We’re still mourning the man the Advocate called Mr. New Orleans in its front page obit on Sunday. That’s why I’m extending my Pete Fountain tribute to this feature. Some of the covers illustrate Pete’s lively and irreverent sense of humor as well as the bad toupee he used to wear.
I mentioned Pete’s friendship with Al Hirt on Sunday. Here’s the cover of one of the albums they recorded together:
Finally, Johnny Carson was a big Pete Fountain fan and had him on the Tonight Show 59 times. Here’s an appearance from 1979:
Dad’s record collection featured a lot of 1960s-era Pete Fountain. I can actually whistle the melody of “Mr. Stick Man,” as well as other obscure 45s like “Amazon.” The most shocking thing to me about Fountain’s passing was that he was still alive. But man, could he play the clarinet!