Gonzalez may refer to:

People[link]

• See González (surname)

Places[link]

• Gonzalez, Florida, United States
• González, Tamaulipas, Mexico
• González, Cesar, Colombia

Other[link]

• Gonzalez (band), a group famous for the One-hit wonder I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet
  • Gonzalez, a 1974 album by this band

See also[link]

• Gonzales (disambiguation)
• Gonzo (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Lethal Bizzle
Background information
Birth name	Maxwell Ansah
Also known as	Lethal B
Born	(1984-09-14) 14 September 1984 (age 27) Walthamstow, London, England
Genres	Grime, hip hop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Relentless (2004) V2 Records (2005–2007) Search and Destroy (2009–present) 360 Records (2011–present)
Associated acts	More Fire Crew, Gallows, Donae'o & Twista.
Website	LethalBizzle.co.uk

Lethal Bizzle, also known as Lethal Big Lips. (born Maxwell Ansah, 14 September 1984 in Walthamstow, London, England), is a Ghanaian British rapper. His songs are known to satirise modern gangsta rap; much of the humour comes from the adoption of hip-hop style and language. In December 2004, he released the single "Pow (Forward)", also known as "Forward Riddim"^[1] which was banned from airplay by some mainstream radio stations.^{[citation needed]} It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11 in its first week on the chart in 2005,^[2] and it reached number one on the UK Dance Chart. He won a MOBO for "Pow (Forward)" as 'Best Single', and was nominated at the same awards as 'Best Newcomer'.

Career[link]

Earlier he was a part of the group More Fire Crew. In 2002, their track "Oi!" reached the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.^[3] In early July 2005, Lethal Bizzle appeared on stage at the final Live 8 concert in Edinburgh^[4] and was a part of the NME Rock N Roll Riot Tour in 2007.

He was number five in the NME Cool list 2007/2008 beating Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and Alex Turner.

Lethal Bizzle was signed to V2 Records, on which he released the album, Against All Oddz, in August 2005.^{[citation needed]} The first single from it, entitled "Uh Oh! (I'm Back)", was released in the same month. He released a song with Twista, Gappy Ranks and the Kray Twinz called "What We Do", which reached #23.

In 2005, one of his songs, "Kickback" was on the soundtrack of the videogame FIFA Street 2.

He is known for his rap rivalry with Roll Deep Crew founder Wiley. However, in the final track, "Til Next Time", on his album, Against All Oddz, Lethal Bizzle and his company calls for an end to this rivalry. In Wiley's new album, Da 2nd Phaze, Wiley has added More Fire Crew's hit "Oi!" as a bonus track, as a sign showing that their feud is finished.

Bizzle's second album, Back To Bizznizz, was released on V2 Records. The first double A-side single "Bizzle Bizzle" (produced by Bizzle) and "Babylon's Burning The Ghetto" (produced by Akira The Don) was released on 16 July 2007. The song "Reflecting" on Back to Bizznizz featured his mother.

Lethal Bizzle's group, Fire Camp, were documented on the television programme Lethal B TV on Channel U TV.

He also featured on the Print Is Dead Vol 1 album by Newcastle band yourcodenameis:milo, along with various other artists.

He performed with Pete Doherty and Kate Moss at the Hackney Empire for "An Evening With Pete Doherty" and again at Glastonbury Festival 2007. As a result of this, Babyshambles featured on Back To Bizznizz.

On 16 March 2007 Bizzle was briefly featured as a live musical guest on the Top Gear special for Comic Relief entitled Top Gear of the Pops.

He played the NME stage at Reading Festival and Leeds Festival in August 2007.

On 28 September 2007 Bizzle teamed up with the UK hardcore punk band, Gallows to perform a cover of The Ruts' "Staring At The Rude Boys" on T4's Transmission programme.

In June 2008, Bizzle performed at the Download Festival at Donington Park. In July he performed at the Kendal Music Festival, and at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. He also performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the Orange Rockcorps Campaign 2008 with Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, John Legend and Feeder.

On 25 February 2009 the first single, "Go Hard" featuring Donaeo, from Bizzle's forthcoming third album, was debuted on Kiss 100.

In 2011 Bizzle released a video with Fire Camp called 'Move' which also features Scrufizzer & Lady Leshurr. He also released a solo single called 'Mind Spinning' produced by R1 Productions.

Lethal Bizzle is distantly related to Emmanuel Frimpong who plays for Arsenal FC. They have started a clothing line called Dench together. He is also cousin to British Hip-Hop artist Sway, who is cousin of former Arsenal footballer Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.

In 2012 Bizzle released the audio to the remix of his song "Leave it Yeah", which he had released in late 2011. The remix featured JME, Frisco, Scrufizzer, Flow Dan ,Bizzle's cousin, footballer Emmanuel Frimpong and Matt Clark

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Mix albums[link]

• Da Bizzle Mixtape
• SKvibemakers Presents The Best Of The Bizzle

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Review of 'Going Out Tonight' on the Daily Music Guide
• Interview with Lethal Bizzle at the Daily Music Guide - dailymusicguide.com
• Royal Artist Club - Official Mobile Blog
• Interview with Lethal B at http://www.britishhiphop.co.uk
• Lethal Bizzle interview by Rashmi Shastri
• Lethal Bizzle on Myspace
• Lethal Bizzle in the Virgin Red Room

José González
José González performing at the Danish Museum of Art, November 2008
Background information
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres	Indie folk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Classical Guitar, Vocals, Bass Guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Imperial, Parasol, Mute, Peacefrog
Associated acts	Junip, Zero 7
Website	www.jose-gonzalez.com

José González (born 1978) is a Swedish-Argentine indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg, Sweden. González is also a member of Swedish band Junip, along with Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn.

Biography[link]

González' parents moved from Argentina to Sweden in 1976. He was born in 1978, two years after his psychology academic father, mother and older sister, then an infant, fled Argentina after a military junta seized power in March 1976 at the beginning of the "dirty war".^[1] González was born in a suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden. He commented, "It's a very small town. It has about a half-million people living there. It's a pretty good music city by the ocean. It rains a lot there, but it's beautiful in the summertime."^[2] González grew up listening to Latin folk and pop music, and has named Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez as a favourite artist.^[1] He said the first concert he went to was "The Wailers. I got their autographs and everything. I was about 12 or so. At the time my favourite music was Bob Marley and Michael Jackson."^[3]

The first band he played in was Back Against the Wall, a Gothenburg hardcore punk band influenced by Black Flag, The Misfits and the Dead Kennedys.^[4] He later played bass guitar in another hardcore band, Renascence, between 1993–1998.^[5] Between 1997 and 1998 José played guitar with rock band Only if You Call Me Jonathan.

In June 2003 González released his debut solo release, a two-track 7" single. The single was discovered by Joakim Gävert, co-founder of the then fledgling label Imperial Records who then signed González as their first official artist.^[6] In October he released his debut album, Veneer, in Europe. The album was subsequently released in the UK on 25 April 2005, and in the United States on 6 September 2005. The album was made while González was studying for a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Gothenburg, which he has not completed due to a lack of time since his musical career has taken off.^[7]

González' trademark sound is solo classical guitar with soft vocal melody. His work, although mostly original, also includes acoustic covers of such hits as "Heartbeats" by his fellow Swedes The Knife, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, "Born in the U.S.A." and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen, "Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue, "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack and "Last Snowstorm of the Year" by Low.

His second album, In Our Nature, was released internationally on 22 September 2007. The album's lyrical content was in part influenced by his reading of books like The God Delusion by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and Practical Ethics by ethicist Peter Singer.^[4][8] González is an atheist.^[9]

Television appearances[link]

José González performing at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London, UK, April 2008

González has performed on several television programs, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien (29 March 2006 and 28 September 2007), Jimmy Kimmel Live (12 October 2007), the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland (9 June 2006), Last Call with Carson Daly (21 June 2006), Seven Network's Sunrise (15 August 2007) and Canada's MTV Live (5 December 2007).

The song "Crosses", from González's Crosses EP and the Veneer album, appeared on the finale of the second season of the popular American television comedy-drama The O.C., as well as on a trailer for a BBC Four programme.^[which?] Also taken from the Veneer album, "Stay in the Shade" was used in The O.C., midway through season three, in the episode The Pot Stirrer. His music has also been used in the Friday Night Lights TV series (12 December 2006).

His cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats" has been used many times. It featured in a Sony BRAVIA commercial featuring 250,000 coloured bouncing balls in San Francisco;^[10][11] in episode 409 and 505 of the CW's One Tree Hill and is included on the album The Road Mix: One Tree Hill Volume 3; it featured in season 7, episode 2 of Scrubs; in season 1, episode 21 of Brothers & Sisters; in season 4, episode 16 of Bones; in Stargate Universe; in 90210; in season 1, episode 21 of Whitney; and in an episode of the British TV show; Sun, Sea and A+E. Gone, a 2007 film directed by Ringan Ledwidge, features the track "Lovestain", from the Veneer album.

Music from González' latest album has also been used in other television shows. His version of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" was used in the fourth season finale of House entitled "Wilson's Heart" (the Massive Attack version is used as the show's theme music). It features in the fifth season episode of Numb3rs entitled "The Fifth Man". The song can be heard at the end of Friday Night Lights, Season 4 Episode "A Sort of Homecoming".

González performed his original song "Far Away" at the Spike Video Game Awards, where it won "Best Song" for its featured appearance in Rockstar Games' video game Red Dead Redemption, which also took home the award for "Game of the Year".

Collaborations[link]

González plays in the band Junip with Tobias Winterkorn and Elias Araya. To date Junip have released two EPs; Black Refuge and the free internet release Rope and Summit, along with a full-length album, Fields.

He collaborated with UK downtempo duo Zero 7 on their 2006 album, The Garden, providing guest vocals on the album's tracks, along with Zero 7 regular Sia Furler. González performs vocals on four songs: "Futures", "Left Behind", "Today" and "Crosses".

González collaborated with Finnish house DJ Jori Hulkkonen on the track "Blinded By The Numbers" from Hulkkonen's album Dualizm, released in 2005, and his song 'Crosses' was sampled by British hiphop artist Plan B for the song "Cast a Light" which appears on the Paint It Blacker EP. He has also collaborated with the Swedish hip hop DJ and producer Embee on the track "Send Someone Away", the album mixed by Soundism received a Grammis.^[12] González's song "Crosses" was remixed in 2006 by popular Dutch DJ Tiësto. González can also be heard in the song "I want you Back" by the Swedish indie-rock group Niccokick.

González collaborated with The Books on Red Hot Organization's Dark Was the Night compilation album, fundraising for HIV and AIDS awareness, which was released in February, 2009.^[13] In 2011, he contributed to the organization's follow-up album "Red Hot+Rio 2" with the song "Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo," recorded with Mia Doi Todd.

González participated in The Göteborg String Theory project in 2009–2011, an experimental music and art project that involved artists from Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden and classical composers from Berlin, Germany. A new sound piece of his song "Cycling Trivialities" was arranged by composer Nackt for a classcial orchestra. It was recorded and performed together with González, and finally released on the album The Göteborg String Theory (Kning Disk) in April 2010. González continued his collaboration with The Göteborg String Theory in 2011. Nackt wrote 11 new arrangement for González' songs, and in spring 2011 José González and The Göteborg String Theory went on a European tour in 19 cites.

Equipment and tunings[link]

Guitars: González plays an Alhambra classical guitar onstage and Alhambra, Esteve, and Córdoba classicals while recording.

Amps: for live performances, a Fishman Prefix Pro Blend in the Alhambra. When performing solo, he also plays into whatever condenser mic the venue supplies.

Strings: La Bella polished nylon, high tension.

Capo: Shubb C7B partial.

Picks: González plays only with his fingernails, reinforced with a nail strengthener.^[14]

González consistently uses 'altered' guitar tunings in his tunes, de-tuning the 6th (E) string down to D for all his songs, with the 3rd (G) string altered between F#, G and A from tune to tune (e.g. A in his cover of Hand on Your Heart and F# in Heartbeats.) He does the retuning himself during live performances rather than use 3 different guitars on stage.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Veneer (October 2003) #7 UK, #86 AUS
• In Our Nature (September 2007)

EPs[link]

• Crosses EP (June 2003)
  • 7" single (limited to 500 copies): "Crosses" / "Storm"
  • CD EP: "Crosses" / "Hints" / "Deadweight on Velveteen" / "Storm"
• José González & Jens Lekman Split Tour Single (December 2003)
  • 7" single (limited to 330 copies): "If You Ever Need a Stranger to Sing at Your Wedding" (Lekman) / "Hand on Your Heart" (González)
• Remain EP (January 2004)
  • 7" single (limited to 300 copies): "Remain" / "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
  • CD EP: "Remain" / "Lovestain" / "Love Will Tear Us Apart" / "Suggestions"
• Stay in the Shade EP (June 2004 – Sweden; August 2005 – UK; January 2006 – US)
  • 7" single (limited to 220 copies): "Down the Hillside" / "Sensing Owls"
  • CD EP: "Stay in the Shade" / "Down the Hillside" / "Sensing Owls" / "Hand on Your Heart" / "Instr."
• Australian Tour EP (November 2005 – Australia & New Zealand)
  • CD collection of 8 Veneer era B-sides
• B-Sides Collected EP (November 2006 – South Africa)
  • CD collection of 7 Veneer era B-sides [see Australian Tour EP]
• 3 EP Collection (September 2007 – Taiwan)
  • 3 CD collection featuring Crosses EP, Remain EP and Stay in the Shade EP
• José González & Promise and the Monster Split Tour Single (December 2007)
  • 7" single (limited to 500 copies): "How Low" (González) / "Sheets" (Promise and the Monster)

