One of those labels was Apollo, who convinced them to go secular. That's basically how the Larks, one of the seminal early RB vocal groups whose mellifluous early-'50s Apollo platters rank with the era's best, came to be. Bunn sang lead on a few of their bluesier items (Eyesight to the Blind, for one), as well as doing two sessions of his own for the firm in 1952 under the name of Allen Bunn. As Alden Bunn, he encored on Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo the next year. Bunn also sang with another RB vocal group, the Wheels. And coupled with his future wife, Anna Sanford, Bunn recorded as the Lovers; Darling It's Wonderful, their 1957 duet for Aladdin's Lamp subsidiary, was a substantial pop seller. (Ray Ellis did the arranging.)
Tarheel Slim made his official entrance in 1958 with his wife, now dubbed Little Ann, in a duet format for Robinson's Fire imprint (It's Too Late, Much Too Late). Then old Tarheel came out of the gate like his pants were on fire with a pair of rockabilly raveups of his own, Wildcat Tamer and No. 9 Train, with Jimmy Spruill on blazing lead guitar. After a few years off the scene, Tarheel Slim made a bit of a comeback during the early '70s, with an album for Pete Lowry's Trix logo that harked back to Bunn's Carolina blues heritage. It would prove his last. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi