D.J. Fontana
The drummer for Elvis Presley for 13 years, playing on over 460 RCA recordings.
Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 13 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 13-year relationship. He played on over 460 RCA recordings with Elvis. After being employed by the Louisiana Hayride as an in-house drummer on its Saturday night radio broadcast, Fontana (nicknamed "D.J." from his childhood initials) was classified 4-F due to a medical condition and never served in the U.S. Army. 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, though Fontana was not part of the original lineup—he joined later in 1955, after the group had already been performing and recording without a drummer. This became the band that would perform and record the vast majority of Presley's hits of the 1950s.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Dominic Joseph Fontana
- Born
- 15 March 1931
- Birthplace
- Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
- Died
- 13 June 2018
- Place of death
- Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
- Genre
- Rock and roll
- rockabilly
- rhythm and blues
- country
- Past member of
- The Blue Moon Boys
- Occupation
- Drummer
Lore & Background
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 Blue Moon Boys effectively disbanded when Elvis was drafted in 1958. Although the band had officially broken up, Fontana, Moore, and Elvis continued to work together intermittently throughout the 1960s—they were not present on many 1960s recording sessions. In 1968, Fontana performed on the NBC television special, often referred to as Elvis' Comeback Special. Fontana played with Elvis for 13 years, from 1955 to 1968.
Reader's Guide
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. 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. 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.
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