums by Scorpions and Motorhead and actually buying them,” Boone told Fox News in 2018. “I thought ‘Smoke On The Water’ had to be about drugs. But it wasn’t. I thought ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ by Jimi Hendrix had to be about marijuana. But it wasn’t. It was about an affair he had with a girl he still loved named Mary. It was a tribute to Mary, not marijuana.”
Pat Boone’s Foray Into Heavy Metal Upset Fans Who Were Attached to His Wholesome Image
Boone continued, “‘Stairway To Heaven’, I thought Jimmy Page was into witchcraft. And I guess he was. And these strange, opaque lyrics, maybe they were about drugs. But I couldn’t find one reference to anything in the lyrics.”
He explored the classics like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but he also got into more modern heavy metal, like Metallica. “‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica is about a father putting his son to bed and trying to scare him in the time-honored tradition of telling him the boogeyman was going to get him if he didn’t stay in bed,” he said. “It’s a very harmless story with a very ominous sound.”
Pat Boone didn’t just cover these songs, though. He also got rock and metal icons as guests on several tracks. Ronnie James Dio contributed backing vocals to the cover of his “Holy Diver.” Additionally, Ritchie Blackmore took a guitar solo on “Smoke On The Water” reimagined in a bossa nova style.
After the album came out, Boone was scheduled to appear at the American Music Awards. He showed up shirtless in a black leather vest, covered in fake tattoos, rings, and a studded leather choker. This new look was drastically different than his usual clean-cut appearance. Fans were pretty much shocked, and some even took serious offense.
Boone appeared alongside Alice Cooper when he presented Metallica with an award. Allegedly, the production company of the AMAs suggested Cooper and Boone switch outfits for the night, changing up both of their images. Cooper backed out at the last minute, but Boone obviously went through with it. As a little bit of harmless fun, Cooper introduced him as “the future of heavy metal.”
The Shocking New Look Offended and Isolated a Particular Brand of Fan
The Trinity Broadcast Network took serious offense to this elaborate and experimental joke. They canceled Pat Boone’s weekly show, Gospel America, after many fans called in to complain. The network also urged fans to pray for Boone.
However, when the network polled viewers later, fans voted to reinstate Boone’s show. Seems like they could overlook this little indiscretion if he returned to his good Christian image. Boone later issued an apology to fans.
“To whatever extent somebody was wounded, I am very sorry,” he said, appearing on the network’s show Praise. “That was never my intention.”
He continued, “Little did I dream that the media and a lot of Christians would take it seriously. I was really stunned that Christians, evidently by the thousands, having known me for 35 to 40 years, would think that overnight I just radically changed my orientation and all my priorities.”
Boone concluded, “Just because I wore some leather pants and fake tattoos and non-piercing earrings doesn’t mean that I’m a fundamentally different person.”
Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.