Singles[link]

• "Heartbeats (The Knife cover)" (January 9, 2006) #9 UK, #66 AUS
  • b/w: "Suggestions"
• "Crosses" (April 10, 2006) #107 UK
  • b/w: "Storm"
• "Hand on Your Heart" (July 3, 2006) #29 UK, #88 AUS
  • b/w: "Down the Hillside" / "Sensing Owls"
• "Down the Line" (September 10, 2007 – UK) #140 UK, #12 UK Indie
  • b/w: "Smalltown Boy"
• "Killing for Love" (September 19, 2007 – Sweden)
  • b/w: "Smalltown Boy"
• "Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)" (November 12, 2007)
  • b/w "Four Forks Ache"
• "Down the Line" (February 20, 2008 – Sweden)
  • b/w "Neon Lights"
• "Killing for Love" (January 14, 2008 – digital download; April 7, 2008 – 7" vinyl – UK)
  • b/w "Neon Lights"
• "Cycling Trivialities" (March 2, 2009 – digital download – UK)

Other contributions[link]

• Acoustic 05 (2005, Echo) – "Broken Arrows"
• Chillout Sessions 9 (2006, Ministry of Sound) – "Heartbeats"
• The Acoustic Album (2006, Virgin) – "Heartbeats"
• Acoustic 07 (2007, V2 Records) – "Lovestain"
• Chillout Sessions 10 (2007, Ministry of Sound) – "Down the Line"
• Chillout Sessions XI (2008, Ministry of Sound) – "Teardrop"
• Dark Was the Night (2009) – Featured on The Books cover of * Nick Drake's "Cello Song"
• Uncovered (2009, Ministry of Sound) – "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
• Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack (2010, Rockstar Games) – "Far Away"
• Record (2010, Zero 7) – "Futures – Feat. Jose Gonzalez"
• The Göteborg String Theory Album – Cycling Trivialities

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: José González

• Official website

Pat Boone
Pat Boone in February 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Eugene Boone
Born	(1934-06-01) June 1, 1934 (age 78) Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Christian, pop, country, rock and roll, patriotic
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor, motivational speaker, spokesman
Instruments	Vocals, banjo, ukulele
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Dot, Republic, Hip-O, The Gold Label, MCA
Associated acts	Debby Boone (daughter)
Website	http://www.patboone.com

Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor and writer. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. Among his hit songs were cover versions of black R&B artists' songs (when parts of the country were segregated). He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood movies. Boone's talent as a singer and actor, combined with his old-fashioned values, contributed to his popularity in the early rock and roll era.

According to Billboard, Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis Presley but ahead of Ricky Nelson and The Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top 40 Artists 1955–1995.^[1] Boone still holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.

At the age of twenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Many musical performers, including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. During his tours in the 1950s, Elvis Presley was one of his opening acts.^[2]

As a prolific author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, and a conservative political commentator.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born Charles Eugene Boone^[3] in Jacksonville, Florida, Boone was reared primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, a place he still visits. His family moved to Nashville from Florida when Boone was two years old. He attended and graduated from David Lipscomb High School in Nashville in 1952. His younger brother, Nick, was also a pop singer in the 1950s, and is now a church music leader.

Boone has claimed to be a direct descendant of the American pioneer Daniel Boone.^[4] He is a cousin of two stars of western television series: the late Richard Boone of CBS's Have Gun, Will Travel and Randy Boone, one of the co-stars of NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip.

In college, he primarily attended David Lipscomb College, later Lipscomb University, in Nashville. He graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies magna cum laude in 1958^[5] and also attended North Texas State University, now known as the University of North Texas. During his college career, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

He began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" was a hit. (Domino complimented Boone's rendition.)^[6] This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering R&B songs by black artists for a white American market.^[7] Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R & B single by the Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song than the later LaVern Baker one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had failed. This became the B side of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two Kisses", originally by the Charms – whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been covered by the label's Fontane Sisters. Once the Boone version was in the shops, it spawned more covers by the Crewcuts, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. In the UK the song was covered by Lita Roza, a band singer with Ted Heath, and her version was in the shops first.^{[citation needed]}

A No. 1 single in 1956 by Boone was not so much a cover as a revival of a then-seven year old song "I Almost Lost My Mind", which had been covered at the time by another black star, Nat King Cole, from the original by Ivory Joe Hunter, who was to benefit from Boone's hit version not only in royalties but in status as he was back in the news.^{[citation needed]}

According to an opinion poll of high school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the "two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls..."^[8]

Boone's well-groomed, clean-cut, boyish image won him a long-term product endorsement contract from General Motors during the late 1950s, lasting through the 1960s. He succeeded Dinah Shore singing the praises of the GM product: "See the USA in your Chevrolet...drive your Chevrolet through the USA, America's the greatest land of all!" GM had also sponsored The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. In the 1989 documentary Roger & Me, Boone stated that he first was given a Corvette from the Chevrolet product line, but after he and wife started having children, at one child a year, GM supplied him with a station wagon as well. Boone, who has endorsed an indeterminate number of products and services over the course of his career, said that more people identified him with Chevrolet than any other product.^{[citation needed]}

Starting in the late 1950s, Boone and his family were residents of Leonia, New Jersey.^[9]

Many of Boone's hit singles were R&B covers by Black artists. These included: "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino; "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard;^[6] "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by the El Dorados; and the blues ballads "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "I'll be Home" by The Flamingos and "Don't Forbid Me" by Charles Singleton. Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie Exodus, which lyrics he titled "This Land Is Mine." (Ernest Gold had composed the music.)^[10]

As a devout Christian, Boone refused songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards—including a role with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. In his first film, April Love, he refused to give co-star and love interest Shirley Jones an onscreen kiss, because the actress was married in real life.^[11]

He appeared as a regular performer on Arthur Godfrey and his Friends from 1955 through 1957, later hosted his own The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, on Thursday evenings. In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including Twixt Twelve and Twenty. The British Invasion ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he switched to gospel and country, and he continued performing in other media as well. He is currently working as the disc jockey of a popular oldies radio show and runs his own record company which provides an outlet for new recordings by 1950s greats who can no longer find a place with the major labels.^{[citation needed]}

In 1953, shortly before he turned 19, Boone married Shirley Lee Foley (b. April 24, 1934), daughter of country music great Red Foley and his wife, singer Judy Martin. They had four daughters: Cheryl Lynn, Linda Lee, Deborah Ann (better known as Debby), and Laura Gene. During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, hosted by his father-in-law. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as The Pat Boone Family and The Family Who Prays.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959, Boone's likeness was licensed to DC Comics, first appearing in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #9 (May 1959) before starring in his own series from the publisher which lasted for five issues from September 1959 to May 1960.

In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label Lion & Lamb Records. It featured artists such as Pat, The Pat Boone Family, Debby Boone, Dan Peek, DeGarmo & Key, and Dogwood.^[12]

In 1978, Boone became the first target in the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on false claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help" in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads but to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."^[13]

Later career[link]

In 1997, Boone released In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of heavy metal covers. To promote the album, he appeared at the American Music Awards in black leather. He was then dismissed from Gospel America, a TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. After making a special appearance on TBN with the president of the network, Paul Crouch, and his pastor, Jack Hayford, many fans accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". Trinity Broadcasting then reinstated him, and Gospel America was brought back.^[14]

In 2003, the Nashville Gospel Music Association recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In September 2006, Boone released Pat Boone R&B Classics – We Are Family, featuring cover versions of 11 R&B hits, including the title track, plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A Woman Needs Love", and six other classics. In 2007, Boone was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame as well as the Christian Music Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

Boone and his wife, Shirley, live in Beverly Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles. His one-time neighbor was Ozzy Osbourne and his family. A sound-alike of Boone's cover of Osbourne's song "Crazy Train" became the theme song for The Osbournes (Though the original Boone version appears on The Osbournes soundtrack). Osbourne once said that Boone "was the nicest bloke you could ever have as a neighbour and never complained once" about living next door to their less-than-traditional family.^{[citation needed]}

On December 30, 2010, Glenn W. Milligan of Liquid Metal Holdings said the Pat Boone Family Theater would open in May 2011 in the former NASCAR Cafe at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With 600 seats, the Boone Theater will be smaller than many of the resort's attractions, but Milligan says this may be an advantage. Other performers were to include illusionist Morgan Strebler, the 2011 Merlin Award winner,^[15] though in September 2011 it was announced he would be replaced.^[16] The economic crisis has been one of the reasons for delays, but on May 25, 2011, the theater received the first of several needed permits from the city. The $1 million project was set to be complete in August 2011,^[17] but the opening date was delayed twice.^[18][19] At a news conference on June 2, which included a performance by Strebler, theater officials said Boone would attend the opening and perform 14 times each year. Other entertainment will include gospel music concerts and Christmas shows. The theater will have a Boone museum with the singer's memorabilia.^[20]

Religious background[link]

Pat Boone grew up in the Church of Christ.^[21]

In the 1960s, Boone's marriage nearly came to an end due to his use of alcohol and his preference for attending parties. After having a charismatic encounter, Shirley began to focus more on her religion and would eventually influence Pat and their daughters toward a similar religious focus. At this time, they attended the Inglewood Church of Christ in Inglewood, California.

In the early 1970s, the Boones hosted Bible studies for celebrities such as Doris Day, Glenn Ford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Priscilla Presley at their Beverly Hills home. The family then began attending The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California—a Foursquare Gospel congregation led by pastor Jack Hayford.^[14]

Philanthropy[link]

Since 1977, Boone has hosted the annual Pat Boone Golf Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a celebrity event in May that benefits Bethel Bible Village, a faith-based home for children of families in crisis.^{[citation needed]} He is known to play golf frequently in Branson, Missouri.

According to the Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner, Boone partnered with GOD TV in 2010 to provide foundational funding for a community development center in East Africa. The Pat Boone Family Life Center in Loiborsoit, Tanzania provides much needed health services and clean water through a deep water well. GOD TV CEO, Rory Alec said "We are privileged to partner with Pat and Shirley Boone to impact the everyday lives of several thousand Masai people. Pat Boone is just as well known for his artistic talents as his Christian faith and the generosity of the Boone family has inspired us to reach further to help bring about transformation in Africa."^[22]

"Clean water, and with it small medical clinics and even basic primary and secondary schools, are literally life-changing developments, offering healthy lives and unthought-of futures to countless thousands who otherwise would live and die with no chance even to participate in the 21st century," Boone wrote in an article about his trip to Africa, in WorldNetDaily.^[23]

Politics[link]

Boone campaigned for Ronald Reagan to become Governor of California in 1966 and 1970, and actively supported Reagan's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976. He was a vocal supporter of the Vietnam War. In 2006, Boone wrote an article for WorldNetDaily, in which he argued that Democrats and others who were against the president during the Iraq War could be questioned for their patriotism.^[24] He was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News, where he expressed his outrage toward opponents of George W. Bush (in particular the Dixie Chicks). He said that their criticisms of the president showed they did not "respect their elders".^[25]

In the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Boone campaigned for incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher with a prerecorded automated telephone message stating that the Democratic Party candidate Steve Beshear would support "every homosexual cause." As part of the campaign, Boone asked, "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?"^[26] More recently, he assisted the McCain 2008 presidential campaign by lending his voice to automated campaign phonecalls.

On December 6, 2008 Boone wrote an article for WorldNetDaily wherein he drew analogies between recent gay rights protests and recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. He reminded readers of hostage taking, exploding bombs, systematic murder and chaotic conditions of carnage. In it, he asserted that marriage is a biblically ordained institution, which the government has no part in defining. He then stated that equal rights for women and blacks were not "obtained by threats and violent demonstrations and civil disruption" but rather through due process. He concluded by warning that unless they're checked, the "hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of homegrown sexual jihadists will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive".^[27]

On August 29, 2009, Boone wrote an article comparing liberals to cancer, describing them as "black filthy cells".^[28]

In December 2009, Boone agreed to endorse the conservative U.S. congressional candidate John Wayne Tucker (R) for his campaign in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District against incumbent Russ Carnahan (D) for the 2010 mid term elections.^[29]

In 2009, Boone stated his belief that Barack Obama is not eligible to serve as the President of the United States.^[30][31] Boone also has stated that Barack Obama is fluent in Arabic and read the Koran in Arabic as a boy.^[30] He has also stated that President Obama "hasn’t celebrated any Christian holidays in the White House."^[30]

Boone received a lifetime achievement award at the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference held in February 2011.^[32]

Basketball interests[link]

Boone was a basketball fan and had ownership interests in two teams. He owned a team in the Hollywood Studio League called the "Cooga Moogas." The Cooga Moogas included Bill Cosby, Rafer Johnson, Gardner McKay, Don Murray, and Denny "Tarzan" Miller.^[33]

With the founding of the American Basketball Association, Boone became the majority owner of the league's team in Oakland, California on February 2, 1967.^[33] The team was first named the Oakland Americans but was later renamed as the Oakland Oaks, the name under which it played from 1967 to 1969.^[33] The Oaks won the 1969 ABA championship.^[34]

Despite the Oaks' success on the court, the team had severe financial problems. By August 1969 the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the Oaks,^[35] and the team was sold to a group of businessmen in Washington, DC, and became the Washington Caps.^[36]

In Terry Pluto's book about the ABA, Loose Balls, Boone recounted his days as an owner and claimed that he had had a chance to buy into the then-expansion Dallas Mavericks of the NBA in 1981, but declined.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

• 1955 The Pied Piper of Cleveland (documentary)
• 1957 Bernardine
• 1957 April Love
• 1958 Mardi Gras
• 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth
• 1961 All Hands on Deck
• 1962 State Fair
• 1962 The Main Attraction
• 1963 The Horror of It All
• 1963 The Yellow Canary
• 1964 Never Put It in Writing
• 1964 Goodbye Charlie
• 1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told
• 1967 The Perils of Pauline
• 1970 The Cross and the Switchblade
• 1989 Roger & Me (documentary)
• 2000 The Eyes of Tammy Faye (documentary)
• 2008 Hollywood on Fire (documentary)^[37]

Box-office ranking[link]

In his heyday exhibitors listed Boone among the most popular stars in the country:

• 1957 – 3rd^[38]
• 1958 – 11th^[39]
• 1959 – 22nd^[40]

Bibliography[link]

• Twixt Twelve and Twenty: Pat talks to Teenagers (1958) Prentice Hall
• The Solution to Crisis-America (1970) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-8081-7
• A Miracle Saved My Family (1971) Oliphants, ISBN 0-551-00640-4
• The Real Christmas (1972) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-0546-7
• Joy! (1973) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-060-9
• My Brother's Keeper? (1975) Victory Press, ISBN 0-85476-237-X
• My Faith (1976) C. R. Gibson Co, ISBN 0-8378-1764-1
• To Be or Not to Be an SOB: A Reaffirmation of Business Ethics (1979) Wordware Publishing, Incorporated, ISBN 0-89015-737-5
• The Honeymoon Is Over (1980) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-130-3
• Marrying for Life: A Handbook of Marriage Skills (1982) HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 0-86683-674-8
• Pray to Win (1982) Putnam Pub Group, ISBN 0-399-12494-2
• Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories (1984) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-245-8
• Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories for the Very Young (1984) Random House of Canada, Limited, ISBN 0-394-85891-3
• A Miracle a Day Keeps the Devil Away (1986) Revell, ISBN 0-8007-0693-5
• New Song (1988) Impact Books, ISBN 0-86608-003-1
• Miracle of Prayer (1989) Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22131-5
• The Human Touch: The Story of the National Easter Seal (1990) Certification Review, ISBN 0-914373-22-6
• Jesus Is Alive (1990) Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 1-55894-219-X
• Double Agent (2002) Publish America, Incorporated, ISBN 1-59129-469-X
• Goodnight, Whatever You Are!: My Journey with Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul (2006) Tradeselect Limited, ISBN 1-933384-03-4
• Pat Boone's America: A Pop Culture Treasury of the Past Fifty Years (2006) B&H Publishing Group, ISBN 0-8054-4376-2
• Culture-Wise Family: Upholding Christian Values in A Mass-Media World (2007) Gospel Light Publications, ISBN 0-8307-4355-3
• The Marriage Game (2007) New Leaf Press, Inc., ISBN 0-89221-114-8
• Questions About God: And the Answers That Could Change Your Life (2008) Lighthouse Publishing, ISBN 1-935079-13-1
• Pat Boone Devotional Book (2009) G. K. Hall, ISBN 0-8161-6630-7

Boone wrote Questions About God with reporter Cord Cooper. He told The 700 Club in 2009, "The big question is there a God? Is God real? How do we know? Is there proof? So this fella, Cord Cooper, and I decided we needed to answer three basic questions in a very simple form, but I think substantively and really bares no rational refutation... We quote Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who is still living, the most brilliant man on the planet. As they say, it’s inconceivable that all this has happened without a plan, without a blueprint, without some designer who created the design. So this book is so simple, yet I think profound truth."^[41] Boone's assertion that Stephen Hawking believes in God, however, is untrue.^[42]

Quotation[link]

