D.J. Fontana ✝

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 cuts with Elvis. 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. The band 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.