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)
Pucker Up Buttercup
Jr. Walker & The All Stars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[sax solo over chorus chords]
Pucker up, Buttercup
I wanna kiss you one time
Pucker up, Buttercup
I wanna kiss you one time
I wanna hug you
Buttercup, I wanna show you how Hey!
Verse 1:
You say you never been kissed before
You always leave 'em standin' at the door
And when they try to kiss you you just say goodbye
You always tell them no and never tell them why
(Pucker up...)
[repeat chorus]
[sax solo over chorus chords]
[repeat chorus]
Verse 2:
It won't do you no good to tell me no
Because I've met your kind before
I'll bet you before I'm through
I'll be hearing these same words from you
The song "Pucker Up, Buttercup" by Jr. Walker & The All Stars is a classic example of a love ballad. The song is an invitation to the woman he has feelings for to come and embrace him. The chorus repeats the phrase "Pucker up, Buttercup" twice while expressing his desire to kiss her. He also expresses his longing to hug her and show her how he feels.
In the first verse, he confronts her about her reluctance to kiss because she has never been kissed before. He tells her that every time someone tries to kiss her, she always tells them no and never explains why. The repetition of the chorus highlights his desire to kiss her one time and his insistence that she allows it.
In the second verse, he reminds her that she cannot refuse him because he has met her kind before, and he is not intimidated by her. He is confident that he will have his way with her, and she will eventually reciprocate his feelings. Overall, the song is a playful and upbeat love song that highlights the persistence of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Pucker up, Buttercup
Get ready to kiss, my dear Buttercup
I wanna kiss you one time
I want to give you a kiss, just once
Pucker up, Buttercup
Prepare to get kissed again, my dear Buttercup
I wanna hug you
Besides a kiss, I also want to embrace you
Buttercup, I wanna show you how Hey!
Hey, Buttercup. I want to show you how I can love and care for you.
You say you never been kissed before
You claim that you have never experienced a kiss before
You always leave 'em standin' at the door
You usually leave people disappointed and ignored
And when they try to kiss you you just say goodbye
People get rejected when they try to kiss you, and you just walk away
You always tell them no and never tell them why
You always decline their advances but never give a reason why
It won't do you no good to tell me no
It's pointless to say no to me
Because I've met your kind before
I've encountered this kind of behavior from others like you
I'll bet you before I'm through
I have a feeling that before we're done, you'll be saying the same thing to me
I'll be hearing these same words from you
You'll be declining my advances with the same kind of statement people hear from you.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DANNY COGGINS, HARVEY FUQUA, JOHNNY WILLIAM BRISTOL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bert5138
I was so excited to see Jr a Walker and the Allstars at the El Mocambo in Toronto 1980s. Danced all night 💃
@coolmix44
i'm sure i was there! I LOVED playing Toronto! The Blue Note and Ontario Place. lol The good ole days. The music lives on. stay blessed. www.darrylbuchanan.net
@1949LA-ARCH
Great tune from my high school years. Saw them live in 1965 at a local DC high school.
@davidmaslow399
Great story!
@delwiljr7055
One of those grooves ,from parties with the family on dad's side, and I will never stop rocking to it.
@jimmyferris
You gotta dance!!!!
@billie44
My grandmother use to love the song
@VictoriaNakaraKizer
The man with that sax....
@carrienixon6663
Awesome tune
@sylviaferrell2960
I graduated in 1968 in Hawaii. Used to jam at Radford High school with all my Local and Military kids. Oh yes Jr Walker. Kisses to ya. Sylvia Lewis