Groove And Move - Music

Groove And Move by Jr. Walker & The All Stars

Jr. Walker & The All Stars

Artist Biography For Jr. Walker & The All Stars

Jr. Walker & The All Stars Was An American Soul Band Led By Saxophonist Junior Walker. They Were One Of The Motown Signature Acts In The 1960s. Originally "The Rhythm Rockers " 1965 Saw The Release Of Their Signature Hit "Shotgun". They Remained Active On The Charts Through To 1972 Disbanding In 1979. Walker Was Either Born Autry DeWalt II Or Re-Christened Such Following An Earlier Name Oscar G. Mixon On June 14 1931. Although He Mastered The Crawl And The Toddle "Junior Walker" Got That Moniker Not From Frequent Roaming But From His Father Roosevelt Walker. Still After His Family Moved From Blytheville Arkansas To South Bend Indiana People Started Noticing His Special Rhythms. In His New Home He Could Pursue His Lifelong Specialty Music. With His Trusty Tenor Saxophone Junior Walker Blew Through High School And Nearby R&B And Jazz Clubs With The Jumping Jacks. Yet He Wasn't So Focused On A Straight-Ahead Path That He Couldn't Stop And Appreciate Others' Talents Including Those Of Organist Fred Patton And Later Blues Guitarist Willie Woods. After The Rotating Door Of Sidemen Got Its First Spin Junior Walker Took The Lead And Served As The Axis Of What Would Become His Signature Band. Having Gigged In Upper Indiana And Lower Michigan Walker Settled Down In The Latter State. Late-1950s Battle Creek Was The Birthplace Of What Would Officially Be Known As Jr. Walker And The All Stars Woods Organist Vic Thomas And Tony Washington On Drums. Here Comes The Inevitable Hitsville Connection! Singer Johnny Bristol Watched Jr. Walker And The All Stars During An El Grotto Club Performance. After Wiping The Sizzling Grease Off His Brow He Told Pal Harvey Fuqua About The Band. In 1961 Harvey The Label Hired The Squealing Saxophonist And His Rip-Roaring Rhythm Section. Records Like "Cleo's Mood" Established Their Promise Before Motown Acquired Harvey's Roster And In 1964 The Band Which Still Featured Woods Thomas And Washington With Walker. Jack Douglas Then James Graves Later Took Washington's Drum Seat. It Was The 1965 Lineup Of Walker Thomas Graves And Woods That Rode "Shotgun" To The Top Of The Charts. If Junior Walker Had Thought He Could Foresee His Professional Course Then Motown Had Found A Way To Catch Him Off Guard. A Vocalist's No-Show For "Shotgun" Had Forced Horn Man Walker To Lay The Vocal Track. To His Bewilderment Motown Had Kept It. Whether He Wanted It Or Not The Country Would Know Him As Singer-Saxophonist Junior Walker. Nonetheless Soul-Selling Was A Good Thing For Jr. Walker And The All Stars. They Stuck To Their Forte--R&B Instrumentals--And Made Some Noise With Originals Like "Shake And Fingerpop" As Well As In-House Covers Like "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You ." For The Band's Mainly Motown Discography Click Here. Graves Went Lickety-Split In '66. Hits Like " I'm A Road Runner" Kept The Group Running On High-Octane Fuel. After A Series Of Boogie-Able Party Tunes It Was Perhaps Time To Dribble Syrup Into The Frying Pan. Doesn't Sound Appealing? Junior Walker Wasn't Enthused About The Ballad "What Does It Take To Win Your Love " Himself. Though He'd Continued To Insert Vocals On His Records He Didn't Want To Really You Know Carry A Sweet Tune! Producers Bristol And Fuqua Prevailed In The Studio As Did Jr. Walker And The All Stars On The Charts. As Far As Top 5ers Went That 1969 Song And Their First Motown Hit Were Poles Apart. Pieces Like "Gotta Hold On To This Feeling" And "Hip City Pt. 1" And "Pt. 2" Maintained Their Stylistic Seesaw. The Band Had Gotten A Late Start At Motown Compared To Other Acts. But That Didn't Delay Its Fading Pop-Ularity In The 1970s. Thankfully The R&B Market Hadn't Shrugged It Off. And Regardless Of Commercial Clout Jr. Walker And The All Stars' Raucous Soul Influenced Many Grateful Funkmeisters That Decade. In The Mid-To-Late '70s Junior Walker Tried His Horn At Solo Works With Producer Brian Holland Hot Shot And Then On Norman Whitfield's Self-Named Label Back Street Boogie . Still By 1981 The World Had Found Other Musical Idols. That Year Heralded Another Unexpected Turn. A Band He Didn't Know From A Genre He Hadn't Tried Convinced Him To Guest-Play On One Of Its Songs. So After One Listen And With One Take He Did. That Improvised Solo During The Refrain Of Foreigner's "Urgent " Was So Outstanding That It Brought Walker A New Concert Standard As Well As A Nice Fee. As If He Really Did Blow The House Down At Motown That 1983 Album Signified The End Of Junior Walker's Recording Days. So What Did He Do For The Next Decade? What He Did Second-Best If Singing Didn't Count He Walked Or Rather Roamed The Globe Touring With His All Stars Or His Own Junior Autry DeWalt III On Drums. Those Were The '80s And '90s. Part Of The Latter Anyway Cancer Struck Junior Walker In 1993. Reportedly As Time Went On He Had Trouble With Not Only Performing But Also Walking. On November 23 1995 The Disease Extinguished The All Stars' Leading Light. Walker's Side Men Have Kept The Party Going. Death Has Taken Key Members Like James Graves As Early As 1967 And Willie Woods 30 Years Later From Lung Cancer. But Surviving Motown Originals Thomas And Washington And Musicians Like Saxophonist Kenny Walker And Percussionist Acklee King Have Known Not To Give It Up As Part Of "Jr Walkers Allstar Band" Note The Official Legal Name Without Some Punctuation . The Singing--Of Praises--Has Continued With The Group's 2002 Induction Into The Grammy Hall Of Fame For "Shotgun." Silence Is Especially Disturbing If The Music That Once Filled It Was So Lively. So Go Ahead Pop In And Turn Up That Jr. Walker And The All Stars Record. No Surprises No New Twists. Just Some Of The Most Pleasurably Blistering Foot-Stompers On This End Of The Soul Griddle. Http //www.Soullyoldies.Com/jr-Walker-And-The-All-Stars.Html