Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationship. He played on over 460 RCA recordings with Elvis.

Career

After serving in Korea with the U.S. Army, Fontana (nicknamed "D.J.") was employed by the Louisiana Hayride to be an in-house drummer on its Saturday night radio broadcast.

Fontana joined a band (originally assembled by Sam Phillips) that was without a drummer and included Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (bass), and Elvis Presley (rhythm guitar). They called themselves the Blue Moon Boys. This became the band that would perform and record the vast majority of Presley's hits of the 1950s.

Along with the occasional piano and backing vocals from the Jordanaires, the Blue Moon Boys played on several Elvis hits, including "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hound Dog", "Don't Be Cruel", and "Jailhouse Rock". The band toured extensively. Throughout 1956 and 1957, the band had several television appearances, which included The Ed Sullivan Show. The band broke up in 1958.

Although the band had officially broken up, Fontana, Moore, and Elvis still regularly played and recorded together throughout the 1960s. In 1968, Fontana performed on the NBC television special, often referred to as Elvis' Comeback Special.

In 1975, Fontana and Moore reunited to record "E.P. Express" with friend Carl Perkins.

In August 1992, Fontana performed at Ellis Auditorium for a "Good Rockin' Tonight" show alongside Carl Perkins, Moore, the Jordanaires, James Burton, the Sun Rhythm Section, and Ronnie McDowell. They later took this show format on a small tour of England. In 1993, Fontana, Moore, and Carl Perkins performed at a telethon in Jackson, TN. Fontana and Moore also toured Europe with vocalist Bloomer Jenson, organized by the Elvis Presley fan club "It's Elvis Time". In 1994, Fontana, Moore, and Carl Perkins performed at the Jackson telethon again and were joined by McDowell.

In 1997, Fontana and Moore reunited to record the album All the King's Men, featuring guest appearances from the Bill Black Combo, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Levon Helm and Jim Weider of The Band,Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick, and others. In April 1999, Fontana and Moore toured the UK.

In 2001, Fontana and Moore recorded a version of "That's All Right" with Paul McCartney for the documentary Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records.

Other work

In 1983, Fontana published a book in pictorial form, titled D.J. Fontana Remembers Elvis, detailing his years playing with Elvis. Fontana's Life and Times weekly phonecasting debuted on July 3, 2007.

Recognition

Fontana was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame on January 14, 2009, and on April 4 that year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the "sidemen" category. English musician Wayne Fontana (born Glyn Geoffrey Ellis) took his stage name from the drummer.

Fontana was played by Ed Begley Jr. in the 1979 motion picture Elvis and by Eric William Pierson in the 2005 CBS miniseries Elvis.

Death

Fontana died in his sleep on June 13, 2018, in Nashville at the age of 87. At the time of his death, he was suffering from complications of a broken hip.

Recordings

Unknown recording duet: Robert Hampton and Johnny Paycheck, "I Love My Jesus" Drummer: D.J. Fontana

References

  • ElvisInfoNetwork Interview with DJ Fontana 2010
  • D. J. Fontana TCB website
  • Interview with D. J. Fontana
  • D. J. Fontana Phonecasting Channel
  • Rockabilly Hall of Fame
  • Drummerworld.com
  • DJ Fontana Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2001)]