| Friday, 19 February 2010 16:58 | |||
| Arthur Gunter- Black and Blues |
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"Arthur Gunter was born on the 23rd May 1926 in Nashville, Tennessee. Gunter was a musician from an early age; as a child, he was in a gospel group with his brothers and cousins called the Gunter Brothers Quartet. In the early 1950s he played guitar in various blues groups around Nashville. Gunter was a regular at the record shop owned by Excello chief Ernie Young and the association led to a recording contract in 1954. In 1955, Gunter recorded Baby Let's Play House for Excello, which became a local hit. It became nationally known later that year when Elvis Presley recorded a version forSun Records. His first royalty check, received that same year, was for $6500. Gunter was less than impressed, however, with the attitude of the rock n'roll kid and his management: Pretty short, sad life for a man who changed the world of Blues music. I love this LP. It's the kind of blues that I can relate to. Gunter has a deep husky voice that I find very appealing. The tracks aren't fifteen minutes long and "Baby, Let's Play House" sounds like it should in his hands because it's his song. I also love "Blues After Hours" and "Ludella" now performed by every modern Bluesman on the planet and I'm sure that none give Arthur Gunter his credit due for penning some of the best blues songs ever written. Arthur Gunter easily my favorite Bluesman and I recommend you look for this LP but I suspect that it might be a bit tricky to find. I got mine at Reckless records on Haight Street for four bucks. Someone should play this LP for John Mayer and then beat him with his guitar. |




I have a copy of this LP but I can't find an image for it online. That's Arthur right there. Here's some info I found about Gunter on a site featuring some old Excello LP's: