Pat Boone Explains Why Elton John Thought He 'Was Going to Sue' Him over 'Crocodile Rock'

Pat Boone has 70 years in showbiz under his belt, but some celebrity encounters still stick with him.

The singer, 88, related to Fox News Digital Thursday that one of these such highlights was when he met the equally legendary Elton John for the first time.

As it turns out, Boone had something specific he wanted to discuss; namely one of John's songs that came close to sounding a bit too much like one of his own.

"I said, 'Sir Elton, I have a little bone to pick with you,'" Boone said, in the interview with the outlet.

The other entertainer apparently knew exactly what was coming, according to Boone.

"He looked at me with a guilty grin, and I said, 'You know, I did a song called 'Speedy Gonzales.'"

Boone then sang the hook to that song: "La la la la la la la la la," adding, "And you used it!"

He recalled that John didn't try to deny it. "'Yes, I used it in [1974 hit] 'Crocodile Rock,'" the fellow entertainer admitted.

"'I thought you were going to sue me,' " Boone recalled John saying.

However, Boone noted that, instead of being angry, he was actually flattered by the lifting of his infectious hook.

"I said. 'Sue you?' You know, we performers, we're thrilled when somebody does something that we did. I was honored.'"

Additionally, Boone, who was a wildly popular teen idol during the '50s and '60s — Elvis Presley once opened up for him — discovered that John was actually a big fan of his work.

"He said, 'I had all your records. I had 'Love letters in the Sand' and 'April Love' and all those songs," Boone related. "'But when I heard 'Speedy Gonzales,' I knew I was going to have to use that 'La la la la la la la la la.'"

"Speedy Gonzales" was not written by Boone. The song was penned by Buddy Kaye, Ethel Lee and David Hess, also known as David Dante, and Dante was the first artist to record the track. However, Boone's version a year later was the one that became an international hit.

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"Crocodile Rock" was written by John and his longtime songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. It eventually became John's first U.S. number-one single.