Boone Doesn’t Need ‘Cool’

True, “cool” is in the eye of the beholder, and true, last year, crooner Tony Bennett became the darling of slackers. But PAT BOONE?

“Well, yes. He is so unhip that he’s hip,” says David Dorn, director of media relations for Rhino Records.

So Rhino - a hipper-than-hip Los Angeles label best known for its superb compilations - is releasing “Pat Boone, 40 Years of Hits,” a 19-song compilation video introduced by the man himself. The video (49 minutes, $19.98) comes out this week and features chart-toppers like “Ain’t That a Shame,” “I Almost Lost My Mind” and “April Love” performed on Boone’s 1950s TV series “Chevy Showroom.”

Now Rolling Stone and several alternative weeklies and monthlies are in line for interviews, and MTV and VH1 are inquiring. Delighted by the attention, Boone is busy making plans for a new recording - “something really different, unexpected.”

Dorn played with the improbably-cool point by sending out press releases about the video on a Wonder Bread bag - but later, over the phone, he sounded unrepentant.

“Pat is part of American pop culture and there is an audience out there and we aim to please,” he said. “Besides, he is the No. 7 singles artist of all time. He’s ahead of Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Madonna.”

It is, of course, true. As they say in baseball, you can look it up.

Between 1955 and 1963, only Elvis Presley was more successful. The Sultan of Safe, the King of Square, Boone is ranked No. 5 for most consecutive Top 10 hits, No. 16 for most No. 1 hits, No. 9 for most charted singles, No. 9 for most Top 40 hits, and on it goes.

He has sold millions of records. And he is still very active, touring and hosting his own TV show (“Gospel America” on Trinity Broadcasting Network) and radio program (“The Pat Boone Show,” syndicated to 165 stations).

“What is cool? Honesty,” says Boone, 60. “Even the songs I didn’t like, once I decided to do them I absolutely gave it my best and tried to mean every word.”

If Boone’s new recordings come to pass, Dorn will have some serious explaining to do.

“Oh yes, I have some plans,” said Boone. “Actually I already had plans before all this started to happen. I came in 40 years ago singing a music that was totally foreign to me. As a teenager and would-be singer I was doing Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Eddie Fisher and suddenly I was given an R&B song, ‘Two Hearts,’ and that was my first hit.”