Pat Boone delivers new Christmas tunes

Pat Boone delivers
new Christmas tunes

LOS ANGELES — Pat Boone is no stranger to holiday music. “I think I have sung and recorded more Christmas songs than just about anybody,” the 73-year-old singer says. But then he heard demos of new yuletide songs written by 85-year-old Paul Alter. “A musical genius,” Boone said of Alter. “He’s even inked a song about fruitcake.” The result is Boone’s first Christmas album in decades, “The True Spirit of Christmas.” Sixteen of the 21 songs on the record are new. The release comes as Boone is recuperating from knee surgery. He had partial knee replacement surgery Nov. 27 in Chicago, publicist Jerry Digney said Thursday. Boone returned last week to his Los Angeles home, where he is undergoing physical therapy, Digney said.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Kirk Douglas is 91. Actor Dick Van Patten is 79. Actress Dame Judi Dench is 73. Actor Beau Bridges is 66. Football Hall-of-Famer Dick Butkus is 65. Actor John Malkovich is 54. Singer/game show host Donny Osmond is 50. Actress Felicity Huffman is 45. Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 38. Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 35. Rock musician Eric Zamora (Save Ferris) is 31. Rock singer Imogen Heap is 30. Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 29. Actor Simon Helberg is 27.