Arthur Gunter

Famously known as the songwriter and original performer of "Baby, Let's Play House," which became the first national charting song for Elvis, Gunter wrote and performed for Excello Records, both as a backing and solo performer from 1953-1961.

History[edit | edit source]

Born in Nashville in a religious family, Gunter initially performed in a gospel group with his brothers, Larry, Jimmy, and Little Al, and a cousin named Junior, as the Gunter Brothers Quartet. With his guitar playing blues, Arthur began to compose original material as the Arthur Gunter Trio, which included his younger brother Al on second guitar, and cousin Junior on drums. As musicians, historian Randy Fox recounts, record store owner and label owner Ernie Young combined them with a local duet (Louis Campbell, vocals, and Jimmy Johnson, harmonica) to form The Leap Frogs, who released one 45 in 1953. While he mentioned that "Arthur Gunter's 1954 Excello disc "Blues After Hours" was recorded with Skippy Brooks on piano and Kid Kings on drums," historian Martin Hawkins also recalled that Gunter played gigs with the Kid King Combo on small local tours. Brooks and King often played in the label's house band due to their versatility as session and live performers in Nashville's black clubs in the 1940s and 50s.

All of his solo output was for Excello Records during a period from 1954-1961 as 45s. After he retired from music and had moved away, Excello released an LP in 1971 compiling much of his material. He also wrote several tracks for his younger brother Al Gunter, billed as "Little Al," who recorded the tracks in 1956 and 1957, also for Excello. While Gunter played guitar on his own releases he is also credited with playing guitar for fellow labelmate Shy Guy Douglas on several tracks for Excello, as well as on a 45 that Shy Guy did for Calvert Records, run by the Bubis cousins, Alan and Reynold, before it changed name to Champion.

Gunter's regional, then national hit, got a lukewarm C grade in Billboard.

Gunter's first recorded song became the regional hit "Baby, Let's Play House" released in 1954. This record was soon picked up by Chess Records for national distribution and becomes the biggest seller up to that time for the label. In January of 1955, Excello signed Gunter to an exclusive contract, according to music historian JC Marion. While the song peaked at #12 on the US Billboard R&B charts, a year later Elvis picked it up for his first national charting song as well, eventually peaking at #5 on the US Billboard Country Singles Chart. Since the version on Sun Records, done by Elvis Presley, charted nationally in the Country charts it also garnered Gunter a BMI Certificate of Achievement as a country songwriter, alongside a slate of historically significant names.

While his hit single introduced Gunter to a national audience, its lasting impact as a regional hit let to a busy show schedule for Arthur Gunter and his combo not just in black clubs in town, but also high school events and driveway parties. Interestingly enough for the growth of R&B and rock and roll in Nashville one of those performances at BGA featured a young Mac Gayden in the audience (his name being misspelled as Mack in the newspaper write-up).

He retired from the music business in 1966 and moved to Michigan to work in the transportation industry. In his book "Shake Your Hips: The Excello Records Story," music writer Randy Fox describes Gunter as being rediscovered in 1970 by "blues fan Fred Reif, who booked him for blues festivals," but sadly that "[Gunter's] drinking and unreliability preempted plans for a comeback record," prompting the label to reissue his material for his only LP. He retired from trucking in 1973 after winning the state lottery for $50,000, and then died only a few years later in 1976. Coincidentally while Elvis broke nationally a year after recording Gunter, he also died a year after Gunter did.