March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021 Ron Tutt, who backed up the King—Elvis Presley—as part of his TCB band from 1969-1977, passed away on October 16, at 83 years old. Tutt was a founding member of Presley’s “Taking Care of Business” band — along with guitarists James Burton and John Wilkinson, bassist Jerry Scheff, and keyboardist Larry Muhoberac. He also worked with the Jerry Garcia Band starting in 1975, getting about as “un-Las-Vegas” as you possibly could, and then returned to the glitter-glam in 1981, when he became Neil Diamond’s permanent drummer. During his career, Tutt jumped into other sessions for artists such as Billy Joel, the Carpenters, and Johnny Cash. To celebrate Tutt’s amazing times behind the kit, we are excerpting his July 1988 Modern Drummer interview with Stephanie Bennett below. I hesitate to start with your time with Elvis. I’m afraid you must be tired of the […]

October 2021 Issue