Biography
Walker was born in Blytheville, Arkansas and grew up in South Bend, Indiana. His unmistakable saxophone style was the anchor for Jr. Walker & The All Stars rambunctious sound. The other original members of the group were drummer James Graves, guitarist Willie Woods, and keyboardist Vic Thomas.
His career started when he developed his own band at the age of 14, in the mid-'50s as the 'Jumping Jacks'. 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.
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. 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.
When Nix got drafted into the army, Walker convinced the band to move from South Bend, Indiana to Battle Creek, Michigan. While performing in Benton Harbor Michigan, Walker found a drummer by the name of Tony Washington, to replace Nix.
Eventually, Fred Patton (piano player) left the group, and Victor Thomas stepped in. The original name the "Rhythm Rockers" was changed to the "All Stars".
The group was spotted by Johnny Bristol. He recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, in 1961, who had his own recording labels. Once the group started recording on the Harvey label, their name was changed to Junior Walker & the All Stars.
When Fuqua's labels were taken over by Motown Berry Gordy, Jr. Walker & The All Stars became members of the Motown Records family, recording for Motown's Soul imprint.
The members of the band changed after the acquisition of the Harvey label. The drummer, Tony Washington quit the group, and James Graves followed the group into the Motown family.
Their first and signature hit was "Shotgun", written by Junior Walker and produced by Berry Gordy. "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)".
In 1969 the group had another hit enter the top 5, "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)?". 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. From that time on Walker sang more on the records than earlier in their career.
In 1979, Junior Walker went solo and was signed to Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Records label. He wasn't as successful 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 at age 60.
Jr. Walker's All Star Band is currently touring around the world with with original members Tony Washington and Acklee King and Detroit's own Marty Saxman Montgomery singing and blowing the saxophone so well if you closed your eyes you would think Junior himself was in the room.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
TML11017 Shotgun LP
STML/TML11029 Soul Session LP
STML/TML11038 Road Runner LP
STML/TML11097 Home Cookin' LP
STML/TML11120 Junior Walker's Greatest Hits LP
STML/TML11140 These Eyes LP
STML11152 Live LP
STML11167 A Gassssssssss! LP
STML11198 Rainbow Funk LP
STML11211 Moody Jr LP
STML11224 Greatest Hits Vol 2 LP
STML11234 Peace & Understanding Is Hard To Find LP
STML11274 Jr Walker & The Allstars LP
STML12018 Hot Shot LP
STML12033 Sax Appeal LP
TMSP1129 Anthology LP
STMS5054 Greatest Hits LP
[edit] Singles
Year Song title Pop R&B UK
1965 "Shotgun" 4 1 -
1965 "Do The Boomerang" 36 10 -
1965 "Shake And Fingerpop" 29 7 -
1965 "Cleo's Back" 43 7 -
1966 "(I'm A) Road Runner" 20 4 -
1966 "Cleo's Mood" 50 14 -
1966 "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" 18 3 22
1966 "Money (That's What I Want), Pt.1" 52 35 -
1967 "Pucker Up Buttercup" 31 11 -
1967 "Shoot Your Shot" 44 33 -
1967 "Come See About Me" 24 8
1968 "Hip City, Pt. 2" 31 7 -
1968 "Home Cookin' 42 19 -
1969 "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" 4 1 13
1969 "(I'm a) Road Runner" 4 20 12
1969 "These Eyes" 16 3 -
1970 "Gotta Hold On To This Feeling" 21 2 -
1970 "Do You See My Love (For You Growing)" 32 3 -
1970 "Holly Holy" 75 33 -
1970 "Carry Your Own Load" 117 50 -
1971 "Take Me Girl, I'm Ready" 50 18 -
1971 "Way Back Home" 52 24 -
1972 "Walk In The Night" 46 10 16
1971 "Take Me Girl I'm Ready" 18 50 16
1973 "Gimme That Beat, Pt. 1" 101 50 -
1973 "Way Back Home" 52 24 35
Hip City
Junior Walker 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)
~
The song "Hip City" by Junior Walker & The All-Stars is an energetic and upbeat tune that encourages people to get up and dance. The lyrics talk about different cities where people are enjoying the rhythm and movement of the music. In each city, there is a unique style of dance such as Foot Stomping in Baltimore, rockin' in Nashville, and hip shaking in Clarksville and Kansas City. The singer encourages the listener to join in and "move yo' hips with that beat."
The song has a lively saxophone and guitar instrumental section, which adds to the upbeat nature of the song. The catchy and repetitive hook "Hip City" solidifies the theme of the song and encourages everyone to enjoy the rhythm and beat of the music. The song is also an ode to the different cities of America, highlighting their unique music and dance styles. The lyrics are easy to follow and the melody is catchy, making it an ideal song for dancing and having fun.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't stop the music
Let's keep the music playing and not take a break
We just gotta move
We have to dance and enjoy ourselves
We missed a few cities, now
We didn't go to a few places last time and we must go there now
We gotta put 'em in the groove
We have to make sure that everyone is dancing and having fun
Whoa, you're really jumpin'
You're dancing really energetically
Tell me you're Foot Stompin'
Are you dancing by stomping your feet?
People are really rockin' (rockin')
Everyone is really dancing and moving to the music
You wanna be in the groove, boy
If you want to have fun and be cool, you should dance with us
You gotta come on with me
Follow me and dance with me
Into Kansas City, town
We're going to Kansas City
Get them hip shakin', now
Dance and shake your hips to the music
And what they're puttin' down
The music is so good they're playing
You oughta see 'em, h'uh
You should see how good they're dancing
You oughta be with 'em
You should dance with them
They groove it
They're dancing with the rhythm of the music
You don't feel a thing
You won't notice your feet moving because you'll be so into the dance
You gotta move yo' hips
You have to shake your hips to the music
With that beat
In time with the rhythm of the music
You gotta feel it, now
You have to feel the music and dance to it
You gotta Fly high
You have to dance in a way that makes you feel on top of the world
Ooo, ah-ah-ah
Making a sound of enjoyment
You-ah-ah-ah
Making another sound of enjoyment
I wanna say it now
I want to express my enthusiasm for the music
Hey, bring it on back, now
Let's bring the music back to us now
Chicks down there, now
There are women dancing over there
They got the Boog-a-Loo
They're dancing to the Boog-a-Loo music
Now, when it comes to dancin'
When it comes to dancing in general
Is the King of 'em all
New York is the best at dancing
Don't put Detroit down
Don't criticize Detroit
It's the home of the Motown Sound
Detroit is where Motown music comes from
We feel it!
We are enjoying the music and dancing with it
We're movin'
We're dancing and moving to the music
Feel it in your bones, boy
Feel the music in your body and bones
Gotta blow my horn
I have to play my saxophone
Contributed by Parker H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
endless441
This was funk and soul music at its best. The beat too fast for these youngsters today. You had to move your feet and feel the groove. Man those were the days where you let it all hang out and I did. Thanks Junior Walker, RIP
Guy 41100
Une mélodie incroyable. La deuxième partie a un rythme extraordinaire.
ALICE Clemon
I always enjoyed this song. I just can't keep up with it anymore on the dance floor.. Great riding music.
SoulGalore Memories
ALICE Clemon - Yeah - the dancing bit takes a back seat as we get older, but still....we can still enjoy listening to tracks like this. Tapping our fingers is allowed :-)
Jo Hammerstein
Nice....always wanted to hear this without the break
Mrs Jones
🤣 I can't either Alice. I just tried it‼🤣🎤🎶📢🎷🎺🥁🤣 But it still feels good!
Gary Kane
An underrated Motown artist.
Mrs Jones
If you couldn't dance to this, you just couldn't dance! 🤣❤🎤🎶🎷🎸🥁🎹
Jerome Ravenell
One of my favorite ❤!
Jo Hammerstein
party music at its best