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[0:00] Robert Bannon: Welcome to The Roundtable with Robert Bannon.

[0:30] Debby Boone: I'm so happy to be here.

[0:55] Robert Bannon: So you have been doing and been a part of this event here at Dizzy, you know, being at Dizzy's in Lincoln Center. This is not your first time.

[1:05] Debby Boone: Not my first rodeo.

[1:07] Robert Bannon: Not your first rodeo. What makes you come back? I think this is your third time that you're a part of this series.

[1:12] Debby Boone: Well, I'll tell you why. And because I've done a lot of these similar things with Deborah Grace Weiner over the years. I started with her lyrics and lyricist program at 92nd Street Y and then went to 54 Below and did, you know, these tributes to great songs and songwriters. And I've always had fun. I've learned a lot. It stretches me to be with the incredible talent that she, you know, that she groups together for these things. I'm actually probably the most illiterate of any of the people musically that she brings in to do these things because they're all jazz aficionados. You know, I just sing a song.

[2:00] Robert Bannon: Well, if you want to get a ticket while we're here, everybody, it's August 9th. It's at 5 and 7:30. It would be Tony Bennett's 100th birthday.

[2:09] Debby Boone: Wow. Wow. This is exciting. For you growing up, you know, your dad, your family, your relatives. Is there anything that, were you just a fan of Mr. Bennett? Did you get to know Tony Bennett? Is there any history or stories there?

[2:26] Debby Boone: I didn't get to know him, but I did go get to see him in Las Vegas perform. And I will never forget it because it's the only time I've really seen somebody do what he, well, first of all, he's amazing. And the fact, oh, I saw him twice. I saw him at the Hollywood Bowl, too. He never lost his chops. I mean, most men at the age that he was, really, you know what, I'll just be honest with you. I've lost a lot of my range over the years, you know, and so I have to change keys. I don't know if he ever changed keys, but what I do know is that he would sing a couple of hours every day to stay in shape. You know, it was like an athlete of training to make sure that his voice was ready for whatever was coming his way.

And he had the most incredible career. But what I was going to tell you is when I saw him in Las Vegas, everything stopped and he just sang acapella in the room. And it was riveting. You just don't hear that in a big Vegas showroom where everything is silent and just his beautiful voice. I wish I could remember the song that he sang, but I'm sure I'll get it wrong. I don't think it was Rags to Riches. It might have been Smile. I'm not quite sure. But I just remember, and I was young, like 14, that being so moved and impressed at somebody just being just them and their beautiful voice for us. And then at the Hollywood Bowl, just being astounded. I saw him there with Diana Krall, and it was, I mean, what an evening. Come on. How lucky am I? Get your tickets. It's going to be an incredible celebration. Jazz.org is where you can get your tickets.

[4:07] Debby Boone: And you'll see people there like the one and only Debbie Brunin, Billy Stritch, and Gabrielle Stravelli. Who sings, I mean, holy moly. Amazing. And she works with Billy all the time. I've gotten to be a part of collaborations where both of them are, and I love Billy to death. And Deb always gives the audience these little tidbits of knowledge that they never would know any other way. So it's going to be, and I love the venue. Dizzy's is, it's so incredible to stand on that stage with the backdrop of Central Park. And, you know, it's just a gorgeous place with a great vibe and the audiences there are always so enthusiastic. And we just have fun.

[4:52] Robert Bannon: I am ready. I'm excited for people to get their tickets. And you, you, ma'am, you got a new TV series that you have a part.

[5:02] Debby Boone: It's a movie. Yeah, it's an independent movie. And I was really honored to be asked and to play a mom in this movie. And I'm really proud of it. I'm proud of my work in it. I'm proud of the guy that wrote it and produced it. And it's called Six Days in Evergreen, and it just started streaming on Amazon Prime. So from my mouth to God's ears, let it get me another acting job. Let's go to work.

[5:32] Robert Bannon: You always are. You are always, you know, around the country and singing all over, literally all over the world. So you have more shows coming to Palm Springs in the fall, winter as well.

[5:46] Debby Boone: That's going to be a great one. That's my full concert at the McCallum Theater. But they're doing this wonderful thing. Barry Manilow's husband runs this cabaret series on the stage of the McCallum Theater. So they have tablecloth, little round tables, cocktails and drinks. And people get a great cabaret show with the backdrop of that beautiful theater empty. I thought, you're crazy. This is never going to work. It works. I've been a part of one of the cast parties with Billy Stritch and Jim Caruso there. And I couldn't believe how well it works as a venue. So I'm so excited I get to do my whole show there in November. And I'll get to see a lot of my friends who have all flocked to Palm Springs. And so it's always a joy for me to go there. That theater is legendary. Gary Keefe, Barry's husband, is such a great promoter, arranger, brain, business, music. And to book you there is going to be a special night.

