About Fritz

Fritz Davis grew up in a musical family. His grandmother on his mother's side was a ballerina who also played harmonica and steel guitar. His grandfather on his father's side played piano in silent movie houses and was a rodeo clown. His father sang and played guitar and his uncle was a professional entertainer with a midwest radio show and a stint in the West Coast music scene following World War II.

Fritz made his first recording at age three, a rousing version of Hank William's "Hey, Good Lookin." A born singer, he took up guitar at age fourteen and soon began playing in public for school functions and parties. His high school drama involvement led to the study of theatre in college, eventually securing a degree in English and Drama. After a four-year stint teaching in public schools, he began his serious involvement in musical entertainment, working with country, blues and rock and roll bands like the legendary Catfish Charlie Band, while pursuing a solo career in his first love, folk music.

He performed on The Nashville Network and PM Magazine, a nationally syndicated television show, had his own radio show in the midwest (The Roots Of Our Country) and worked for five years with the Kansas Arts Commission, first as an Artist in Residence, then with the KAC's Traveling Artist program. In Spring of 1989, he moved to Red River, New Mexico, performing in nightclubs, ski resorts and music festivals, as well as performing for fundraising benefits for local, state and national organizations. (Cancer Society, Habitat For Humanity, Community Against Violance, Red River Valley Charter School, etc.) He also manages to find time to perform in local schools and, as an active member of the Red River Historical Society, entertains civic organizations with presentations focusing on Red River's colorful mine history.

In 1998, Fritz wrote, directed and performed in Doc Thurly Bilkem's Medicine Show, a humorous historical look at a popular form of American entertainment during the 19th and 20th century.




Every year since 1999, Fritz has entertained Fat Tuesday revelers as Fritti Fonteneau with his own unique brand of Cajun, Zydeco and Blues music during Red River's Mardi Gras in the Mountains celebration.

His debut solo album, "True Stories", a collection of self-penned story songs, was released in 1990 on cassette, followed in 2005 by "Carpe Mañana", a collaboration with Texas pianist Jeff Fagan which saw nominations for New Mexico Music Awards in 2006. His latest CD collection of original songs, released in 2008, is entitled "It's A Good Day". The year 2008 also saw a re-release of "True Stories" on CD, including new material. (All three CDs are available for purchase on this site.) You can catch Fritz on YouTube as well.

Fritz has recently been working on a pair of recording projects. One is a collection of Mardi Gras in the Mountains music heard during Red River's annual Fat Tuesday celebration and includes several original tunes written for the occasion. The other project features original Fritz Davis songs and includes recently written material as well as some songs written 30+ years ago that have never been recorded.