Lawrence Welk Plays Dixieland - Coral Records

Lawrence Welk Plays Dixieland
Lawrence Welk And His Dixieland Boys
Featuring Pete Fountain on Clarinet

1958 Coral Records CRL 57146 Mono / CRL 757146 Stereo

Selections Include:
Side One
1. China Boy (Go Sleep)
2. Sweethearts On Parade
3. Blue Moods
4. Should I
5. Pete's Tail-Fly
6. San Antonio Rose

Side Two
1. Barnyard Blues
2. When My Sugar Walks Down The Street
3. 's Wonderful
4. Tea 'n Trumpets
5. Thou Swell
6. Strike Up The Band

Liner Notes:

Since the inception of dixieland jazz as a regular part of the vastly popular Monday and Saturday night Lawrence Welk television shows, there has been a growing demand throughout the country for an album of this nature.

Here is a perfect successor to previous, overwhelmingly received Lawrence Welk albums by Coral Records. For the new dixieland feature on his shows, Lawrence Welk went to the source, New Orleans, and came up with one of the top clarinetists in the dixieland jazz field - Pete Fountain. Pete and his "Licorice Stick" are featured in the album as well as on the Welk TV shows.

This is the album you have been waiting for. Here, by popular demand, is dixieland jazz by the inimitable Lawrence Welk and his Dixieland Boys. Listen, and you will rediscover the remarkable Welk quality - apparent in any and all of his music.

Merry Christmas From Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music - Coral Records

Merry Christmas From Lawrence Welk And His Champagne Music

featuring Pete Fountain

1958 Coral Records CRL 57093 Mono / CLR 757093 Stereo

Side One
1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Instrumental Fox Trot
2. I Wanna Do More Than Whistle (Under The Mistletoe)
Vocal By The Sparklers And Alice Lon
3. White Christmas
Vocal By The Sparklers
4. Christmas Island
Vocal By The Sparklers
5. The Christmas Toy
Vocal By The Lennon Sisters
6. Santa Claus Is Comin` To Town
Instrumental

Side Two
1. Winter Wonderland
With Larry, Dick And Curt
2. Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)
Vocal By Dick Dale
3. Christmas Comes But Once A Year
Vocal By Larry, Dean And The Sparklers
4. Thanks For Christmas
Vocal By Alice Lon And The Sparklers
5. Twelve Gifts Of Christmas
Vocal By Larry, Dean And The Sparklers
6. High On The House Top
Vocal By Larry Hooper

Pete was with Lawrence Welk when this records was recorded and is in the band playing.

Liner Notes:

The wondrous enchantment of Christmas and the festive holiday season has been told in many ways and in many languages down through the ages. From the moving biblical stories to the immortal lines of Dickens' Christmas Carol, we have come to know and understand the true meaning of this most revered day.

However, our feelings as Americans towards Christmas in other than a religious vein, have best been told by Tin Pan Alley and the present day song writers. In their words and melodies they have truly captured the thoughts of children and adults during the Christmas season.

They have depicted the sheer excitement of children when they know Santa will soon be on his way - their angelic faces and well mannered behavior - the anticipation of shiny new toys and a stocking crammed with delicacies, Their music has expressed our warm feelings of brotherhood, and our heartfelt desire for good will among men. The longing thoughts that stem from Christmas spent away from loved ones to the crackling spirits of a bright fireplace, and the sparkling freshness of a newly fallen snow have found their way from their pens to our hearts and imaginations.

In this musical greeting from Lawrence Welk, he and his Champagne Music Makers have chosen a group of selections that are wholly representative of the American Christmas spirit. Whether you spend Christmas in the sunny climates of Southern California and Florida, or in the snow covered countrysides of Maine and Minnesota, Lawrence Welk extends to you best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Pete Fountain and Al Hirt - The Early Years - Music Masters

Pete Fountain and Al Hirt - The Early Years

1970 Music Masters MM GS 1046

Side A: (Pete Fountain)
1. South Rampart Street Parade
2. Jazz Me Blues
3. When The Saints Go Marching In
4. Lonesome Trails
5. Thats A Plenty

Side B: (Al Hirt)
1. Faded Love
2. Orange Blossom Special
3. Blue Eyes Cryin In The Rain
4. A Million Miles Away Behind The Door
5. They Call The Wind Maria

Project Co-ordination by Vince J. Rundus
Released by
Music Masters, ltd.
Charlotte, N.C. 28211
Cover art by Terri Lee

Future Sound Marketing Distributors
For Albums, Tapes, Films 1-800-251-3550

I couldn't locate any real information on this LP. Music Masters released another LP billed as a "Pete Fountain TV Special - The Early Years".

