My musical father once told me when I was a really young drummer: “If you want to be a really good drummer, listen to Ronnie Tutt.”

"On the drums, from Dallas TX, is hard-workin' Ronnie Tutt." - Elvis Presley

R.I.P Ronnie Tutt. Certainly, one of the finest drummers to ever hold a pair of drumsticks. He helped drive the band that drove Elvis. Just watch the connection between Elvis and Ronnie on "American Trilogy" from the '73 Aloha From Hawaii concert. After the flute solo, the band is building in crescendo, along with the orchestra. Watch Elvis keep tabs on Ronnie, as the song builds to the point where Elvis begins singing again. This minute, to minute and a half, gives me goosebumps EVERY time I watch it. Elvis was ELVIS, and he had one hell of a band behind him. With Ronnie Tutt in the driver's seat. R.I.P. Ronnie.

Ronny was very very important for emphasising the energy that Elvis had. Brilliant combination.

Who doesn't remember Ron tutt playing with Elvis in the 70s Dom's understanding of the instrument makes this series so enjoyable knowing the history of his guests and what they played and their influences

Ron's opening on CC rider is so cruel that you get instant goose bumps

Ron Tutt only three years younger than ELVIS, AND still doing Great. 💪

Elvis said of Ronnie Tutt and Jerry Scheff "any way you look at it that's Tutt Scheff right there."

Ron also played drums for Helen Reddy on her Live in London album back 1978 at the London Palladium. If you listen to the LP you hear Helen say "on drums is Ron Tutt". RIP to both

After watching loads of videos with Elvis, you can see what a perfect drummer this man is. Without him, the sound would be very different. Legend.

He made a BIG difference in many Elvis concerts!

We are fortunate to have so many live recordings of Ron with Garcia band.

Jerry Garcia. Nicky Hopkins, John Kahn, and Ron Tutt. One of the quartets ever!

Elvis put Ronnie Tutt right behind him not way in the back as many drummers are located. Elvis was such a fan of Ronnie and wanted him as close as possible on stage. One of the greatest drum fills in the world is when Elvis is entering the stage and Ronnie is going to town on the drums!

Ronnie Tutt was a human metronome his timing was one of the best ever

Fantastic Drummer for Elvis presley

This Drummer is sounds amazing on vinyl records! If you watch Elvis videos notice how much he enjoys Ronnie's approach to the song and feel of the venue! Elvis is always looking back to him

RIP. Ronnie you were the greatest drummer I’m sure Elvis appreciated your talent

COULD YOU JUST IMAGINE AS A DRUMMER BEING THE DRUM MACHINE IN ELVIS PRESLEYS BAND ???? WOW !!!!!!! THAT HAD TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF RONNIES COMPLETE CAREAR !!!!!!!!

After one of Ronnie's great solos " You get a scarf tonight son" - Elvis

Elvis to neil diamond...what a life..so much respect to this man..a LEGEND

Hello from England R.I.P Ronnie Tutt I don't mind admitting i have shed a few tears today on learning of your death. Heartbreaking news but you can now meet up with your buddies in the TCB band that have gone before you and Elvis. We are all sad at this time but we must be happy at what you have left us with - lots of memories of our younger days.

His Drumming lives on♥️

I love Ronnie Tutt! I think he’s the best drummer Elvis ever had. He knew exactly the one Hit to do for Elvis.

R.i.p Ronnie tutt forever in are hearts 🙏💙🙏🌹

What a great interview of a humble legend. RIP Ronnie Tutt

Oh, Ron... Thank you for all the joy you have brought to my life with your incredible music skills. R.I.P.

"American drummer, born 1938 in Dallas, Texas. Ron Tutt spent 10 years playing for Elvis Presley and was Neil Diamond's drummer from 1981-2016. He performed and/or recorded with Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, The Flying Burrito Bros, Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Jerry Garcia, Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks and Michael McDonald, among many others." -discogs

Ron Tutt is my earliest influence. I loved listening to his drums on all the 70s Elvis recordings. Then at the age of 7 my parents took me to see Elvis in concert 1976 New Haven CT. His drumming blew my little mind and new that was I wanted to do. I've been playing drums for almost 40 yrs now. Thank you, Ronnie. Hope to meet you some day. Rowland

Ronnie Tutt , I'll not forget his double bass drum set up and awesome chops playing behind Elvis the first time I saw him play about '69 in concert , he just blew me away ,try and catch him possibly on video backing Elvis , amazing interaction between drummer and frontman . Thanks for this interview Dom , it bought back mem'ries .

The greatest drummer of all time!

Dom's opening statement to Ronnie, was so true. He is such a great and reactive drummer. I'm a huge Elvis fan, he could't have picked a better drummer than Ronnie Tutt.