[6:47] Debby Boone: I'm excited. I'm really excited about it.

[6:50] Robert Bannon: So for you, you were talking before. Your dad is the incredible Pat Boone. He looks amazing. How is Mr. Boone? How's he doing?

[6:59] Debby Boone: He's amazing. He really is amazing. He keeps busier than I do. And he works out at a gym with a trainer twice a week. And he's still singing. He's getting ready to go to Iowa in, I think, a week or so. I think there's a big concert. Whenever the day the music died, there's a concert in Iowa honoring Richie Valens and the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. And he's going to go sing. He has a new recording, a new CD honoring Richie Valens. And he's going to go perform at this big event in Iowa.

[7:36] Robert Bannon: I love him. I love you and him. Because when I think of growing up, my grandmother was a little Italian. You were born in Jersey. I'm a Jersey boy.

[7:47] Debby Boone: Okay. We're in Jersey. Not that I know Jersey that well.

[7:50] Robert Bannon: I'm from Fort Lee, New Jersey.

[7:52] Debby Boone: So we're like neighbors from where you grew up or were born.

[7:56] Robert Bannon: I was born in Hackensack. I mean, my four years in Teaneck before we moved. And I grew up in Richfield Park, which is next to Teaneck and Fort Lee.

[8:06] Debby Boone: So we could have been right there at the Dairy Queen on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, New Jersey.

[8:12] Robert Bannon: We could have been if we weren't born decades apart. But what I love is I remember my grandmother having records of your dad and having your records and being able to listen to them growing up. And so that music has been emblazoned in my heart. And family is so important. And I know you and your family is very important to you. What was it like growing up in this business and then being in this business?

[8:37] Debby Boone: Well, I think I had one of the really fortunate stories, you know, when you hear about kids that grew up with really famous parents. And I certainly am one of those. You know, they have some not so nice stories to tell. But my parents, it was their absolute priority to give us a very healthy, loving family, normal upbringing. And they didn't want us to feel special or better than anyone, even though we went to, you know, A-list private school, girl schools, and all of that stuff. We were not given everything, you know. We had allowance and chores and rules and regulations, a lot of them. But we always knew that we were loved and cared for. And then we started singing together as a family when I was 14, which was just delicious to travel with your sisters and your parents and get on the stage and maybe work with the Osmond brothers.

That's how we started, was them as the opening act for my dad in Japan on tour. And we got to be part of that show. And that's where we started to really realize we could do this as a family. And we did it for like 10 years.

[9:49] Robert Bannon: So you had your sisters and then your dad and you touring together. Even after you won the Grammy, you and your dad, you still continued touring together as a family.

[9:59] Debby Boone: We did. Well, the family had pretty much—two of my sisters got married.

[10:02] Robert Bannon: Thank you for joining us today, Debby.

[12:42] Debby Boone: Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

[12:48] Robert Bannon: So now when we hit the road and we see you in the fall, this show, a tribute to Tony Bennett, and then when we see a Debby Boone show, if it's in New York, if it's in Palm Springs, if it's around the country, what is a Debby Boone show like?

[13:12] Debby Boone: Well, right now the show I'm doing is very eclectic because I have so many experiences, musically, a lot of genres and stories to tell. The last show I was doing for a while was called Swing This, and it was about Las Vegas and the great music that came out of those showrooms and the people that you think of when you think of Las Vegas that I got to work with. But this show has a little of that. It has a little of my reflections of Rosemary, and then it has a lot of other new things that I'm doing, including I have a video that I just put together that we haven't released yet based on a little-known fact, but it's becoming more known. Unless you're a musician, you wouldn't necessarily know. There is a drum fill, a famous drum fill named after my dad and me.

It's called the Pat Boone Debby Boone, so Pat Boone Debby Boone. And every drummer, every drummer knows this drum fill, and I had a great friend and very talented special lyrics, special material writer, Mary Falcone, write a song about the Pat Boone Debby Boone drum fill called Every Drummer Knows My Name. And that's in the show, and I have a blast. Like the most heavy-hitting drummers of all time just about sent me videos of themselves playing the Pat Boone Debby Boone drum fill, and it's so much fun. I wish I could show it to you right now. I love it so much. So fun things like that to just fill people in on just these interesting things. I have a grandfather, Red Foley, who was a country and western gospel singer from the Grand Ole Opry, and I love his music, country music. I did a couple of country albums and just letting people sort of see all the different sides, and it's kind of an up-close-and-personal show.

