It’s Pat!

pat_boone.jpg News Cut is in a nostalgic mood. It happens every time I read another story about vinyl LPs making a comeback, especially if it’s accompanied by a picture of a record rack featuring albums, every one of which — I think — is in the News Cut vault (i.e. an unopened cardboard box in the crawl space under the stairs from at least three moves ago).

But this item in this morning’s Worthington Daily Globe sealed the deal:

Pat Boone will present holiday concerts at 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Business, Arts and Recreation Center (BARC), 1012 Fifth Ave., Windom.

Tickets for the event are now on sale with all seating reserved.

Boone hit national fame in 1955 with his recording version of “Ain’t That A Shame.” He hit the national spotlight via his first television appearance singing on the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour.” Pat Boone sold more records in the 1950s than any other artist except Elvis Presley. He has sold more than 45 million records and has charted 60 songs, 18 of which hit the Top 10.

Pat Boone? Is he still alive? Yes, and he’s on a 50 year anniversary tour (aren’t we all?), according to his Web site, which automatically plays him singing “Tears of a Clown.” and — if that’s not enough to make your day, reports that there’s a petition drive to get Pat Boone into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

The prospect of an evening checking out Pat Boone fans in Windom on a December evening during his 50 Year Anniversary Tour cannot be ignored.

Now the only thing left to make it a perfect entry into the holiday weekend is to stumble onto a Hot Rod race for pink slips on the way into work.