He formed his first group, the Hoot Owl Ramblers, in his teens, and also performed a solo novelty act in talent shows.

In 1939, he joined Happy Wilson's Golden River Boys, a country swing group, and acquired his nickname when a van trunk lid fell on him before a show and he never flinched.

[3] Gunter's original version has become regarded as a contender for the first rock and roll record, predating "Rocket 88" by a year.

When the Bama label folded, Gunter signed to Decca, and his 1951 duet with Roberta Lee, "Sixty Minute Man," was one of the first country records to cross over to R&B audiences.

[2][4] He continued to record with limited success, and in the 1960s left the music business to develop a career in insurance, based in Colorado.