He DISLIKED Elvis Before Becoming His Most Important Drummer D

Ronnie Tutt would become the man behind some of Elvis Presley’s most powerful live performances. Night after night, he watched Elvis’s every move and answered him with the drums. But years before Ronnie joined Elvis, he had already seen him perform and he didn’t like him. In fact, after their first meeting in 1956, Ronnie had two very specific reasons for disliking Elvis Presley.

One involved Ronnie’s own girlfriend. The other involved something Elvis did backstage that shocked the musicians around him. So, what exactly happened? And how did a man who initially couldn’t stand Elvis eventually become one of the most important members of his band? Lowlights, slow grinds, Memphis River, one-of-a-kind.

Turn it up, feel the sound. This is Hidden Minds. Hey everyone, welcome back to Hidden Minds. Today, we’re looking at the surprising first encounter between Elvis Presley and his future drummer, Ronnie Tutt. Most Elvis fans know Ronnie as the powerful heartbeat of the TCB band. But when Ronnie first saw Elvis in 1956, he wasn’t impressed. Quite the opposite.

And the story Ronnie later told about that evening is both funny and revealing because before Ronnie understood Elvis’s charisma, he first experienced the chaos that seemed to follow him everywhere. In 1956, Ronnie Tutt was still years away from becoming Elvis Presley’s drummer. At the time, he was playing with a Western swing band that regularly performed at the North Side Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

It was a Saturday night radio show, similar in some ways to the Louisiana Hayride. Ronnie and the other musicians were the house band. Then one evening, they were told that a young singer named Elvis Presley would be appearing. Elvis arrived with Scotty Moore and Bill Black. Just three young musicians whose appearances were already causing excitement everywhere they went.

Ronnie had heard of Elvis, but he wasn’t a devoted fan. He was also looking at him from the perspective of a working musician. And before the night was over, Elvis had given Ronnie two reasons to dislike him. But the first problem actually began before Elvis had even finished performing. Ronnie had brought his girlfriend with him that evening.

Then Elvis walked in, young, energetic, and looking exactly as people remember him from 1956. The hair, the clothes, the movements, and almost immediately Ronnie’s girlfriend went crazy over him. Those were Ronnie’s own words when he later told the story. He laughed about it years later, but at the time, it clearly didn’t help his opinion of Elvis.

Imagine bringing your girlfriend to work only to watch her become completely fascinated by another young man the moment he enters the building. And this wasn’t just any young man. This was Elvis Presley at the beginning of his rise. Ronnie later said that this was the first reason he didn’t like Elvis.

But what happened next may have annoyed him even more, because this time it wasn’t only Ronnie who had a problem with Elvis. The other musicians weren’t happy either. During the performance, Elvis apparently destroyed and broke the strings of his own guitar, so he needed another one. He borrowed the house band’s guitarist’s beautiful Martin D-18.

For a professional musician, an instrument like this is extremely personal. It isn’t simply a piece of equipment. It can be something a musician has saved for, performed with, and cared for over many years. But according to Ronnie, Elvis played the guitar with the same wild energy he brought to his performances.

When Elvis returned it, the instrument was marked and damaged. Ronnie said Elvis had practically trashed it. That was the second reason Ronnie didn’t like him. First, Elvis had made Ronnie’s girlfriend go crazy. Then, he had borrowed a fellow musician’s valuable guitar and treated it roughly. Ronnie remembered looking at Elvis and thinking something along the lines of “Who does this guy think he is?” From Ronnie’s perspective, Elvis wasn’t yet the legendary performer he would later become.

He was simply a wild young singer who had arrived, caused chaos, attracted Ronnie’s girlfriend, and damaged someone else’s guitar. It was not a good first impression, and Ronnie certainly could not have imagined what would happen 13 years later. By 1969, Elvis was preparing for his return to live performances in Las Vegas.

He wanted a completely new kind of show. A powerful rhythm section, gospel singers, a soul group, and a large orchestra. And he needed the right drummer. Ronnie Tutt was eventually invited to the audition. But when he arrived, several excellent drummers had already been considered. Ronnie believed Elvis and the musicians may already have found the person they wanted.

He almost didn’t get the opportunity to play at all. But after Colonel Parker was reminded that they had paid for Ronnie’s flight, he was finally allowed to sit behind the drums, and something immediately clicked. Ronnie watched Elvis constantly. When Elvis moved, Ronnie emphasized the movement with the drums.

When Elvis suddenly stopped, Ronnie followed him. When Elvis increased the energy, Ronnie was already there. It was almost as though they could communicate without speaking. Ronnie later explained that it wasn’t simply his technical ability that earned him the job. It was the connection between them.

Their eyes were constantly watching each other. Elvis loved the way Ronnie turned his physical movements into musical moments. And Ronnie finally began to understand something he had not understood in 1956. Elvis’s charisma could not truly be experienced from a distance. Ronnie said he had never been a big Elvis fan until he met him in 1969.

But once he met Elvis and understood the charisma he had, Ronnie said you couldn’t help but love what he did. So, what would your first impression of Elvis have been that evening in 1956? Would you have been annoyed about the guitar? Or would you have understood that Elvis was simply caught up in the energy of his performance? Let me know in the comments.

And if you enjoy discovering these lesser-known Elvis stories, subscribe to Hidden Minds because there are more still to come. Ronnie Tutt’s first meeting with Elvis Presley could hardly have gone worse. His girlfriend became fascinated by Elvis. A fellow musician’s valuable guitar was damaged, and Ronnie walked away without becoming a fan.

But 13 years later, everything changed. Ronnie stood behind Elvis and experienced his charisma, instinct, and energy for himself. He finally understood what millions of fans had already seen. The young singer Ronnie initially disliked became the artist he would watch more closely than almost anyone else.

And together, Elvis Presley and Ronnie Tutt created one of the most exciting musical partnerships in live performance history. Sometimes a first impression tells us everything, but in this case, it could not have been more wrong. Thank you so much for watching. This is Hidden Minds, and I’ll see you in the next video.