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Re: Pete Fountain / Lawrence Welk

Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-02-21 11:57

It's amazing to me that Pete could make something out of a situation like the one shared in the link. I'm thankful that Lawrence hired him (and I enjoy many of his performances on Welk's show - especially the few with George Thow)...I always wonder if someone like me would know about Pete if it hadn't been for those few short years with Welk. I know Pete credited the exposure for his continued success. (..but I know Pete was always gracious with praise for others too.)

As a side note: Pete went on to do a lot of "pop" albums that (in my mind) equal or are similar in nature to what you've labeled as "cornball" /"cheesy"...yet they, too, played a roll in his continuing popularity. It took a while to grow on me, but Candy Clarinet is now a favorite Christmas album of mine. Pete's tone/sound/and "take" on tunes is always there - regardless of the style he was playing at any given time.

I think Pete deserves a lot of credit for always choosing the "right" path in order to keep the clarinet in the public eye throughout his life, while always placing the "Pete" stamp on whichever style he was playing. We might look back and scoff at some of the situations - but business-wise, it seems that he was pretty astute (even though he ridiculed his own business acumen in his autobiography).

(Talking about amazing business men...the Lawrence Welk biography is a whole other story. I can't imagine having to figure out the business plan of playing accordion in direct competition with folks like the Dorsey Brothers!...but that's another story for another forum.)

Cheers.
Fuzzy

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