Walker was born in Blytheville, Arkansas and grew up in South Bend, Indiana… Read Full Bio ↴Walker was born in Blytheville, Arkansas and grew up in South Bend, Indiana. His unmistakable saxophone style was the anchor for the band's rambunctious sound. The other members of the group were drummer James Graves, guitarist Willie Woods and on keyboards Vic Thomas.

The group was spotted by Johnny Bristol. He recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, who had his own recording labels. When this labels were taken over by Berry Gordy, Jr. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown label.

Their first and signature hit was Shotgun. It was written by Junior Walker himself, but under his real name Autry DeWalt. The song was produced by Motown president Berry Gordy. The song begins with a shot from a shotgun. The song reached #4 on the Pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart. Shotgun 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).

In 1969 the group had another hit entering the top 5. What Does It Take (To Win You're Love) reached #4 on the Pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart. From that time on Walker sang more on the records than earlier in their carreer.

In 1979, Junior Walker went solo and was signed to Norman Whitfield's label. He wasn't as succesful as he had been with the All Stars in his Motown period. Junior Walker also played the sax on the group Foreigner's Urgent in 1981. The solo was actually cobbled together from tapes that he had made with the band. He later recorded his own version of the Foreigner song.

In 1983 Walker was re-signed with Motown. He died on November 23, 1995 in Battle Creek, Michigan of cancer. Drummer James Graves died in 1967 in a car accident and guitarist Willie Woods in 1997

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jr._Walker_%26_the_All_Stars

Darling Come Back Home
Jr. Walker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You want to go away
Say you want to leave today
What can I do or say
To make you want to stay

You say you need a change of pace
And you're tired of this old place

Well you can always come back home
If you can't make it on your own
You can always come back home
If you can't make it on your own

I hope you find your way
And temptation doesn't lead you astray
I know that you must do
What your conscience is telling you

Don't forget how to use the phone
Anytime you're feeling alone

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jr. Walker's song Darling Come Back Home represents a heartbreaking plea from a man to his partner, who expresses her desire to leave and start anew. The song begins with the man expressing helplessness at the partner's desire to leave, asking what he can do to make her stay. He acknowledges her need for change and growth, but also emphasizes that she can always come back home if she cannot manage to make it by herself. The void that the partner would create in the man's heart and home is what serves as the motivation behind the song, and he wants her to stay.

The man then continues by telling his partner to tread cautiously and to allow her conscience to guide her. He acknowledges the possibility of temptation and urges her not to go astray. He reassures her that she can always call on him whenever she feels lonely, and he will be more than ready to take her back where she belongs. The message in the song is quite deep, and it touches on the topic of relationships' hardship and the difficulties that come with staying grounded when life becomes tumultuous.

Line by Line Meaning

You want to go away
You intend to leave and be on your way

Say you want to leave today
You've made up your mind to walk away right now

What can I do or say
I'm wondering what I can say or do to make you stay

To make you want to stay
I want you to feel compelled to stay with me

You say you need a change of pace
You articulate the desire to switch things up

And you're tired of this old place
And you express boredom with this existing environment

Well, you can always come back home
You're welcome to come back anytime

If you can't make it on your own
If you can't manage without me by your side

You can always come back home
Feel free to return to the nest

If you can't make it on your own
If you're struggling to overcome obstacles alone

I hope you find your way
I hope you figure things out