Thanks for everything Ronnie... You'll be very missed Xx

I saw Ronnie Tutt with Elvis and with Neil Diamond and he was the driving force for both concerts. Notice how much Elvis was in front of the drums.....he and Ronnie had a real thing going on between them... Ronnie Tutt was definitely a one of a kind drummer no matter who he worked with.

I have that DVD Elvis...Live Via Satellite from Hawaii...Ron was all over that dvd; over, under, sideways, and through it!! A legend, if for nothing else, he played with Elvis!!!

Seen Elvis in 1972, and Neil Diamond many times. It was always a treat listening to Ronnie Tutt play! He was awesome!!!

Ronnie Tutt will remain the greatest drummer to ever hold a pair of wood sticks. He has inspired so many with his unmatchable talent, and creativity! The best! A humble and magnificent human being.

A great drummer and a very nice gentleman

My favorite drummer for sure! Ronnie has to be in the top 5 drummers in the world. He a power drummer.

Brilliant interview with a top man . Thanks to Ron for the music and the life lessons . Thanks to Dom too .

Thank you Ron , you were the best with Elvis -right there always, with him -. All of you guys in the band. PERFECT for and with him. Always in our hearts. Love you.♥️♥️🙏🙏🇨🇦

Ronnie once said Elvis was like playing drums for a striper. Elvis had all those moves. Ronnie caught every move Elvis made. Even in rehearsals Ronnie did drums hits for Elvis. I’ve watched their rehearsals. It’s so funny. They had such a great thing between them. He watched every move Elvis made.

Ron Tutt is my absolute favourite in the TCB band with Elvis! I LOVE his drumming! ❤️💪👍

Ronnie tutt you are awesome Elvis knew a great drummer you are God bless you Ron

It makes me want to throw up on my Tamas when I see all of the 'Johnny come lately's' praising master musicians like Ronnie, AFTER he's dead and gone. RIP Ron. MS

An amazing drummer who wrote his story alongside Elvis, congrats Run. : )

I remember watching Ronnie Tutt with Elvis on the concert that was broadcast via satellite in 1972 from Hawaii...I have the DVD to this day and still watch it. His performance, that whole band, were just awesome.

Fabulous interview showcasing Ronnie's career. From tap dance lessons to Elvis, Jerry Garcia & Neil Diamond. Thanks for the memories and music Ronnie. RIP with your boy and Elvis. Heaven has an amazing band.

Awesome, i met Ron and elvis's original drummer JD Fontana. Both top shelf classy guys. love their fans and musc both!!

RIP RONNIE Such a legend. Will be sadly missed

I’m mesmerised by Tutts drumming ! Never ever get sick of hearing his playing ! Always full of energy and power ! His little embellishments, perfect fills etc , Elvis’s concerts wouldn’t have had that energy without Ronnie . What’s scary is he started playing at age 18 I think 👍🥁

Ron Tutt is my favorite drummer, since I was a kid and didn't pay much attention to who the players were on an Elvis album. I just wanted to hear Elvis. Ronnie always caught my attention on Elvis' songs. He used to play the crap out of those drums on those live Elvis albums. In the eighties, I went to a Neil Diamond concert and asked the guy sitting in front of me if I could look at the tour book he'd bought at the merch stand. I flipped when I saw a picture of Ronnie in it showing him as Neil's drummer. I was more excited about seeing Ronnie play drums than seeing Neil Diamond. Hahaha! This was back in the days before internet where you could look up someone's name and maybe find out who they were playing for. Thank you, Ron, for your awesome playing.

These interviews that you do are invaluable.

I stumbled across this video today. What a captivating interview with my personal all-time favorite drummer. Thanks.

LEGENDARY! So grateful I had the opportunity, my only opportunity, to meet and shake King Tutts hand and get an autograph! Rest in God's Loving Peace Ronnie!

Ron Tutt is all class !

What a view Ronnie had watching Elvis sing a song!

Was introduced to him by seeing him in a small church in Sacramento, CA, Warehouse Ministries, play with his Elvis cohort, Jerry Scheff (a native Sacramentan) and LA studio guitarist, Mike Deasy. They appeared under the name Sanctified Boogie Band. I was in the front row, soaking up every note.

What an awesome drummer. He and Buddy Rich are the reasons I started playing drums. Elvis' music came alive when Ronnie Tutt was drumming for him.

Ron will never know just how much of a huge influence he was on me as a young drummer and even now at 45..... I so wish I could meet him someday and tell him.

It was the rhythm in Elvis music that made him so populair, with other words: Ron Tutt!!

GREAT interview! This is my 1st time seeing Dom Famularo interview someone, he is excellent! Now I'll be digging around for more!

Interviewing a subject has become somewhat of a lost art. Don, you did an outstanding job with an absolute legend. Ron spoke about preparation. Very well prepared list of good questions. This interview will bless so many for generations to come! RIP Ronnie TCB⚡️

I've been listening to him since I was little tyke! I'm 43 now and he's one of my favorite drummers. I'm a big Garcia fan and the 5-6 years or so he played with Jerry's band is my favorite.

