Fonfara's career as a professional musician commenced in 1963, when he started playing in the Toronto band, Lee Jackson & The Checkmates, which evolved into
Jon and Lee & The Checkmates soon afterwards. Members of Jon and Lee & The Checkmates ultimately formed the nucleus of the later bands Rhinoceros and Blackstone, plus contributed significantly to the work of
Lou Reed in the 1970s. When Jon and Lee & The Checkmates broke up in September 1967, Fonfara worked briefly with
David Clayton-Thomas and then, during the months of November and December, 1967, toured and recorded with
The Electric Flag, featuring
Buddy Miles and
Michael Bloomfield. Fonfara replaced keyboardist and founding Electric Flag member
Barry Goldberg. He was then selected by producer
Paul Rothchild as a member of the
Elektra Records' hand-picked, "
supergroup", Rhinoceros, in December 1967. Fonfara was the co-writer of the band's major hit, "Apricot Brandy", and recorded three albums with the group. Upon the dissolution of Rhinoceros in 1971, Fonfara joined with ex-Rhinoceros bandmates
John Finley,
Danny Weis,
Larry Leishman and Peter Hodgson to form the group Blackstone. The band recorded one album in 1972,
On The Line, again produced by Paul Rothchild, prior to splintering and then breaking up in 1973. Fonfara thereafter commenced working with Lou Reed, an association that continued throughout the balance of the 1970s. Fonfara caught Reed's attention for his work on
The Everly Brothers' 1974 album
Stories We Could Tell. In 1976, Fonfara was a member of controversial Toronto-based band
Rough Trade, acting as keyboard player and arranger on their first album. He left the band at the end of 1977 in a dispute over payment for his work on Rough Trade's live revue show
Restless Underwear. During the latter part of the 1970s and continuing to 1981, he was a member of the pop rock group
Tycoon, based in New York City, which recorded two albums. He also played as a session musician on "Urgent" by
Foreigner, a single that reached #4 in the US and #1 in Canada; the single's parent album
Foreigner 4 hit number 1 on Billboard and was certified 6× platinum. In the 1980s, Fonfara returned to Toronto, where he became a key member of the Canadian
R&B band
The Lincolns. The Lincolns had been founded by
Prakash John, with whom Fonfara had first played in a later version of Blackstone in 1973 and, thereafter, when both were playing and recording with Lou Reed, during the balance of the 1970s. Fonfara continued to play with The Lincolns, while remaining a member of The
Downchild Blues Band, which he joined in 1990. In 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009, he was the recipient of the
Maple Blues Award, as piano/keyboard player of the year. Fonfara's career-based contributions to blues music were recognized through his nomination in 2008 and 2009 for the "Blues With A Feeling" Maple Blues Award. He married model Avril Lund (born 1950) and had two children with her before he died on 8 January 2021 at 74 in a
Toronto hospital, following a two-year battle with cancer. == Discography ==