[15:04] Robert Bannon: You sold me a ticket. I would just watch Pat Boone Debby Boone.

[15:09] Debby Boone: We're working on getting that out there. It's fun.

[15:12] Robert Bannon: I can't wait. I can't wait. We bring up your dad, but your husband's family, your in-laws, they're no slouches themselves, okay? So when your mother-in-law, one of the world's greatest singers, entertainers of all time, is Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer. Also, what is it like to combine – and you have your own children, your own four babies that have grown up with the spotlight. What's it like to combine two of these families together?

[15:46] Debby Boone: We were talking – I was at a birthday of a very close friend of mine who was the daughter of a famous satirist named Stan Freeberg, and she and her brother and Sean Cassidy at this dinner talking about how we all grew up thinking everybody was in show business because everybody we knew was. My kids kind of grew up – they're a grandmother, they're a grandfather, they're a great-grandfather, they're a mother, cousin George. Everybody was doing it. My daughter Tessa is a brilliant actress. She had a nice long run in Grey's Anatomy and Mr. Mercedes, and now she's in the new season of The Agency. She's really gifted, but all my kids are creative. My son is a production designer. I have a daughter who is a television writer and another daughter who teaches art at the high school where she graduated. So we don't have a money manager in the bunch of us, though. We could use one of those. Us creatives aren't really – we stink at that stuff. That's not the strong suit, but I get it.

[17:01] Robert Bannon: Well, for people out here, August 9th at 5 and 7:30, you have two shows. It's a beautiful – if you're looking for the perfect date night, a New York quintessential moment, if you're looking for something different to do, and you don't want to spend a mortgage to go see a Broadway show, this is your opportunity.

[17:12] Debby Boone: Thank you. Yes, to have the most perfect, wonderful, unique night out and celebrate one of America's greatest singers ever, which is the incredible Tony Bennett with an incredible lineup, with Miss Debbie Boone live and in person. There's food and drinks, and you celebrate. And then while you're home, you might as well check her out. Check her out right now on Amazon Prime.

[17:35] Robert Bannon: Look up Six Days in Evergreen.

[17:37] Debby Boone: In Evergreen, yeah. I'm the cute blonde mom.

[17:41] Robert Bannon: You're the cute blonde mom in real life. You're just – you don't age. You're so beautiful. And I was looking at videos of you. You say – you talk about your voice. You sound so incredible in your last run of shows, and your voice never, ever changes. It makes me – memory, nostalgia makes me think of my family. It makes me think of growing up. It's such a gift and a joy to be able to talk to you.

[18:04] Debby Boone: Thank you, Robert. What a joy to talk to you. Please go say hi to your dad and send him my love.

[18:10] Robert Bannon: I'm on my way there right now, right now. We love him. And one last – when you sing – I saw you in an interview and at the end of the show you say, okay, I'm going to sing the song you all want to hear. And you start to sing. You sing it. How has it changed throughout your life? Is it a song for your kids? Is it for God? Is it for your husband? Does it change every night to keep it fresh for you?

[18:33] Debby Boone: It does. Over the years, it really has. And I think, you know, when you are expected – and I'm grateful that people want to hear it, so this is not a complaint. This is gratitude that people – that I am, you know, connected to so many people through this beautiful song. But it depends on what's going on in my life. It depends on what I'm picking up from the crowd. Because I tell you, sometimes the minute I sing the first phrase, you'll see somebody with tears streaming down their face. Or they take the hand of somebody next to them and put their head on each other's shoulders because it's an anniversary or, you know, it was sung at their wedding. Some people have very bittersweet memories of that song and they come remembering a loved one who's gone.

And you feel that all coming at you. And I visualize different things. I feel different things. Sometimes it feels more intimate. Sometimes it just feels like a joyful anthem ballad, you know. And because it can cross all those boundaries, it never gets boring, you know. So I'm very grateful.

[19:38] Robert Bannon: Well, thank you for it. It will live forever, as will all of your music. And it's such an honor and a joy to talk to you. Much love. Break legs. And I hope to see you in person so soon.

[19:46] Debby Boone: I hope so too. This was fun. Thank you.