Pete Fountain (born Pierre Dewey LaFontaine, Jr.; July 3, 1930 – August 6, … Read Full Bio ↴Pete Fountain (born Pierre Dewey LaFontaine, Jr.; July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016) was an American jazz clarinetist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played in various traditional and contemporary genres of jazz, such as Dixieland, pop jazz, honky-tonk jazz, as well as pop, and Creole music.
Pierre Dewey Fountain, Jr., was born on White Street, in New Orleans, between Dumaine and St. Ann, in a small Creole cottage-style frame house. Pete was the great grandson of Francois Fontaine who was born in Toulon, France circa 1796, and died on the Mississippi Gulf Coast circa 1885.
He started playing clarinet as a child at the McDonogh 28 school located on Esplanade Avenue. As a child, young Pete was very sickly, frequently battling respiratory infections due to weakened lungs. He was given expensive medication but it proved to be not very effective. During a pharmacy visit, Pete's father began a discussion with a neighborhood doctor who was also there shopping and talked with him about his son's condition. The doctor agreed to see the boy the following day. After a short exam, the doctor confirmed the weak lung condition and advised the father to try an unorthodox treatment: purchase the child a musical instrument, anything he has to blow into. The same day, they went to a local music store and, given his choice of instruments, Pete chose the clarinet (after first wanting the drums, which his father declined per the doctor's orders). At first, Pete was unable to produce a sound from the instrument, but he continued to practice and eventually not only made sounds and eventually music, but greatly improved the health of his lungs.
He took private lessons but also learned to play jazz by playing along with phonograph records of first Benny Goodman and then Irving Fazola. By the time he reached his teens, he was playing regular gigs in the nightclubs on Bourbon Street. According to Fountain:
When I was a high school senior, my history teacher asked me why I didn’t study more... I answered that I was too busy playing clarinet every night, and when I told him I was making scale — about $125 a week — he said that was more than he made and I should play full time. I guess I was a professional from that point on.
One of Fountain's early engagements were with the bands of Monk Hazel. Fountain founded the Basin Street Six in 1950 with his longtime friend, trumpeter George Girard. In 1954, after the Basin Street Six folded, Fountain briefly went to Chicago to play with the Dukes of Dixieland, then returned to New Orleans and teamed up with Al Hirt to lead a band, playing an extended residence at Dan Levy’s Pier 600.
A talent scout for Lawrence Welk, who saw Fountain performing at the Pier 600, invited him to join the Welk's orchestra in Los Angeles, where he re-located for two years becoming well-known for his many solos on Welk's ABC television show, The Lawrence Welk Show. Fountain was rumored to have quit when Welk refused to let him "jazz up" a Christmas carol on the 1958 Christmas show. Other accounts, including one in Fountain's autobiography A Closer Walk With Pete Fountain, indicate he in fact played a jazzy rendition of "Silver Bells" on the show that upset Welk, leading to Fountain's departure in early 1959. In an interview, Fountain said he left The Lawrence Welk Show because "Champagne and bourbon don't mix." Fountain was hired by Decca Records A&R head Charles "Bud" Dant and went on to produce 42 hit albums with Dant. After Welk's death, Fountain would occasionally join with the Welk musical family for reunion shows.
Fountain returned to New Orleans, played with The Dukes of Dixieland, then began leading bands under his own name. He owned his own club in the French Quarter in the 1960s and 1970s. He later acquired "Pete Fountain's Jazz Club" at the Riverside Hilton in downtown New Orleans.
The New Orleans Jazz Club presented "Pete Fountain Day" on October 19, 1959, with celebrations honoring the pride of their city, concluding with a packed concert that evening. His Quintett was made up of his studio recording musicians, Stan Kenton's bassist Don Bagley, vibeist Godfrey Hirsch, pianist Merle Koch, and the double bass drummer Jack Sperling. Fountain brought these same players together in 1963 when they played the Hollywood Bowl. Pete would make the trek to Hollywood many times, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 56 times.
Fountain opened his club, the French Quarter Inn, located in the heart of the famed French Quarter district, at 800 Bourbon Street, in the spring of 1960. His group members were Oliver "Stick" Felix on bass, John Probst on piano, Paul Guma on guitar, Godfrey Hirsch on vibes, and Jack Sperling on drums. In no time at all, major entertainers found their way there. Cliff Arquette and Jonathan Winters were there on opening night and performed their comedy routines. Over the next few years Frank Sinatra, Phil Harris, Carol Lawrence and Robert Goulet, Keely Smith, Robert Mitchum, and Brenda Lee, among many others, came to the club. Many would perform with the band, and Brenda Lee's sit-in resulted in a duet record album recorded by her and Pete. Benny Goodman came to the club twice, but without bringing his clarinet.
His greatest friendly rivalry was with trumpeter Al Hirt, whose club was down the street from Fountain's. They stole musicians from each other, and sometimes came into each other's clubs and played together. They were good friends who came up together and later recorded several albums together.
In 2003, Fountain closed his club at the Hilton with a performance before a packed house filled with musical friends and fans. He began performing two nights a week at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he also had a home (later destroyed by Hurricane Katrina).
After heart surgery in 2006, he performed at the JazzFest, and helped reopen the Bay St. Louis Casino in Bay St. Louis, MS. It has since been renamed the Hollywood Casino. He performed his last show at the Hollywood Casino on December 8, 2010, before returning to help reopen the resort in 2014, by which point he was mostly retired.
Fountain was a founder and the most prominent member of the Half-Fast Walking Club, one of the best known marching freelance marching units that parade in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day. The original name was "The Half-Assed Walking Club," and it was an excuse to take a "lubricated" musical stroll down the parade route. Pete changed the name under pressure exerted by the parade organizers. On Mardi Gras Day 2007, Pete again joined his Half-Fast Walking Club, having missed the event in 2006 due to illness.
Fountain's clarinet work was noted for his sweet fluid tone. He recorded over 100 LPs and CDs under his own name, some in the Dixieland style, many others with only peripheral relevance to any type of jazz.
The distinctive Fountain sound — more woody than most — came from the crystal mouthpieces he played with since 1949. His first crystal mouthpiece was actually Irving Fazola's, given to Pete by Fazola's mother after Faz's death, because she had heard him play and noted how he played like her son. That mouthpiece was shattered on the bandstand one night when Pete had played his solo and was standing by as trumpeter George Girard played his [own solo], and Girard brought his trumpet down suddenly on top of the mouthpiece. Pete kept the shattered mouthpiece, and played other crystal mouthpieces ever since.
Fountain led the Pete Fountain Quintett, a New Orleans French Quarter jazz band of Fountain and his Creole-style music. The "Quintett" had many musicians over the years, but primarily recorded with Jack Sperling on drums, bassists Don Bagley or Morty Corb, vibeist Godfrey Hirch, and pianists Merle Kock or Stan Wrightsman.
Fountain married Beverly Lang on October 27, 1951; they remained married for sixty-five years until his death. They have two sons and a daughter: Kevin, Jeffrey, and Dahra. Dahra's husband, Benny Harrell, was Fountain's manager in his later years.
Fountain died in his hometown on August 6, 2016, at the age of eighty-six. He had suffered from heart problems and was in hospice care when he died.
At the time of his death, Fountain was registered to vote in Orleans Parish as an Independent under the name Peter D. Fountain, Jr.
Awards and honors
2006, Loyola University New Orleans awarded Fountain an honorary degree.
On March 18, 2007, Pete Fountain was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
On April 5, 2008, Fountain was inducted at the seventh annual Delta Music Museum Festival in Ferriday in Concordia Parish. An exhibit was dedicated to Fountain, and he received a star on the museum "Walk of Fame" sidewalk.
Pierre Dewey Fountain, Jr., was born on White Street, in New Orleans, between Dumaine and St. Ann, in a small Creole cottage-style frame house. Pete was the great grandson of Francois Fontaine who was born in Toulon, France circa 1796, and died on the Mississippi Gulf Coast circa 1885.
He started playing clarinet as a child at the McDonogh 28 school located on Esplanade Avenue. As a child, young Pete was very sickly, frequently battling respiratory infections due to weakened lungs. He was given expensive medication but it proved to be not very effective. During a pharmacy visit, Pete's father began a discussion with a neighborhood doctor who was also there shopping and talked with him about his son's condition. The doctor agreed to see the boy the following day. After a short exam, the doctor confirmed the weak lung condition and advised the father to try an unorthodox treatment: purchase the child a musical instrument, anything he has to blow into. The same day, they went to a local music store and, given his choice of instruments, Pete chose the clarinet (after first wanting the drums, which his father declined per the doctor's orders). At first, Pete was unable to produce a sound from the instrument, but he continued to practice and eventually not only made sounds and eventually music, but greatly improved the health of his lungs.
He took private lessons but also learned to play jazz by playing along with phonograph records of first Benny Goodman and then Irving Fazola. By the time he reached his teens, he was playing regular gigs in the nightclubs on Bourbon Street. According to Fountain:
When I was a high school senior, my history teacher asked me why I didn’t study more... I answered that I was too busy playing clarinet every night, and when I told him I was making scale — about $125 a week — he said that was more than he made and I should play full time. I guess I was a professional from that point on.
One of Fountain's early engagements were with the bands of Monk Hazel. Fountain founded the Basin Street Six in 1950 with his longtime friend, trumpeter George Girard. In 1954, after the Basin Street Six folded, Fountain briefly went to Chicago to play with the Dukes of Dixieland, then returned to New Orleans and teamed up with Al Hirt to lead a band, playing an extended residence at Dan Levy’s Pier 600.
A talent scout for Lawrence Welk, who saw Fountain performing at the Pier 600, invited him to join the Welk's orchestra in Los Angeles, where he re-located for two years becoming well-known for his many solos on Welk's ABC television show, The Lawrence Welk Show. Fountain was rumored to have quit when Welk refused to let him "jazz up" a Christmas carol on the 1958 Christmas show. Other accounts, including one in Fountain's autobiography A Closer Walk With Pete Fountain, indicate he in fact played a jazzy rendition of "Silver Bells" on the show that upset Welk, leading to Fountain's departure in early 1959. In an interview, Fountain said he left The Lawrence Welk Show because "Champagne and bourbon don't mix." Fountain was hired by Decca Records A&R head Charles "Bud" Dant and went on to produce 42 hit albums with Dant. After Welk's death, Fountain would occasionally join with the Welk musical family for reunion shows.
Fountain returned to New Orleans, played with The Dukes of Dixieland, then began leading bands under his own name. He owned his own club in the French Quarter in the 1960s and 1970s. He later acquired "Pete Fountain's Jazz Club" at the Riverside Hilton in downtown New Orleans.
The New Orleans Jazz Club presented "Pete Fountain Day" on October 19, 1959, with celebrations honoring the pride of their city, concluding with a packed concert that evening. His Quintett was made up of his studio recording musicians, Stan Kenton's bassist Don Bagley, vibeist Godfrey Hirsch, pianist Merle Koch, and the double bass drummer Jack Sperling. Fountain brought these same players together in 1963 when they played the Hollywood Bowl. Pete would make the trek to Hollywood many times, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 56 times.
Fountain opened his club, the French Quarter Inn, located in the heart of the famed French Quarter district, at 800 Bourbon Street, in the spring of 1960. His group members were Oliver "Stick" Felix on bass, John Probst on piano, Paul Guma on guitar, Godfrey Hirsch on vibes, and Jack Sperling on drums. In no time at all, major entertainers found their way there. Cliff Arquette and Jonathan Winters were there on opening night and performed their comedy routines. Over the next few years Frank Sinatra, Phil Harris, Carol Lawrence and Robert Goulet, Keely Smith, Robert Mitchum, and Brenda Lee, among many others, came to the club. Many would perform with the band, and Brenda Lee's sit-in resulted in a duet record album recorded by her and Pete. Benny Goodman came to the club twice, but without bringing his clarinet.
His greatest friendly rivalry was with trumpeter Al Hirt, whose club was down the street from Fountain's. They stole musicians from each other, and sometimes came into each other's clubs and played together. They were good friends who came up together and later recorded several albums together.
In 2003, Fountain closed his club at the Hilton with a performance before a packed house filled with musical friends and fans. He began performing two nights a week at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he also had a home (later destroyed by Hurricane Katrina).
After heart surgery in 2006, he performed at the JazzFest, and helped reopen the Bay St. Louis Casino in Bay St. Louis, MS. It has since been renamed the Hollywood Casino. He performed his last show at the Hollywood Casino on December 8, 2010, before returning to help reopen the resort in 2014, by which point he was mostly retired.
Fountain was a founder and the most prominent member of the Half-Fast Walking Club, one of the best known marching freelance marching units that parade in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day. The original name was "The Half-Assed Walking Club," and it was an excuse to take a "lubricated" musical stroll down the parade route. Pete changed the name under pressure exerted by the parade organizers. On Mardi Gras Day 2007, Pete again joined his Half-Fast Walking Club, having missed the event in 2006 due to illness.