Liner Notes:

Music has always been an important part of the American way of life. Almost everybody has a favorite type of music which can mean any number of things to each individual.

One persons favorite music may ease the pain of a lost love, while another person may use his favorite polka band's music to go out dancing and have a good time. Dixieland jazz has always fascinated me because it is so many things to its fans and the musicians who perform it.

In New Orleans you may hear Dixieland Jazz from the extreme settings of a lively Bourbon Street club to a funeral procession. It's amazing virtue is that it is appropriate in almost any setting. Its musicians have proven themselves appropriate in many different settings also.

This album lets you hear two of Dixieland's most commercially successful artists play back to back sets. Pete Fountain's five tunes are from a live performance of traditional standards such as "South Rampart Street Parade" and "When the Saint's Go Marching In". Al Hirt's set includes five studio cuts of some old favorites including Hirt's interpretations of several country classics.

This album will be unique in your record collection as it lets you bring Mardi Gras into your listening room or settle back and relax to Al's trumpet improvizations throughout these time tested standards.

V.J.R. (Vince J. Rundus)

Pete Fountain Mardi Gras Bobble Head Dolls - Memorabilia

Pete Fountain Mardi Gras Bobble Head Dolls

Memorabilia - 2003 Set of three Mardi Gras Bobble Head Dolls

Purple Cape, Red White and Blue Cape and Green Cape

Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans - Imperial Records

George Girard and His New Orleans Five
and Frank Assunto And The Dukes Of Dixieland
featuring Pete Fountain

1959 Imperial Records LP 9086

Titles
George Girard and His New Orleans Five

Side 1
1. I've Found A New Baby
2. Crazy Man Crazy
3. Three Little Words
4. When The Saints Go Marching In
5. Barnyard Blues
6. I Got Rhythm

Frank Assunto And The Dukes Of Dixieland

Side 2
1. Whispering
2. Sweet Georgia Brown
3. Bourbon Street Parade
4. Glory Of Love
5. Slide, Frog, Slide
6. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans

1959 Imperial Records LP-9086 - Dixieland Jazz From New Orleans - Various Artists - Issued in mono only

Side One is George Girard and His New Orleans Five and Side Two is Frank Assunto & Dukes Of Dixieland. Pete played with George off and on after the demise of the Basin Street Six, and full time with the Dukes in this period. Pete may have played on these records, but there is nothing in the liner notes. I'll listen to it and hear if Pete's unique style is there. Any feedback on the line-up of the bands is appreciated.

All titles are from the original LPs on Imperial Records:
- 1954 Imperial Records IMP-3005 - Dixieland Jazz From New Orleans - Frank Assunto & Dukes Of Dixieland
- 1955 Imperial Records IMP-3009 - George Girard Band - George Girard

Liner Notes:

The fascinating fact about Dixieland, our oldest form of jazz, is that it always emerges as a new rage. It seems that each succeeding generation suddenly rediscovers Dixie, and then proceeds to dedicate itself to its revival. To be sure, it never passed from the scene in the first place.

In this curious chain of events can be found the very essence of Dixieland's appeal, and, obviously, the secret of its longevity. It is music which sparkles with a freshness ever new to the ear. As each passing generation basks in the warmth of Dixie's undimmed glow, it is left feeling that here is the real music - a form of music which surely deserves far more recognition. It immediately takes it upon itself to sing Dixieland's praises and thereby inform the world of the vast musical treasure it has uncovered. Thus, a time-old rage is born a-new. And, thus, Dixieland continues to flourish as the vigorous and lusty old timer of American music.

What is there about this type of music which so captivates us all? Some feel that the true strength of Dixieland lies in the freedom of its style. It's an unbridled brand of music which lets the instrumentalists go wherever their mood will take them. The performer is not fenced in by preconceived arrangements and held imprisoned by the printed page. In pure Dixieland, the result is a free flowing style of music which never sounds the same. It may well be that it owes its freshness to the very reliance on improvisation.

Others maintain that Dixieland's charm lies in the warm and familiar feeling the music creates. To be sure, there's an old-shoe comfort in good Dixie, an easy and relaxed atmosphere which leaves its listeners a-glow. This well may be the result of the freedom it allows its performers.

Perhaps the core of Dixieland's widespread appeal consists of the combined strength of these two factors. Dixieland was born out of the turbulent post-Civil War South. It was conceived and cradled in New Orleans. It drew its sustenance from songs of prayer and plantation, from dirge and from dance to emerge as a most unusual musical mixture. It grew into a zesty, happy-go-lucky youth, but one can occasionally sense a plaintive note in its make-up. When Dixie reached manhood it became restless and wandered from its Crescent City home. It went up the Mississippi to answer the lure of the beckoning North - on to St. Louis and from there, to Chicago and Kansas City. It spread across our land and around the world to become America's stalwart contribution to the world of music.

Of course, it took with it the great musicians who fostered its growth in New Orleans for only they could properly perform it in the true tradition of the old Crescent City days.

This album offers two of the best known New Orleans groups noted for their authentic renditions of pure Dixieland. Listen and you, too, will feel that you've just rediscovered Dixie.

Monk Hazel And His New Orleans Jazz Kings - Southland Records

Monk Hazel And His New Orleans Jazz Kings

Featuring Pete Fountain

1955 Southland Records S-LP 217 Mono Only

Side 1
1. Panama
2. All The Wrongs You Done To Me
3. Long Way To Tipperary
4. I Use T0 Love You

Personnel:
Al Hirt - Trumpet
Jack Delaney - Trombone
Pete Fountain - Clarinet
Joe Capraro- Guitar
Roy Zimmerman- Piano
Phil Darois - String Bass
Monk Hazel - Drums - Mellophone
Rita St Claire - Vocal


Side 2
1. Let Me Call You Sweetheart
2. When You're Smiling
3. Angry
4. Basin Street Blues

Personnel:
Dutch Andrus - Trumpet
Jack Delaney - Trombone
Harry Shields - Clarinet
Roy Zimmerman - Piano
Chink Martin - Bass - Tuba
Monk Hazel - Drums
Jackie Blaine - Vocal

Previously release with different cover, same catalog number and title: Monk Hazel and His New Orleans Jazz Kings.

Liner Notes:

Certain types of musicians are born to be legends. People like Buddy Bolden, Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo, Larry Shields and Monk Hazel are the stuff that jazz dreams are made of. But of the quintet names above, Little Monk is the only one left on this sphere, still sparking great jazz combinations. Always insufficiently recorded in years gone by in fact his last recording session fronting his own band dates back to December 1928 when he waxed four sides under the name of "Monk Hazel and his Bienville Roof Garden". Monk's work is mainly remembered by those fortunate enough to see him in person here or on his occasional sensational forays into New York, Chicago, or Hollywood.

If you're one of those unfortunates who have been told so many times, "You should have been here last night! Monk Hazel was on the stand" you'll welcome these nine sides, because they're just the way he played the night you missed him. Principally famed as the greatest of Dixieland drummers, Monk is also celebrated for his work on cornet and e-flat valve trombone plus his great mellophone solo's one which you will hear on the tune "It's A Long Way To Tipperary."

You'll be knocked out, nevertheless, by the unique Hazel beat as present herein, occupying the spotlight in the rhythm section that includes not only the tuba work on side two by Chink Martin, Sr. but the string bass of Phil Darois with that fabulous beat which has become identified with music generating in this Crescent City.

On both sessions you hear Roy Zimmerman the veteran New Orleans piano man stressing sustained improvisation in middle and upper register and extracting rich tones from the piano bass. On clarinet side two fresh from the critical acclaim heaped on his melodious horn in all of the jazz periodical, following his first Southland appearance with the Johnny Wiggs Group (S-LP 200), you'll hear Harry Shields even more carefully recorded, and full of the quiet fire that made for him an overnight world-wide reputation. You'll never get his solo on the verse to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" out of your mind.

On Side One the big tone of Pete Fountain clarinet who reminds one of the late and great Irving Fazola, and it is a rare privilege to be able to present him now surrounded by men of his own caliber in his finest recorded performance. Jack Delaney's fluent trombone (heard on both sides) which has in the past year captured the fancies and hearts of all of New Orleans, alternates flexibly between "Tailgate" and "High Register" in a manner that confounds so many of the older heads here and then tosses in solos full of freshness and facility rivalling Brunis and Teagarden.

The driving trumpet you'll hear on Side One is a rare treat. Al Hirt has been a outstanding "job" musician around New Orleans for many a year. Obviously for no good reason, he's never been recorded with a Dixieland band before. You'll be shocked, when you hear this wonderful horn to realize that a jazzman of this caliber can get lost in any city. Southland apologizes for the whole record industry, but offers Al Hirt here in his highly successful disc debut. On Side Two you hear Dutch Andrus on trumpet, a current start in his own right carries this session along in masterly fashion. Dutch has established himself already as one of New Orleans outstanding jazzmen. He sat regularly with the town's finest, and they love to play with his typically New Orleans lead horn. On Side One you hear the top man in his field today on guitar "Joe Capraro" with his big full tone and stimulated rhythm.

Southland was so impressed with the fine singing of Rita St Claire that we took this opportunity to offer her to you. On Side One you will hear Rita St Claire backed by this exciting Dixieland ensemble in "All The Wrongs You Done To Me" and "It's A Long Way To Tipperary" - you hear this gorgeous voice. She is a natural, her singing is effortless, her pitch true, her tone full and thrilling.

On Side Two you hear the great blues singer Jackie Blaine giving Spencer Williams great blues "Basin Street Blues" a grand treatment.

Joe Mares, Jr.

Cover Design By Johnny Dohnels
Photo By John Kuhlman

Southland Records - Made in New Orleans S-LP 217

Decca Cavalcade Of Stars - Decca Records

Decca Cavalcade Of Stars
Various Artists featuring Pete Fountain

1964 Decca Records DL 34289 (Mono) DL 734289 (Stereo)

Side 1
Pete Fountain - Hello, Dolly!
Bing Crosby - When I Take My Sugar To Tea
Brenda Lee - All Alone Am I
Guy Lombardo - Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Red Foley - Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Ethel Smith - Tico - Tico

Side 2
Leroy Anderson - Blue Tango
Al Jolson - Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye
Carmen Cavallaro - Polonaise (Chopin)
Loretta Lynn - Before I'm Over You
The Weavers - Goodnight Irene
Bert Kaempfert - Red Roses For A Blue Lady

Liner Notes:
Decca various artists LP featuring Pete Fountain.

All-Time Hits On The "IN" Side - Decca Records

All-Time Hits On The "IN" Side

Various Artists featuring Pete Fountain

1965 Decca Records DL 34469 (Mono) DL 734469 (Stereo)

Side One
1. Hello, Dolly! - Pete Fountain
2. Tammy - Debbie Reynolds
3. Mr. Sandman - The Four Aces
4. Sentimental Journey - Les Brown
5. That Old Black Magic - Judy Garland

Side Two
1. Lover - Peggy Lee
2. You Always Hurt The One You Love - The Mills Brothers
3. I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
4. Heartaches - Ted Weems
5. When The Saints Go Marching In - Louis Armstrong

Liner Notes:

Here Is An Album of ten "IN" songs. Any current fad that is accepted by the masses is considered "IN," but what's "IN" today might very well be passe tomorrow. Surfboards and sports cars - miniskirts and mods - long haired boys and short haired girls - these are considered "IN" today. Who knows what new fads will replace these tomorrow ! That's what's different about the songs on this record, as well as the artists who perform them. They have a special, lasting appeal and when you play this record, say five years from now, it will be just as "IN" then as it is now.

For openers, we begin with the title song from one of Broadway's all-time box office smash musical comedies, "Hello, Dolly!" This rendition by clarinetist Pete Fountain gives an even greater dimension to the song that has become everybody's favorite. Motion picture actress and singer, Debbie Reynolds, reached the apex of her recording career, with her never-to-be-forgotten version of "Tammy," which still has a fresh and charming appeal for people of all ages. "Mr. Sandman," by The Four Aces, is one of the best examples of the perfect marriage between a great song and performance. The definitive version of "Sentimental Journey" is reprised hereby the artist who has used this song as a theme during his long and successful career as a bandleader, Les Brown. "That Old Black Magic," certainly one of the best known and most beloved standards, is sung by one of the best known and most beloved singers, Judy Garland.

Of all the many recorded versions of "Lover," there is little doubt that the one by Peggy Lee is the most imitated and most remembered. The marvelous Mills Brothers are included on this record, singing "You Always Hurt The One You Love," which did as much for their long and outstanding career as any song they ever recorded. The diminutive Brenda Lee is also represented with "I'm Sorry," the recording that sold over one million copies and earned her a gold record, her first. The orchestra of the late Ted Weems, featuring the whistling of Elmo Tanner, gives out with the memorable "Heartaches." The popularity of this recording has surpassed all barriers of time and still remains one of the most consistent best sellers. Finally, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong is heard once more, with his rousing and spirited recording of "When The Saints Go Marching In," a fitting end to this memorable album of ALL-TIME HITS ON THE "IN" SIDE.

Alive In New Orleans - First American Records

Pete Fountain

Alive In New Orleans

1977 First American Records FA-7706 Stereo

Side One
1. The Jazz Me Blues
2. Stranger On The Shore
3. Little Girl
4. When Your Lover Has Gone

Side Two
1. Struttin' With Some Barbeque
2. Georgia On My Mind
3. Diane
4. Margie
5. Indiana

Line Notes:

Personnel:
Pete Fountain - Clarinet
Eddie Miller - Tenor Sax
Jack Delaney - Trombone
Jim Duggan - Trombone
Mike Serpas - Trumpet
Earl Vuiovich - Piano
Oliver Felix - Bass
Charlie Lodice - Drums

Recorded At Studio In The Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana.
Produced By Pete Fountain And Bill Evans.
Engineered By Bill Evans.

Note: Same as LP 1977 First American Records FA-7706 Alive In New Orleans ond CD 1998 - Alive in New Orleans Laserlight 17 181 Delta Music Records

PETE FOUNTAIN
The clarinet is a musical magic wand all black and silver, sleek and elegant, emitting a round sound that has pleased the ears from the time of Egyptians to Mozart to modern New Orleans style music. The New Orleans clarinet style has been an influence in jazz and popular music since the earliest days of marching bands and jazz groups. George Gershwin recognized the spellbinding power of the clarinet when he gave it the opening lines of "Rhapsody in Blue," one of America's finest pieces of music. The clarinet is two instruments in one. The lower register, known as the chalumeau, yields the warm, deep tone, whereas the upper register emits the shrilling, high notes that are very exciting and very "Dixie" in jazz.

Pete Fountain hails from the heart of Dixieland, New Orleans. He was born in the French Quarter in 1930 and it was there that he learned to play the music he loves. He learned to play the clarinet from his father who could play almost any musical instrument by ear, especially the fiddle. As unlikely as it may sound, Pete had serious lung problems when he was young and he also had a keen interest in music by the age of nine. Because of his many medical bills it wasn't possible for his father to purchase a musical instrument for him until the day a doctor prescribed that a musical instrument be bought and that Pete be made to play so that his lungs would become strong. That was a happy day for Pete Fountain. After a few lessons in school and hours of listening to the records of Benny Goodman he was on his way to becoming a jazz musician and a great improvisor, even though his teachers didn't appreciate his improvisations.

In 1950 he formed "The Basin Street Six," a strictly Dixie jazz band. Unfortunately, Dixie was not popular in 1950, dance music was, so the band had to concede to play a little dance music to keep their job. As fate would have it, a representative from a television station heard the show and wanted the band to play Dixie, as he thought it should be revived and telecast live from the restaurant. It caught on and band's success convinced Fountain that he could make a living from his music.

The biggest break in his career came after a particularly fallow period in 1956 when Lawrence Welk called and asked him to make a guest appearance on the biggest musical show in television history. This invitation changed the course of Fountain's life. After a few years of being a Hollywood television star, his homesickness for New Orleans overwhelmed him and he quit the Lawrence Welk show to return to the heartland of his music and the source of his inspiration.

Back in New Orleans he founded a hot spot called French Quarter Inn in the Spring of 196o where people gathered, with reservations booked far in advance, to hear Pete Fountain's band really cook. So crank up the Victrola and take a walk down Bourbon Street to the tunes of Pete Fountain!

- REBECCA CELEBREZZE