NME – December 1956^[43]

NME – June 1960^[44]

References[link]

General references

• University of North Texas Alumni Directory, Pat (Charles E.) Boone, (1994)</ref> OCLC 768191551
• ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, fourth edition, compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker (1980) OCLC 7065938 ISBN 0-8352-1283-1 ISBN 9780835212830
• Biographical Dictionary of American Music, edited by Charles Eugene Claghorn (1911–2005), Parker Publishing Co., West Nyack, NY (1973) OCLC 609781 ISBN 0-13-076331-4 ISBN 9780130763310
• Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, by Randall Herbert Balmer, Baylor University Press (2004) OCLC 191038717 ISBN 1-60258-038-3 ISBN 9781602580381
• The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music, second edition, by Irwin Stambler (born 1924) and Grelun S. Landon (1923–2004), St. Martin's Press (1983) OCLC 8430828 ISBN 0-312-24818-0 ISBN 9780312248185
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, eighth edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Macmillan Publishing Co. (1992) OCLC 24246972 ISBN 0-02-872415-1 ISBN 9780028724157
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, ninth edition, edited by Laura Kuhn, Schirmer Books (2001) OCLC 44972043 ISBN 0-02-865525-7 ISBN 9780028655253

Inline citations

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pat Boone

• Pat Boone at the Internet Movie Database
• Pat Boone Interview at Archive of American Television
• Pat Boone at AllRovi
• Pat's Gold (Link to Pat Boone's Web Site/Label)
• Brief biography, by Tom Simon, December 25, 2002

Gio González
Washington Nationals – No. 47
Pitcher
Born: (1985-09-19) September 19, 1985 (age 26) Hialeah, Florida
Bats: Right	Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 6, 2008 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics (through May 28, 2012)
Win-loss record	45-33
Earned run average	3.74
Strikeouts	590
Teams
Oakland Athletics (2008–2011) Washington Nationals (2012–present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (2011)

Gonzalez during his tenure with the Oakland Athletics in 2011.

Giovany A. "Gio" González (born September 19, 1985, in Hialeah, Florida) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. He is of Cuban descent.

Early life[link]

Gonzalez attended Hialeah High School in Hialeah, Florida, for the first 3 years of his high school career, where they won two state championships and nearly won a third. After his junior year, he transferred over to Monsignor Edward Pace High School in 2004.

Early MLB career[link]

He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round.

In 2005, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Aaron Rowand and Daniel Haigwood for slugger Jim Thome. While with the Phillies, Baseball America rated Gonzalez the # 2 prospect in their farm system behind Cole Hamels in 2006.

In December 2006, Gio was traded back to the White Sox along with Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia. Gonzalez led the minor leagues with 185 strikeouts in 150 innings in 2007.

Oakland Athletics[link]

On January 3, 2008, the White Sox traded Gonzalez along with fellow prospects Ryan Sweeney and Fautino De Los Santos for outfielder Nick Swisher to the Oakland Athletics. He was ranked the #1 prospect in the White Sox system at the time of the trade.

Gonzalez was called up to the majors on August 5, 2008, and made his debut on August 6.

Following the 2009 spring training camp, he was returned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.^[1]

Gonzalez started the 2010 season throwing 6+ innings against the Angels. He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6 and walking 1 in the 10-4 win.

Gonzalez was selected to the 2011 MLB All-Star Team. At the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix, AZ, Gonzalez was called out to the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and struck out the only batter he would face, Jay Bruce. On the final day of the 2011 season, Gonzalez threw eleven strikeouts over eight shut-out innings against the Seattle Mariners to secure a career-high 16 wins for the season.

Washington Nationals[link]

On December 23, 2011, Gonzalez was traded with Robert Gilliam to the Washington Nationals for Brad Peacock, Tom Milone, Derek Norris and A. J. Cole.^[2] Gonzalez will be the #2 starter for the Nationals.

On January 15, 2012 Gonzalez signed a five-year extension worth $42 million through 2016 covering his arbitration-eligible years. The deal also includes club options for 2017 and 2018.^[3]

Gonzalez became the first pitcher since 1918 to have three consecutive appearances in which he finished a start with at least six shutout innings and no more than two hits allowed.^[4] Gonzalez set a Nationals record when he pitched 25 consecutive scoreless innings, that ended on April 29, 2012.

Scouting[link]

Gonzalez throws a fastball that ranges from 92-95 mph, a two-seam fastball, a changeup, and a good 10 to 4 curveball.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gio Gonzalez

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)