* Eddie Fontaine *
Howdy, rockabilly fans! I think we're finally approaching the end of our long, hot summer! Are y'all holding up through the continued summer heat? I hope you haven't let this stifling weather keep you from listening to some good old rockin' music and kicking up a leg to it,
* courtesy of Yahoo images *
Today's question is...how many of us remember Eddie Fontaine? Photo above! Isn't he a good lookin' man? I hear tell he not only had a fabulous singing voice, but he wooed many of the ladies with his acting abilities as well. Early in his career, Eddie had changed his last name from Reardon to "Fontaine", which didn't set too well with his Irish father. Eddie told his dad that "Fontaine" is a 'slicker' name! Lol! Eddie didn't let on about his age either. He swore he was born in 1937, when he was actually born in 1927! But, he was sooo handsome, who knew...and, who cared about his age?
Eddie grew up in Rockaway Beach, New York, with the early 1950's finding him singing in bars, and, passing the hat around, where he was discovered. It turns out that Mr. Fontaine was one of Alan Freed's first entertainers on the Rock and Roll docket in the mid 1950's. He was bellying up to the stage with the likes of "The Clovers", "LaVern Baker", and "The Penguins".
* The Penguins *
* LaVern Baker *
Fontaine is on the Legends list in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, however, he was not an inductee, and is noted to be one of the most underrated singers of all time.
Eddie claimed he wrote the following song, however, it didn't attract much interest once he presented the demo. Somehow, without his knowledge, Fontaine's original cut was sold to Chess Records and credited to 3 other writers. The song was a hit in Europe, it was even recorded by the Beatles, but it took 20 years to collect any royalties on this song! The song did peak at #64 on the Billboard's Hot 100. "Nothin Shakin'" has been recorded by various other artists, but I prefer Eddie's cut!
"Nothin Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees )
Eddie Fontaine 1958
* So what do you think? Not a bad song. And, aside from the Beatles, this song was recorded by The Mersey Beggars, Dr. Feelgood, The Shakers, and Royal Rockers!
***
In the early 1960's, Eddie made his way to Hollywood, California where he pursued an acting career. With his musical career on temporary hold, Fontaine landed a part as a singing GI in The Gallant Men series. Rumor had it that Eddie, who played a womanizer, PFC Pete D'Angelo, was the only cast member with charisma.
Well, I didn't watch the series, and I had no knowledge of him at that time, but I have seen a lot of good reviews on the series.
* Eddie Fontaine * "The Gallant Men"
* Fontaine and Sharon Hugueny *
"The Gallant Men"
****
Prior to Eddie Fontaine's stint with "The Gallant Men" series, he appeared in the 1957 movie, "The Girl Can't Help It!" Eddie is one of the performers along with Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino and Little Richard in this zany comedy with Jayne Mansfield.
* If you have just a little over a minute, I would like to present a short video from
"The Girl Can't Help It", featuring Eddie Fontaine's "Cool It Baby".
* courtesy of Youtube
* This movie didn't receive rave reviews from the critics, but moviegoers seemed to appreciate the musical aspect, colorful comedy, and, of course, Ms. Jayne Mansfield! *
Eddie did have a few bouts with the law in his day...well, maybe more than a few! The big one was a murder for hire trial in 1984, accusing Eddie of attempting to hire a country music singer to run his ex-wife off the road, with intentions of ending her life. Well, evidently Fontaine had two prior convictions of child molestation and grand larceny, however, since Eddie did not testify on his own behalf, the jury did not learn of these convictions, and he served 4 years in a California prison. He appealed his conviction and won.
***
Of his acting career, Eddie Fontaine was noted as being one of the most electrifying character actors of the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. To name just a few shows, he appeared in Baretta, Quincy, M.E., Happy Days, Rockford Files and Kojak. Well, I'll be!!! I faithfully watched several of these programs, and even though I recognize his face, I just didn't pick up on who he was!
* Happy Days * Henry Winkler as "The Fonz" and Eddie Fontaine as Fonzie's dad, Vito *
December 19, 1978
* Above is Eddie and James Garner in an episode of "Rockford Files"
October 20, 1978
****
* OH MY GOODNESS *
It's Eddie Fontaine (how did you know?) Gorilla Sergeant
Planet of The Apes TV Series, Episode 1 * The Gladiators
September 20, 1974
In 1954, After serving time in the U.S. Navy, Eddie signed with RCA as a vocalist. Labels Eddie had signed with include X, VIK, and 1956 Decca. VIK was a subsidiary of RCA, and X was just sort of a 'no name' label, that eventually featured cover records of R&B artists like Eddie Fontaine and also Louis Jordan. The Vik label was closed in November of 1958 and, while some artists had their contracts transferred to the parent company, others left to join other labels.
Sooo...how about another song? I listened to some of Eddie Fontaine's work, and my favorite song is "On Bended Knee". I think it was released in 1955.
* Texas Rain * photo by Suzanne
Thank you so much, dear readers, and rockabilly fans for coming by! I hope you enjoyed today's post, as much as I enjoyed writing it!
There are so many to thank:
musicminder.com
musicstack.com
www.rockabilly.nl
www.discogs.com
planetoftheapes.wikia.com
Thank you also:
Wikipedia
Youtube
Yahoo Images
Please stop in if you have time, and let me know if you enjoyed my post. Or, if you're too shy, like me, lol...just step in and say hello!
Have a wonderful weekend! See you next time!
