Junior Walker & The All Stars

Junior Walker Born Autry DeWalt Jr. June 14 1931 – November 23 1995 & The All Stars Were Signed To The Motown Label In The 1960s And Became One Of The Label's Signature Acts. Junior Walker Was Born Autry DeWalt Jr. In Blytheville Arkansas In 1942. Some Accounts List His Birth Name As Oscar G. Mixon And Say His Name Was Changed At Some Point During His Early Childhood. He Grew Up In South Bend Indiana Where He Became A Proficient Saxophone Player Studying The Methods Of Some Of The Prominent Sax Players Of The Time. During His Teens DeWalt Joined A Group Called The Jumping Jacks And Began To Perform In Local Clubs Calling Himself Junior Walker. He Next Joined A Trio Led By Drummer Billy "Stix" Nicks Which Also Featured Organist Fred Patton. They Soon Added Backing Vocalist And Guitarist Willie Woods And Played Around Northern Indiana And Southern Michigan. Walker Took Over The Group After Nicks Joined The Army And In The Late '50s Relocated To Battle Creek MI And Formed A Band Billed As Junior Walker & The All-Stars. Initially They Featured Patton Woods And Drummer Tony Washington. Patton Was Later Replaced By Victor Thomas And Washington By Jack Douglas And Finally James Graves. The All-Stars Continued To Play Around The Area And Took Up A Residency In Battle Creek's El Grotto Club. It Was At The El Grotto That They Were Noticed By Johnny Bristol Who Recommended Them To Harvey Fuqua Who Had Sang With Harvey And The Moonglows. By This Time Fuqua Was Running His Own Fledgling Record Label Called Simply "Harvey". Fuqua Liked What He Heard And Signed Junior Walker And The All Stars In 1962. The Harvey Label Was Soon Bought Out By Motown And The Group Found Itself Recording With Soul Records. Soul Was A Subsidiary Of Motown And All Of The Group's Subsequent Hits In The US Were Released On The Soul Label Although They Had Some Tamla/Motown Hits On The Charts In The UK. In Early 1965 The Band Scored Their First Big Hit With A Dance Tune That Walker Had Written Called "Shotgun" Which Marked Junior's Vocal Debut. In Fact The Only Reason He Sang The Song Was That The Vocalist He'd Hired Didn't Show Up For The Session And He Was Somewhat Flabbergasted By The Label's Decision To Leave His Vocal Intact. Berry Gordy's Instincts Proved Right However When "Shotgun" Topped The R&B Charts And Hit Number Four On The Pop Chart. In 1966 Graves Left And Was Replaced By Old Friend Billy "Stix" Nicks. Walker's Hits Continued With Tunes Like "I'm A Road Runner" #20 Pop And "Pucker Up Buttercup". #3 Pop Toward The End Of The '60s Seeking To Diversify Their Approach The All-Stars Began Recording More Ballad Material Complete With String Arrangements And Walker Vocals. That Approach Resulted In The Group's Second Top Five Pop Hit The R&B Number One "What Does It Take To Win Your Love " Which Helped Refuel Walker's Career. He Landed Several More R&B Top Ten Hits Over The Next Few Years Including A Cover Of The Guess Who's "These Eyes" Which Went To Number 16 On The Pop Chart. Musical Tastes Changed In The 70's And The Final Top Forty Hit For Junior Walker And The All Stars Was "Do You See My Love For You Growing " In 1970. Walker Resurfaced As A Solo Artist During The Disco Era Working With Producer Brian Holland Beginning In 1976 With The Single "Hot Shot". A Pair Of Albums Followed. In 1979 Walker Joined Up With Another Former Motown Mainstay Signing With Producer Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Label Though Without Much Success. Walker Returned To The Spotlight In 1981 With A Guest Solo On Foreigner's Top Five Hit "Urgent". Two Years Later He Re-Signed With Motown And Recorded "Blow The House Down". His Melodic Style Was Now Being Absorbed Into A New Generation Of R&B-Flavoured Jazz Instrumentalists. Junior Continued To Perform In The 80's And 90's Often With His Son Autry DeWalt III On Drums. Sadly Junior Walker Developed Cancer In 1993 And As His Health Deteriorated He Had Difficulty Walking. He Died On November 23 1995 In Battle Creek Michigan At Age 53. In The Wake Of His Death Billy "Stix" Nicks Continued To Tour With A Version Of The All-Stars. Http //www.Classicbands.Com/jrwalker.Html read less