(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BIRMINGHAM BOUNCE")
HARDROCK GUNTER: (Singing) In the heart of Dixie in Alabam', there's a place we love called Birmingham.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
This is Hardrock Gunter's "Birmingham Bounce." It was recorded in 1958 at a radio station here in town - not ours, unfortunately - and is considered by some to be the first real rock 'n' roll song. It was a huge regional hit. But when Red Foley recorded a version for national distribution, Hardrock Gunter's version sort of slipped from the shelves - but not from memory.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BIRMINGHAM BOUNCE")
HARDROCK GUNTER: (Singing) Now, some like a horn with a valve in the middle. Some like a beat of big bass fiddle. If it's "Old Black Joe," a high diddle-diddle (ph), we all love to dance... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.