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. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Shreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest Metropolitan area in the U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion He played on over 460 RCA cuts with Elvis. RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986
Nicknamed "D. J. ," he was employed by the Louisiana Hayride to be an in-house drummer on its Saturday night radio broadcast. The Louisiana Hayride was a radio (later television broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport Louisiana, that during its heyday from Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. 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. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's A television special is a Television program, typically a Short film or Television movie, which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally Elvis, starring Elvis Presley, was the title of a 1968 United States Television 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". Samuel Cornelius Phillips ( January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) better known as Sam Phillips, was an American Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III (born December 27, 1931 near Gadsden Tennessee) is a legendary American Guitarist and William Patton "Bill" Black Jr ( September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American Musician. 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 Jordanaires are an American singing group formed in 1948 in Springfield Missouri. " Heartbreak Hotel " is a Rock and roll song performed by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black ( bass) Scotty Moore ( " Hound Dog " is a Twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton For the Bobby Brown album see Don't Be Cruel (album. " Don't Be Cruel " is a song by Otis Blackwell, which was recorded " Jailhouse Rock " is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. 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. " That's All Right (Mama " is the name of the first single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, 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 3, 2007
D. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. J. Fontana's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on March 21, 1997 to present early Rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities
External links
- "We're Talkin' Elvis" - +1 (650) 523-6817
- D.J. Fontana TCB website
- Interview with D.J. Fontana
- DJ Fontana Phonecasting Channel
- Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/djfontana.txt
- http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/DJ_Fontana.html
Appearances
- 2007-01-07 - 7:00 PM - D.J. Fontana played drums in honor of Elvis Presley's birthday at the Cleveland Square Play House in Cuyahoga County in Cleveland Ohio
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