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)
Hip City
Jr. Walker & The All Stars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Autry DeWalt, aka Jr. Walker & Janie Bradford)
Jr. Walker & The All Stars
Pop Chart #31 Aug 10 1968
Soul Records #35048
Album: Junior Walker & The All Stars
We just gotta move
We missed a few cities, now
We gotta put 'em in the groove
Home in Chicago
(Chicago)
Whoa, you're really jumpin'
Down in Baltimore
(Baltimore)
Tell me you're Foot Stompin'
People are really rockin' (rockin')
In Nashville, Tennessee
(Hip City!)
You wanna be in the groove, boy
You gotta come on with me
(Where?)
Clarksville, Mississippi
Into Kansas City, town
(Hip City)
Get them hip shakin', now
Yeah!
And what they're puttin' down
Hey!
You oughta see 'em, h'uh
They move it
You oughta be with 'em
They groove it
You don't feel a thing
In yo' feet
You gotta move yo' hips
With that beat
You gotta feel it, now
Ay-yeah-yeah!
You gotta Fly high
Ooo, ah-ah-ah
You-ah-ah-ah
(Fly high)
Ooo-ah-hey!
I wanna say it now
(sax & guitar instrumental)
Hey, bring it on back, now
Yeah, we gotta move, St. Lou
Chicks down there, now
They got the Boog-a-Loo
(Yeah)
Now, when it comes to dancin'
Marv, just had it wrong
New York, Hip City
(Hip City)
Is the King of 'em all
A-look-a-here:
Don't put Detroit down
(No, never!)
It's the home of the Motown Sound
(Yeah, yeah!)
You've gotta feel it
(We feel it!)
You've gotta groove
(We're movin')
Gotta move it, now
(We're movin')
Feel it in your bones, boy
(We feel)
Gotta blow my horn
(Blow your horn, yeah!)
(sax & instrumental to end)
~
Jr. Walker & The All Stars's song Hip City is a celebration of music, dance, and the different cities in the US where these activities are thriving. The song opens with a call to not stop the music because they have to move and put a few cities in the groove. The song then takes us on a virtual musical tour of different cities, starting with Chicago, where the crowd is really jumping, down to Baltimore where they are foot-stomping, Nashville, Tennessee where people are really rocking, Clarksville, Mississippi, and into Kansas City town where they are hip shaking. The song then returns to St. Lou where the chicks are doing the Boog-a-Loo before ending in New York, Hip City, which is the king of them all according to the song.
The song encourages everyone to join in the groove and enjoy the music by moving their feet, hips, and feeling the beat in their bones. The song's sax and guitar instrumentals complement the lively dance beats, and the applause from the crowd adds to the energy of the song. Hip City is a song that celebrates the joy and freedom of music and dance and encourages everyone to loosen up and move to the groove.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't stop the music
Let's keep the music going
We just gotta move
We have to keep dancing
We missed a few cities, now
We haven't been to a few cities yet
We gotta put 'em in the groove
We have to get those cities dancing
Home in Chicago
In Chicago
(Chicago)
Chicago
Whoa, you're really jumpin'
You're really dancing
Down in Baltimore
In Baltimore
(Baltimore)
Baltimore
Tell me you're Foot Stompin'
Tell me you're dancing hard
People are really rockin' (rockin')
People are really dancing
In Nashville, Tennessee
In Nashville
(Hip City!)
In the city of the latest dance moves
You wanna be in the groove, boy
You want to be dancing with us
You gotta come on with me
You have to follow me
(Where?)
(Where are we going?)
Clarksville, Mississippi
In Clarksville, Mississippi
Into Kansas City, town
In Kansas City
Get them hip shakin', now
Make those hips move
Yeah!
Yeah!
And what they're puttin' down
And what they're dancing to
Hey!
Hey!
You oughta see 'em, h'uh
You have to see them
They move it
They can dance
You oughta be with 'em
You should be dancing with them
They groove it
They're dancing really well
You don't feel a thing
You can't help but dance
In yo' feet
In your feet
You gotta move yo' hips
You have to move your hips
With that beat
To match the rhythm
You gotta feel it, now
You need to feel the music
Ay-yeah-yeah!
Ay-yeah-yeah!
You gotta Fly high
You have to raise your energy levels
Ooo, ah-ah-ah
Ooo, ah-ah-ah
You-ah-ah-ah
You-ah-ah-ah
(Fly high)
(Raise your energy levels)
Ooo-ah-hey!
Ooo-ah-hey!
I wanna say it now
I need to say this right now
(sax & guitar instrumental)
(Instrumental)
Hey, bring it on back, now
Hey, let's keep dancing
Yeah, we gotta move, St. Lou
Yeah, we have to dance in St. Louis
Chicks down there, now
There are some great dancers there
They got the Boog-a-Loo
They're doing the Boogaloo dance
(Yeah)
(Yeah)
Now, when it comes to dancin'
When it comes to dancing
Marv, just had it wrong
Marv was wrong about it
New York, Hip City
New York is the city of the latest dance moves
(Hip City)
(New York)
Is the King of 'em all
Is the ultimate dancing destination
A-look-a-here:
Listen up:
Don't put Detroit down
Don't underestimate Detroit
(No, never!)
(No, never!)
It's the home of the Motown Sound
It's where the Motown Sound originated
(Yeah, yeah!)
(Yeah, yeah!)
You've gotta feel it
You need to feel the music
(We feel it!)
(We feel it!)
You've gotta groove
You need to dance
(We're movin')
(We're moving)
Gotta move it, now
We need to keep dancing
(We're movin')
(We're moving)
Feel it in your bones, boy
Feel the music deep in your soul
(We feel)
(We feel it)
Gotta blow my horn
Gotta play my saxophone
(Blow your horn, yeah!)
(Play your saxophone, yeah!)
(sax & instrumental to end)
(Instrumental)
Contributed by Parker H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.