Fountain's clarinet work was noted for his sweet fluid tone. He recorded over 100 LPs and CDs under his own name, some in the Dixieland style, many others with only peripheral relevance to any type of jazz.
The distinctive Fountain sound — more woody than most — came from the crystal mouthpieces he played with since 1949. His first crystal mouthpiece was actually Irving Fazola's, given to Pete by Fazola's mother after Faz's death, because she had heard him play and noted how he played like her son. That mouthpiece was shattered on the bandstand one night when Pete had played his solo and was standing by as trumpeter George Girard played his [own solo], and Girard brought his trumpet down suddenly on top of the mouthpiece. Pete kept the shattered mouthpiece, and played other crystal mouthpieces ever since.
Fountain led the Pete Fountain Quintett, a New Orleans French Quarter jazz band of Fountain and his Creole-style music. The "Quintett" had many musicians over the years, but primarily recorded with Jack Sperling on drums, bassists Don Bagley or Morty Corb, vibeist Godfrey Hirch, and pianists Merle Kock or Stan Wrightsman.
Fountain married Beverly Lang on October 27, 1951; they remained married for sixty-five years until his death. They have two sons and a daughter: Kevin, Jeffrey, and Dahra. Dahra's husband, Benny Harrell, was Fountain's manager in his later years.
Fountain died in his hometown on August 6, 2016, at the age of eighty-six. He had suffered from heart problems and was in hospice care when he died.
At the time of his death, Fountain was registered to vote in Orleans Parish as an Independent under the name Peter D. Fountain, Jr.
Awards and honors
2006, Loyola University New Orleans awarded Fountain an honorary degree.
On March 18, 2007, Pete Fountain was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
On April 5, 2008, Fountain was inducted at the seventh annual Delta Music Museum Festival in Ferriday in Concordia Parish. An exhibit was dedicated to Fountain, and he received a star on the museum "Walk of Fame" sidewalk.
When The Saints Go Marching In
Pete Fountain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Divine Comedy, The
Promenade
When The Lights Go Out All Over Europe
Twilight turns from amethyst
To deep and deeper blue
We've got an hour or two
Before it's time to go
Let's go see a movie show
Jeanne can't choose
Between the two
'cos jules is hip
And jim is cool
And so they live together
With the trees and birds
And little girls
Who play upon
Poor jean-claude's nerves
Till finally
He strokes claire's knee
And when she asks
Of his ambition
Jean-pierre replies
"my mission
Is to become eternal
And to die..."
Heaven knows the reason why...
When the lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old hollywood,
'cos doris day could never
Make me cheer up
Quite the way those french girls always could
Jean seberg: et puisque je suis mechante avec toi c'est la preuve que je ne suis pas amoureuse de toi
Jean paul belmondo: on dit qu'il n'y a pas d'amour heureux
Jean seberg: si je t'aimais... oh c'est trop complicé
Jean paul belmondo: au contraire, il n'y a pas d'amour malheureux
Jean seberg: je veux que les gens s'occupant pas de moi et puis je suis independente... peut etre que tu m'aimes?
Jean paul belmondo: c'est ce que lu crois, mais tu ne l'ai pas
Jean seberg: c'est pour ca que je t'ai denonce
Jean paul belmondo: je te suis superieur
Jean seberg: maintenant tu es force de partir
Jean paul belmondo: tu es single, c'est lamentable comme raisonnment...
When the lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old mgm
'cos paramount
Was never universal
And warners went out
Way back when
Those lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old hollywood,
'cos doris day could never
Make me cheer up
Quite the way those french girls
Always could.
Promenade
When The Lights Go Out All Over Europe
Twilight turns from amethyst
To deep and deeper blue
We've got an hour or two
Before it's time to go
Let's go see a movie show
Jeanne can't choose
Between the two
'cos jules is hip
And jim is cool
And so they live together
With the trees and birds
And little girls
Who play upon
Poor jean-claude's nerves
Till finally
He strokes claire's knee
And when she asks
Of his ambition
Jean-pierre replies
"my mission
Is to become eternal
And to die..."
Heaven knows the reason why...
When the lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old hollywood,
'cos doris day could never
Make me cheer up
Quite the way those french girls always could
Jean seberg: et puisque je suis mechante avec toi c'est la preuve que je ne suis pas amoureuse de toi
Jean paul belmondo: on dit qu'il n'y a pas d'amour heureux
Jean seberg: si je t'aimais... oh c'est trop complicé
Jean paul belmondo: au contraire, il n'y a pas d'amour malheureux
Jean seberg: je veux que les gens s'occupant pas de moi et puis je suis independente... peut etre que tu m'aimes?
