Hoot Owl Ramblers

The Hoot Owl Ramblers was a country band created by Sid "Hardrock" Gunter in 1938 when he was 13 years old. Gunter led the group as "Goofy Sid", a cornpone character modeled after Hank Penny's "Plain Ol' Country Boy" persona.

Other members of the group included Cecil Smith on steel guitar, Red Byars on banjo, Roy Dunn on drums, Pete Faulkner on bass, and Robert Kirby on fiddle.

The Ramblers performed at school dances and talent shows and developed a following around Birmingham. Goofy Sid, with or without the Ramblers, won Mrs Sy Wages Irondale-based talent show for 13 straight weeks. She recommended Gunter to Happy Wilson who was assembling a band to accompany the screening of some of his western films in Atlanta. His departure to join Wilson's Golden River Boys in 1939 marked the end of the Hoot Owl Ramblers, but they did reunite occasionally, such as at Woodlawn High School's "Gold and White Follies".

References

• Parker, Sylvia (March 3, 2010) "Hardrock Gunter - That Bouncin' Man from Alabam." Alabamalama