Joe Gunn was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, on April 22, 1944, to Ina Bell and Joe F. Gunn. Joe grew up in Smackover, an oil producing town of just four-square miles in southern Arkansas. His mother was a beautician, and his father was an electrician for the Phillips 66 Petroleum Company. Joe has two sisters, Diane Gunn Alderson, and Joanie Gunn Hulsey from El Dorado, Arkansas. With a family history of musical involvement, Joe’s two sisters were also in the band program in Smackover. His father and Uncle Wayne played in the Smackover Boys Band in the 1920s. With twenty-one in the band at that time, it was most of the boys in school.
The Boys Band’s two directors, Fred D. Martin and L.E. Crumpler traveled between several small communities teaching band and selling instruments and hats! Is this reminiscent of a famous Broadway musical?

With the support and direction from band director Wendell Evanson, Joe began playing the cornet in the fourth grade and changed to euphonium in the sixth grade. Later at Smackover High School, Joe served as drum major of the Buckaroo Band, where his mentor and director was Dix Stallings. He attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where he was again under the tutelage of Director of Bands Wendell Evanson. While there, he switched to French horn since
Henderson State did not offer a major in euphonium at the time. Joe also played trumpet in the Henderson Collegians Jazz Band, which competed in the Collegiate Jazz Festival at the University of Notre Dame in 1963 (runner-up) and in 1964. His undergraduate years also included serving as drum major of the Reddie marching band, so named for the football team’s red jerseys.

January 1967 marked the beginning of what would become Joe’s long and successful teaching career. His first teaching job took him to Conway Junior High School in Conway, Arkansas, where his mentor teachers included Russell Langston at Conway High School, Homer Brown at the University of Central Arkansas, and Gene Witherspoon at Arkansas Tech University. A year later, Joe was invited to conduct at the summer camps of Arkansas Tech University.
Other conductors included notables Vincent Persichetti, Alfred Reed, and Martin Mailman.

In 1970, Joe moved to Texas after accepting an offer to become the assistant director at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas. There he worked with Bell's Director of Bands, Roger Winslow. In 1972, Joe became director of the Harwood Junior High band program. He was selected Teacher of the Year in 1973 and in 1974. The Harwood band was runner-up in the TMEA Honor Band contest, Class CCC in 1977. In 1980, after three years of working in the retail-music industry, Joe returned to Harwood, where in 1985 the band was again selected as runner-up in the TMEA Honor Band contest, Class CCC. In 1987, Joe received the Harwood Junior High PTA Life Membership award. In 1996, Joe commissioned composer David Maslanka (1943-2017) to write a piece for junior high students. Mr. Maslanka titled the three-movement, grade IV composition Heart Songs. In the program notes, Maslanka wrote, “Heart Songs comes from watering the tree of life with blood of the heart. It is my hope, with this music, to provide a substantial and deeply felt piece for young players. The second and third songs are based on melodies from the 371 Chorales by J.S. Bach.” That same year of 1996, Joe accepted the position of Director of Bands at Trinity High School in Euless, where he remained until his retirement in 2001. Heart Songs was completed in 1998 and premiered that year by the Harwood Junior High band, with Chris Ferrell conducting. On April 10, 2024, Joe conducted his commissioned piece for the first time and gratefully acknowledges the special invitation of Bobby Francis, Director of Bands at Texas Christian University, who worked with him at Harwood Junior High when he was the assistant at Trinity High School.

Not one to slow down in retirement, Joe continued to positively impact the music community. From 2003 to 2006, he served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Arlington at the invitation of longtime friend and mentor, Ray Lichtenwalter. The connection also led to Joe’s significant contributions to the Texas Wind Symphony Board of Directors, where he served for eight years, including two years as president. Joe went on to share his love of music with students as a consultant for the school districts of Arlington, Irving, Paradise, and White Settlement, and was on the band staff at Alvarado ISD. Joe also enjoyed fifteen years as an adjudicator at the annual Sandy Lake Park FunFest music festival.

Joe wants to express his sincere thanks and gratitude to all the wonderful students that he had the great fortune to have in class throughout his career. He continues to be in awe of the musicians and adults they have become. One does not begin this journey without the leadership and inspiration of those along the way. Thanks to Wendell Evanson, Marvin Lawson, Donald Keys, Bill Shaver and Dix Stallings who taught in the band program at Smackover, Arkansas. Teachers who brought music to life at the university level were Bob Umiker, Neill Humfeld, Jim Deaton and Bob Houston. The contributions of ideas, knowledge and friendship of those early mentors who provided a path to follow were Russ Langston, Gene Witherspoon, H.L. Shepherd, Stan Cate, Jan Shaw, Ralph Hale, Ray Brandon, Francis McBeth and Sammy Halbrook. Henderson State University classmates Hal Cooper, Bob Gibson, Rom Allen and Wes Branstine provided a model for Joe. Texas colleagues who were influential include Jerry Longwell, Roger Winslow, Norman White, Tommy Neugent, Danny Prado, Tom Wine, Jolette Wine, Bobby Francis, Bob Parsons, Paul Durapau, Tony Storer, Gwen Earnhart, Brian Pollard and Patrick Deitz. A special thanks to mentors Ray Lichtenwalter, Gary Green, Jim Keene and John Haynie who have been truly inspirational throughout his career. Joe has a special place in his heart for the friends he made in the fifteen years of working at Sandy Lake Park FunFest, Susy and Tom Self, Ken VanWinkle, Jay Brewer, Charles Traylor, Gary Barrow, Robert Bailey and Royce Lumpkin!

Past memberships include: Arkansas School Band Directors Association, Arkansas Band and Orchestra Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Texas Bandmaster Association and Phi Beta Mu, International Bandmasters Fraternity - Alpha Chapter.

Joe is grateful for the steadfast support of his parents and family over these many years. He has two daughters, Julie Gunn and Nikki Gunn Rodenbeck; son-in-law Eric Rodenbeck; and grandson, Henry Hugo Gunn Rodenbeck. Joe is married to Jeanne Rabeler Gunn, a fellow music educator. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, fly-tying and fly fishing. Joe would like to thank Phi Beta Mu, Alpha Chapter, for this outstanding honor!