Yes, Little Richard has for quite some time now credited Pat Boone with helping open the mainstream radio "doors" to his music and that of other black artists - albeit by way of doing a sort of 'sanitized and denatured' cover of songs like Tutti Frutti and Ain't That A Shame.

White artists' covers of black r&b songs like Earth Angel; Roll (Dance) With Me, Henry; Crazy Little Mama, etc., did help popularize the genre and eventually the "race music" itself.

But usually, once you heard the originals, it was hard to get as excited about the covers.