In 1983, Walker was re-signed with Motown. He later recorded his own version of the Foreigner song. The solo was actually cobbled together from tapes that he had made with the band. Junior Walker also played the sax on the group Foreigner's "Urgent" in 1981. He wasn't as successful as he had been with the All Stars in his Motown period. In 1979, Junior Walker went solo and was signed to Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Records label. From that time on Walker sang more on the records than earlier in their career. A Motown quality control meeting rejected this song for single release but radio DJs made the track overwhelmingly popular, forcing Motown to release it as a single, whereupon it reached #4 on the Pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart. In 1969 the group had another hit enter the top 5, "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)?". "Shotgun" reached #4 on the Pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart in 1965, and was followed by many other hits, such as "(I'm A) Road Runner", "Shake and Fingerpop" and covers of the Motown classics "Come See About Me" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Their first and signature hit was "Shotgun", written by Junior Walker and produced by Berry Gordy. The drummer, Tony Washington quit the group, and James Graves followed the group into the Motown family. The members of the band changed after the acquisition of the Harvey label. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown Records family, recording for Motown's Soul imprint. When Fuqua's labels were taken over by Motown Berry Gordy, Jr. Once the group started recording on the Harvey label, their name was changed to Junior Walker & the All Stars. He recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, in 1961, who had his own recording labels. The original name the "Rhythm Rockers" was changed to the "All Stars". While performing in Benton Harbor Michigan, Walker found a drummer by the name of Tony Washington, to replace Nix.Įventually, Fred Patton (piano player) left the group, and Victor Thomas stepped in. When Nix got drafted into the army, Walker convinced the band to move from South Bend, Indiana to Battle Creek, Michigan. Shortly after, Nix would asked Willie Woods a local singer to perform with the group shortly after Woods would learn how to play guitar also. Nix obtained a permanent gig at a local TV station in South Bend, Indiana, and asked Walker to join him and his keyboard player (Fred Patton) permanently. His longtime friend Billy Nix (drummer) started his own group the 'Rhythm Rockers.' Periodically Nix would sit in on Jumping Jack's shows, and Walker would sit in on the Rhythm Rockers shows. His career started when he developed his own band at the age of 14, in the mid-'50s as the 'Jumping Jacks'. The other original members of the group were drummer James Graves, guitarist Willie Woods, and keyboardist Vic Thomas. Walker & The All Stars rambunctious sound. His unmistakable saxophone style was the anchor for Jr. Walker was born in Blytheville, Arkansas and grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Junior Walker (born Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr., J– November 23, 1995… Read Full Bio ↴ Junior Walker (born Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr., J– November 23, 1995)
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