Ronald Ellis Tutt (March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American drummer who played concerts and recording sessions for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, and

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Early life

Born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, Tutt was a native Texan and was involved with music and performing arts for most of his childhood. He played the guitar, violin and trumpet, and didn't take up the drums until he was seventeen. In an early gig, he appeared on the same bill as a then little-known Elvis Presley. Tutt didn't think much of him, as his girlfriend spent the evening making eyes at him. Tutt recounted this story to Presley years later when he was working for him, which Presley found hilarious.

TCB Band

Tutt played for the

TCB Band The TCB Band is a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977. (Depending on the context, the nickname may also extend to Elvis’ background vocalists du ...

("Taking Care of Business") the

touring and recording band, which he auditioned for in 1969. He flew in with his drum kit, which he set up in the recording studio, though while he was waiting to be called, another drummer walked in and began playing his kit. Tutt thought that he had lost the chance to even audition, as Gene Pello was incredibly experienced and seemed to be winning Elvis Presley over. However, Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, did not want to waste any money having paid to fly Tutt and his drums over, and so Elvis was persuaded to give Tutt a turn. Elvis hired him that day saying, "You know Ronnie, those other drummers were good but they were doing their own thing. You were watching me all the time". Tutt chose not to be sycophantic around Elvis, and remained forthright in his dealings with the star. Elvis respected him for this and they developed a good friendship, with Elvis once buying him an engraved solid gold Swiss watch. ESML TCB Band Dennis Jale

Session musician: Billy Joel, Jerry Garcia, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond and others

Tutt played on

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's second and third albums: 1973's breakthrough, ''

Piano Man Piano Man refers to a male pianist. Piano Man may also refer to: Music * ''Piano Man'' (Billy Joel album), a 1973 rock album by Billy Joel ** "Piano Man" (song), a 1973 song from the album * ''Piano Man'' (Hilton Ruiz album), 1975 * ''Piano Man'' ...

'' (all tracks but "Captain Jack") and 1974's ''

Streetlife Serenade ''Streetlife Serenade'' is the third studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1974 by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 35 on the US album charts, eventually selling more than one million copies. ...

''. Other musician's albums Tutt played on include Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons solo output. Around early 1974, Tutt began recording and touring with the

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

, and also

's and

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyte ...

' brief

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...

.Jackson, Blair (2005). Liner notes for ''Legion of Mary: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1''. Starting with Garcia's studio album '' Compliments'' (1974), Tutt played drums for the Jerry Garcia Band for four years before moving on. During this time, Tutt also played drums on Garcia's studio albums '' Reflections'' (1976) and '' Cats Under the Stars'' (1978). In 1982, however, Tutt returned to the studio with Garcia to help record '' Run for the Roses''.

References

External links

Ron Tutt Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2011) * * 1938 births 2021 deaths Musicians from Dallas 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians Legion of Mary (band) members TCB Band members Jerry Garcia Band members American rock drummers American session musicians American country drummers Billy Joel Band members {{US-drummer-stub