Be kind, and smile. Give love, and you will get love! 💕
* courtesy of Yahoo images *
Today's question is...how many of us remember Eddie Fontaine? Photo above! Isn't he a good lookin' man? I hear tell he not only had a fabulous singing voice, but he wooed many of the ladies with his acting abilities as well. Early in his career, Eddie had changed his last name from Reardon to "Fontaine", which didn't set too well with his Irish father. Eddie told his dad that "Fontaine" is a 'slicker' name! Lol! Eddie didn't let on about his age either. He swore he was born in 1937, when he was actually born in 1927! But, he was sooo handsome, who knew...and, who cared about his age?
Eddie grew up in Rockaway Beach, New York, with the early 1950's finding him singing in bars, and, passing the hat around, where he was discovered. It turns out that Mr. Fontaine was one of Alan Freed's first entertainers on the Rock and Roll docket in the mid 1950's. He was bellying up to the stage with the likes of "The Clovers", "LaVern Baker", and "The Penguins".
* The Penguins *
* LaVern Baker *
Fontaine is on the Legends list in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, however, he was not an inductee, and is noted to be one of the most underrated singers of all time.
Eddie claimed he wrote the following song, however, it didn't attract much interest once he presented the demo. Somehow, without his knowledge, Fontaine's original cut was sold to Chess Records and credited to 3 other writers. The song was a hit in Europe, it was even recorded by the Beatles, but it took 20 years to collect any royalties on this song! The song did peak at #64 on the Billboard's Hot 100. "Nothin Shakin'" has been recorded by various other artists, but I prefer Eddie's cut!
"Nothin Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees )
Eddie Fontaine 1958
* So what do you think? Not a bad song. And, aside from the Beatles, this song was recorded by The Mersey Beggars, Dr. Feelgood, The Shakers, and Royal Rockers!
***
In the early 1960's, Eddie made his way to Hollywood, California where he pursued an acting career. With his musical career on temporary hold, Fontaine landed a part as a singing GI in The Gallant Men series. Rumor had it that Eddie, who played a womanizer, PFC Pete D'Angelo, was the only cast member with charisma.
Well, I didn't watch the series, and I had no knowledge of him at that time, but I have seen a lot of good reviews on the series.
* Eddie Fontaine * "The Gallant Men"
* Fontaine and Sharon Hugueny *
"The Gallant Men"
****
Prior to Eddie Fontaine's stint with "The Gallant Men" series, he appeared in the 1957 movie, "The Girl Can't Help It!" Eddie is one of the performers along with Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino and Little Richard in this zany comedy with Jayne Mansfield.
* If you have just a little over a minute, I would like to present a short video from
"The Girl Can't Help It", featuring Eddie Fontaine's "Cool It Baby".
* courtesy of Youtube
Eddie did have a few bouts with the law in his day...well, maybe more than a few! The big one was a murder for hire trial in 1984, accusing Eddie of attempting to hire a country music singer to run his ex-wife off the road, with intentions of ending her life. Well, evidently Fontaine had two prior convictions of child molestation and grand larceny, however, since Eddie did not testify on his own behalf, the jury did not learn of these convictions, and he served 4 years in a California prison. He appealed his conviction and won.
***
Of his acting career, Eddie Fontaine was noted as being one of the most electrifying character actors of the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. To name just a few shows, he appeared in Baretta, Quincy, M.E., Happy Days, Rockford Files and Kojak. Well, I'll be!!! I faithfully watched several of these programs, and even though I recognize his face, I just didn't pick up on who he was!
* Happy Days * Henry Winkler as "The Fonz" and Eddie Fontaine as Fonzie's dad, Vito *
December 19, 1978
* Above is Eddie and James Garner in an episode of "Rockford Files"
October 20, 1978
****
* OH MY GOODNESS *
It's Eddie Fontaine (how did you know?) Gorilla Sergeant
Planet of The Apes TV Series, Episode 1 * The Gladiators
September 20, 1974
In 1954, After serving time in the U.S. Navy, Eddie signed with RCA as a vocalist. Labels Eddie had signed with include X, VIK, and 1956 Decca. VIK was a subsidiary of RCA, and X was just sort of a 'no name' label, that eventually featured cover records of R&B artists like Eddie Fontaine and also Louis Jordan. The Vik label was closed in November of 1958 and, while some artists had their contracts transferred to the parent company, others left to join other labels.
Sooo...how about another song? I listened to some of Eddie Fontaine's work, and my favorite song is "On Bended Knee". I think it was released in 1955.
* from Youtube *
Wasn't this one just the best! Eddie was a crooner, and, owned this song. Ahhh...I can picture myself with a tall, handsome guy dancing to Eddie's cool, and sometimes gravelly voice!
* courtesy of Yahoo Images *
* Eddie Fontaine remained active throughout the 1980's. I believe his last appearance was in 1991 on the series "Sisters" . Mr. Fontaine died of throat cancer in 1992. He was 65 years old.
I have really enjoyed listening to Eddie's music while writing this post. Mr. Fontaine was a versatile character, who hopscotched through a career filled with hard work, and exciting people. He was indeed an electrifying and talented artist!
*** Well, gotta go for now. It's raining cats and dogs this morning in the Lone Star state! And, as most of you will agree...the rain is much needed!
Thank you so much, dear readers, and rockabilly fans for coming by! I hope you enjoyed today's post, as much as I enjoyed writing it!
There are so many to thank:
musicminder.com
musicstack.com
www.rockabilly.nl
www.discogs.com
planetoftheapes.wikia.com
Thank you also:
Wikipedia
Youtube
Yahoo Images
Please stop in if you have time, and let me know if you enjoyed my post. Or, if you're too shy, like me, lol...just step in and say hello!
Have a wonderful weekend! See you next time!
Be kind, and smile. Give love, and you will get love! 💕
