Should Pat Boone be part of rock hall of fame?

When Pat Boone launched his singing career, rock 'n' roll was a new term.

"I've called myself one of the midwives at the birth of rock 'n' roll," says Pat, who will sign copies of his Christmas album and autobiography today from 2 to 4 p.m. at Ernest Tubb Record Shop, 417 Broadway.

He has sold 45 million records, has 38 Top 40 hits and holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with more than one song. Elvis Presley opened for him. Yet he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, something his friend Mike Curb, the record executive, is trying to correct.

"The incredible thing about Pat's career is, next to Elvis Presley, he had the best statistics of any rock 'n' roll artist," Mike says. "Pat doesn't get the credit he deserves. He deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I'm talking to members of the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, asking them why he's not in."

Pat, 74, who notes that he's had more hits than some of the inductees, says he doesn't care that he hasn't been inducted. "It has become diluted and unclear as to who is and who was rock 'n' roll.

"Brenda Lee was never rock 'n' roll," he says. "I love her — she was introduced on my father-in-law Red Foley's show — but she was country and maybe pop country, but never rock 'n' roll. Gene Pitney and Billy Joel were never rock 'n' roll."

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