D.J. Fontana, long time drummer for Elvis Presley, dead at 87

D. J. Fontana, whose simple but forceful drumming behind Elvis Presley helped to shape the early sound of rock ’n’ roll, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Nashville. He was 87.

His death was confirmed by his son David, who said Mr. Fontana had been in poor health since breaking his hip in a fall last year.

Mr. Fontana was the first drummer in Presley’s band and played with him for 14 years, from Presley’s earliest days in the national spotlight through the 1968 television special, called simply “Elvis,” that was widely hailed as Presley’s return to form. He backed Presley on more than 450 recordings, including hits like “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “It’s Now or Never,” and was seen playing with him in the movies “Loving You,” “Jailhouse Rock” and “G.I. Blues.”

He was later an in-demand studio musician in Nashville.

Mr. Fontana’s entree into rock history came by way of his job as a member of the band on “Louisiana Hayride,” a popular country-music radio show broadcast from Shreveport, La.

Presley, then at the beginning of his career, appeared on the show in October 1954 with his backing band, which at the time consisted of just two musicians: Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on double bass. Mr. Fontana played with the band on that broadcast, and the next year he became a permanent member.

Presley’s blend of country, blues and other elements was already distinctive. The addition of Mr. Fontana’s powerful drumming raised it to a new level.

“Elvis and Scotty and Bill were making good music,” the drummer and singer Levon Helm said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2004, “but it wasn’t rock ’n’ roll until D. J. put the backbeat into it.”

In its early days, the band played mostly the country music circuit, where guitars, mandolins and fiddles dominated and drummers were generally shunned. On early television appearances — including Presley’s first, on the television version of “Louisiana Hayride” in 1955 — Mr. Fontana was hidden behind a curtain, his drums heard but not seen.

By the time Presley made his first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,”in September 1956, a performance seen by 60 million viewers, the drums were in plain sight — and Presley was well on his way to becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

While Presley’s star rose, his band remained on a fixed salary, causing increasing dissension. In a joint interview with The Memphis Press-Scimitar in late 1956, his three sidemen said they were being paid $200 a week when on tour (the article called that “good money for sidemen”) and $100 a week the rest of the time. They added that Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker, had permitted them to supplement their income by recording without Presley.

But according to “Last Train to Memphis,” Peter Guralnick’s Presley biography, Mr. Black and Mr. Moore were not happy about their compensation. In September 1957 they approached Mr. Fontana with a letter demanding what would have been their first raise in two years. He refused to sign it, saying he had been treated fairly according to the terms under which he was hired.

During the recording of songs for the movie “King Creole” in 1958, Mr. Black and Mr. Moore were replaced by Nashville session players.

Mr. Presley was drafted into the Army in 1958 and did little touring after his discharge in 1960. But Mr. Fontana continued to work with him in the recording studio.

Mr. Black died in 1965, Mr. Moore in 2016 and Presley in 1977.

Dominic Joseph Fontana was born in Shreveport on March 15, 1931, to Lena (Lewis) and Sam Fontana. His father owned a grocery store. D. J. Fontana’s early influences were big-band drummers like Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, and he played in local strip clubs and served in the Army in Korea before joining the “Hayride” band.

“I heard Scotty and Bill and Elvis one night and knew that I couldn’t mess up that sound,” he said in recalling his introduction to Presley’s music. “I think the simple approach comes from my hearing so much big-band music. I mixed it with rockabilly.”

John "Jabo" Starks, Famed Drummer for James Brown, Dies at 79

Reprinted from Rolling Stone- 

John "Jabo" Starks, the drummer who helped anchor some of James Brown's biggest hits, died Tuesday, The New York Times reports. He was 79.

"Super Bad," "Sex Machine" and other funky landmarks from half of the Godfather of Soul's legendary groove tandem

Starks' manager Kathie Williams confirmed his death. She said he'd been in hospice for about a week and was battling leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Starks played with Brown during the Sixties and Seventies, most notably as part of a percussion duo with Clyde Stubblefield, who died last year. Though Starks and Stubblefield had distinct playing styles, together they created a powerhouse rhythm section that defined funk, and later hip-hop. The duo are among the most sampled drummers of all time.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, one of Starks' many acolytes, Roots drummer Questlove, described the dynamic between Starks and Stubblefield, saying, "Starks was the Beatles to Clyde's Stones. A clean shuffle drummer to Clyde's free-jazz left hand."

Starks and Stubblefield played in Brown's live band and joined him in the studio. They worked on classic albums like I Got the Feelin', Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud and Cold Sweat, while Starks drummed on singles such as "The Payback," "Super Bad," "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine."

Starks also played with other artists in Brown's orbit, including the JBs, Bobby Byrd and Lyn Collins. His drumming on Collins' 1972 single "Think (About It)" has been sampled by an array of artists, most notably Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock on their 1988 hit, "It Takes Two."

"John 'Jabo' Starks was that rock that I built my bass grooves on while with James Brown," Bootsy Collins, who played with Starks in Brown's band, tells Rolling Stone. "He was always steady and consistent never letting me leave the pocket. When you are so young as I was, full of energy & ideas, I would sometimes rush to get to the next One that I am hearing in my head. 'Jabo' held the time and you in synch. I will never forget him and what he's done for me, music & James Brown's Planet-Groove!"

In a tribute on Instagram, Questlove praised Starks' stunning skill and detailed his lasting influence. "It was Clyde that was James' prettiest rhythm master. But Starks was his most effective drummer. It was the 'Think (About It)' break that birthed New Jack Swing culture, B'more/Jersey house and Nineties R&B. It was 'Hot Pants (I'm Comin)' and 'I Know You Got Soul' that really cultivated the classic East Coast renaissance of 87 - 92… His eight on the floor style was so unique in his funk. A serious funk god."

Born in Jackson, Alabama in 1938, Starks taught himself how to drum using a makeshift kit comprising a bass and a snare drum tied to a chair, while the cymbals sat on a dinner stand. At a local club, he played with some of the biggest blues musicians of the era – John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Big Mama Thornton – eventually joining Bobby "Blue" Bland's band in 1959. He drummed on Bland's biggest hits, including "Turn On Your Love Light" and "I Pity the Fool," before joining Brown in 1965.

In the mid-Seventies, after splitting with Brown, Starks began to record and perform with B.B. King. Later, he reunited with Stubblefield, forming a duo called the Funkmasters that recorded music, instructional videos and even helped craft the music for the 2007 comedy, Superbad.

Even as he got older, Starks continued to perform live, holding down a regular gig at a bar in Grayton Beach, Florida. According to its owner, Starks last performed there in March. 

"When I’m playing music, man, let me tell you one thing: There ain’t nobody in the world higher than I am," Starks said in 2015. "I get so high playing music, it scares me."

John Henry 'Jabo' Starks was born in Jackson, Alabama on Oct. 26, 1938. He taught himself to play with very little formal instruction. Upon high school graduation he began playing with blues artists - John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Big Mama Thornton. In 1959, he joined up with Bobby (Blue) Bland playing on his hits “Turn On Your Love Light,” “I Pity the Fool” and “That’s the Way Love Is.” ‘Jabo’ left the group for James Brown’s band in 1965, staying with him until the Mid-1970's. He later began touring and recording with B. B. King. 

‘Jabo’ Starks is survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren.