eMusic

Start Your Trial

Pete Fountain

Pete Fountain

Rate it!

Avg: 5.0 (1 rating)

  • Born: Jul. 03, 1930 in New Orleans, LA
  • Years Active: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s

Biography

One of the most famous of all New Orleans jazz clarinetists, Pete Fountain has the ability to play songs that he has performed a countless number of times (such as "Basin Street Blues") with so much enthusiasm that one would swear he had just discovered them. His style and most of his repertoire have remained unchanged since the late '50s, yet he never sounds bored. In 1948, Fountain (who is heavily influenced by Benny Goodman and Irving Fazola) was a member of the Junior Dixieland Band and this was followed by a stint with Phil Zito and an important association with the Basin Street Six (1950-1954), with whom the clarinetist made his first recordings. In 1955, Fountain was a member of the Dukes of Dixieland, but his big breakthrough came when he was featured playing a featured Dixieland number or two on each episode of The Lawrence Welk Show during 1957-1959. After he left, he moved back to New Orleans, opened his own club, and has played there regularly up until retiring from the nightclub business in early 2003. Fountain's finest recordings were a lengthy string for Coral during 1959-1965 (they turned commercial for a period after that).
— Scott Yanow , All Music Guide

Playlists If you like Pete Fountain, check out these member playlists

Explore music recommended by Pete Fountain fans

“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

Back
Forward

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.

Legal or copyright question regarding Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Wikipedia content on eMusic? Please email us.