D. J. Fontana

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Dominic Joseph Fontana (born March 15, 1931 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. He played on over 460 RCA cuts with Elvis.

Nicknamed "D.J.," he was employed by the Louisiana Hayride to be an in-house drummer on its Saturday night radio broadcast. In October of 1954 he was hired to play drums for Presley that marked the beginning of a fifteen year relationship. He performed on the NBC television special known as the '68 Comeback Special.

Fontana, joined a band (originally assembled by Sam Phillips without a drummer) consisting of Scotty Moore (Lead Guitar), Bill Black (Bass), and Elvis Presley (Rhythm Guitar) calling themselves "The Blue Moon Boys". The band became the band that would perform and record the vast majority of the Elvis Presley hits of the 50's (some also including piano and backing vocals from the Jordanaires) including Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel, and Jailhouse Rock. The band also toured extensively and performed on several television appearances through 1956 and 1957. The band officially broke up in 1958 although D.J. and Elvis still played and recorded together regularly. Scotty would sometimes join them. Scotty and D.J. have also performed together, including a 2002 recording of "That's All Right (Mama) with Paul McCartney. Bill Black did not play with the band after 1958.

In 1983 he published a book in pictorial form titled "D.J. Fontana Remembers Elvis" about his years playing with Presley.

DJ Fontana's Life and Times weekly phonecast debuted on July 03, 2007

D.J. Fontana's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

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