Jean paul belmondo: c'est ce que lu crois, mais tu ne l'ai pas
Jean seberg: c'est pour ca que je t'ai denonce
Jean paul belmondo: je te suis superieur
Jean seberg: maintenant tu es force de partir
Jean paul belmondo: tu es single, c'est lamentable comme raisonnment...
When the lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old mgm
'cos paramount
Was never universal
And warners went out
Way back when
Those lights go out
All over europe
I forget about old hollywood,
'cos doris day could never
Make me cheer up
Quite the way those french girls
Always could.
The lyrics to this song are actually from the band Divine Comedy and this particular song is called "When the Lights Go Out All Over Europe". The song has a very specific French theme and mentions iconic French actors such as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. The lyrics also talk about a couple named Jeanne and Jean-Pierre who are living with trees, birds and little girls who play with Jean-Claude's nerves. It is ultimately revealed that Jean-Pierre's ambition is to become eternal and to die, for reasons unknown. The song ends with the line "When the lights go out all over Europe, I forget about old Hollywood, 'cause Doris Day could never make me cheer up quite the way those French girls always could."
Line by Line Meaning
When the lights go out all over Europe
The absence of light and hope in Europe makes me forget about Hollywood and its superficiality.
I forget about old Hollywood, 'cos Doris Day could never make me cheer up
Doris Day, a Hollywood actress, was never able to make me as happy as the French girls did with their love stories and dramas.
Jean Seberg: et puisque je suis mechante avec toi c'est la preuve que je ne suis pas amoureuse de toi
Jean Seberg, a French actress, tells Jean-Paul Belmondo that her cruel treatment towards him means that she is not in love with him.
Jean-paul Belmondo: on dit qu'il n'y a pas d'amour heureux
Jean-Paul Belmondo responds with a quote: 'They say there is no happy love.'
Those lights go out all over Europe
As the lights across Europe fade, I am forced to confront reality and forget about Hollywood.
I forget about old MGM 'cos Paramount was never Universal
I forget about MGM (a film studio) and focus on Paramount (another film studio) since it creates a more impactful, memorable experience for me.
And Warners went out way back when
Warner Bros., a film studio, lost their relevance a long time ago and are no longer important to me.
Quite the way those French girls always could
In contrast to Doris Day and Hollywood, French girls evoke strong emotions and emotions in me through their stories and drama.
Writer(s): PeterFountain Jr, Charles Dant Copyright: Northern Music Co.
Contributed by Gabriel R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Brian Shanabrough
Im wiping away tears as I listen to Pete.There's only one N'awlins I shut my eyes and still see Pete leading the "Half Fast Walking Club"down the parade route... We love ya Pete!
Joseph Bennett
This of course is the standard for New Orleans, but I never get tired of hearing Pete tear it up! WOW!
Keith Ward
Pete - May God rest your soul and comfort your family, friends, and fans. You'll be greatly missed. As a student of your jazz clarinet, I'll carry with me your indelible influence. @JimV33, thanks for this post. Besides Pete's playing, I never heard him speak probably more than a few words! But his clarinet did the talking on the bandstand, of course.
Jim Valentine
He has set the standard and what to shoot for if you want to play a clarinet really good including tone and everything else.
Keith Ward
+JimV33 - You said it! It was decades till I realized that the "fat, sweet" tone he had was not usual for trad jazz clarinet, until I started listening to other recordings of earlier guys like George Lewis. I read that Pete modeled his tone after Faz Fazola. I detect a little Goodman in it, too. You've got that kind of tone. And the joy that comes out when Pete plays--that's something else altogether!
Jeffrey Bast
I remember cutting my teeth on clarinet with Pete Fountain records back in 1960. Boy was I hooked. I have kept up with it ever since. The first one I could play was GOTTA TRAVEL ON, and I was only 12 years old. Pete has a talent like no one else and this performance shows it.
Meredith
We will miss you Pete. Prayers for Beverly and the family.
Eva C.
Sin palabras de verdad, sin palabras. Impresionante
difa2ol
Oh, my gosh!! Wonderful!!
Fred Barcola
ClarinetFest in NO - Pete in the Orpheus Theater, 2,000 clarinet players in the audience. Pandimonium. Love this guy! kjf