D. J. Fontana as the drummer for Elvis 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 show
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.