That was great knowing just how he started and played with all the greats ( ELVIS ) . Thank you Ron Tutt RIP

While I agree that Ronnie Tutt was an amazing drummer and my favorite drummer of all time, it's not really fair to compare him to DJ Fontana as far as playing live with Elvis, is was a completely different time, different music, and really a different Elvis.

Thank you Dom. This interview touches me deeply. I became a fan the year Elvis died. Hopefully, there was already such great music recorded. RIP Ron Tutt...

The beat the beat the beat !! in his words talking on forum and messenger couple of years ago, Couldn't believe i was talking to a living icon/legend RIP to the best drummer in the world (Rare drummer that moved with the artist and their every emotion)

Simply an amazing musician and a beautiful man god bless Ron rip much respect ...

For me The Greatest Ever !!!

was backstage at a Neil Diamond show at Shoreline Amph waiting in line to get dinner in front of Ron. As a big Deadhead turned and said something fairly stupid like, 'last time I saw you play was with Garcia' and Ron without hesitation and with his usual understatement jsut said, 'yup - got a paying gig.'

Dom, again!! You asked the right question's and only someone with your kind of passion for music could of asked those deep question's.wow tap dancing violin,trumpet and then the drum's. No wonder why he was and is very musical. Those live elvis video's say's it all about mr tutt.

Fantastic on “A black and white night” in support of Roy Orbison.

Thank you so much for these wonderful interviews. This one is particularly poignant since Ron passed away shortly after it. I loved him with Elvis, and was so surprised when I saw Neil in March 1982 and he was suddenly Neil Diamond's drummer.

Being the drummer behind The King meant needing incredible versatility. Just as Elvis could change from day to day, and mood to mood (versatility was his thing after all) it was adamant that the bone structure of the band was both solid and flexible. Ronnie and Jerry was the true meaning of those words. Fantastic musicians that constantly adapted and evolved. Tutt and Scheff...Elvis used to joke about that combo, but soon they will all be gone, and we should honor their memory and contribution to music.

Solid handshake. You could see how much Elvis loved his drumming. Looks like he doesn't want to be recognized. Hat, shades and beard.

Ron Tutt is an amazing Drummer! I know he played drums on several Carpenters recordings back in the 1970s. I think he was needed more often after Karen Carpenter a Drummer herself decided to step to the forefront and concentrate on singing.

the king of the drums...tcb...

The legendary drummer from The King!!! Thanks for all the good work man!!!👍👍👍

Legend. Imagine that he’d play a show with Elvis and then a couple of nights later playing with Jerry Garcia. Those two, and Neil Diamond, are known for the fanatical devotion of their audiences.

Ronnie tutt is in my book the greatest all-rounder very clever ,and great finisher of a song .and Elvis live music & studio tracks wouldn't have sounded as good without him or that band.he did shape drumming into the modern era

U great musician and I remember when u all u guys playing in Naples Fl and we shake hand we all ur team members U guys very fortunate to play with I Icon in the same stage God bless u and u family as well Love Elvis until we meet again Adios

ronnie was a king also tcb mr tutt!

What a legend!Being behind the King...i always get shivers listening to Bridge over trouble water live...amazing song and performance!

Ronnie Tutt IMO Is The Best Drummer Ever, Love You Ronnie, Your a Legend

Rip ronnie.. The best.... The legend 💐🌹😢

The greatest drummer of all time! With out Ron, Elvis' show wouldn't have ever worked. He made it all happen, What a legend!

Nice job interviewing Ron -- Dom Famularo you are a GREAT interviewer!

As a studio musician I can appreciate this man so much and his devotion to his musicianship I know the pressures that is put upon a musician for and artist and the intensity that a musician goes through honing his craft. God bless you Ronnie tutt you did good.

A great interview! Amazingly I had never heard of Ronnie Tutt until about 30 minutes ago... ashamedly. But I have definitely heard him for 90% of my life being a lifelong Elvis fan. So many pearls of wisdom shared here.

Such a master at drums. Enjoyed his energy forever

So talented and intelligent. Unbelievable!

Ronnie is an absolute legend....

Love Ronnie Tutt He had a drum hit for every thivg Elvis did.

A true pro, always prepared, and pulled everything together to keep the show as a professtonal

The only other drummer, I liked that backed up Elvis on songs like Hound Dog.. Was D.J. Fontana .............

Ron Tutt is the greatest road show drummer on the planet.Good one Dom.

Not only THE drummer, but also a truly great guy. Thanks for adding the joy, Mr Tutt!

Wow, no special rooms no special studio's and NO procrastination kitchen counter top you are inspiring. Don't stop making your videos.

RIP Ronnie Tutt... Unforgettable...