This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

Up next, a story from Pat Boone, while Pat is known mostly for his ballads and

classic pop music hits. He's here today to talk about a musical 180 he took late in his life.

Take it away, Pat. Listen, I'm so glad you brought that up because it's a great example of how I've

made my way through this entertainment morass.

But I did an album of heavy metal classics.

It came about because while I was in England with my musicians, you know, doing all my hit records and the tour going very well, but we're in an airport between airplanes and one of my musicians said, you know, we like doing your hit records, you know, people, why don't we go in the studio and do something different now, new, together?

And I said, look, I thought of it, but I can't think of anything.

I haven't done ten times already.

I've already done gospel and pop and rock and roll and big band swing.

They said, well, you never did any heavy metal.

And we laughed about it. No, you never did any heavy metal. And we laughed about it. No, I never did any

heavy metal. Well, I didn't have any use for heavy metal either or the performers who were doing it.

But my conductor, Dave Siebel, who's still my musical conductor, pianist, said, you know,

there are a lot of good songs underneath all that

noise that we could do a different way. And I said, like what? He said, well, big band swing. And I said,

oh, well, now you're talking. Let me, what kind of songs do you mean? And that's when I was

introduced by them to the songs we wound up recording, like smoke on the water,

long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, and then of course crazy trains.

Which, as I listened to that lyric and him singing it,

I realized was really good social commentary

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