Junior Walker and The All Stars

Junior Walker

Junior Walker was born Autry DeWalt Jr. in Blytheville, Arkansas on June 14th, 1931. Some accounts list his birth name as Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., and say his name was changed at some point during his early childhood. He grew up in South Bend, Indiana where he became a proficient saxophone player, studying the methods of some of the prominent sax players of the time. During his teens, DeWalt joined a group called The Jumping Jacks and began to perform in local clubs, calling himself Junior Walker.

During the mid-1950s, Junior's long-time friend, drummer Billy Nicks, asked him to join his band, The Rhythm Rockers, who had just landed a steady gig at a local TV station in South Bend, Indiana. The group also included Fred Patton on keyboards, and Willie Woods on guitar and vocals. After Nicks was drafted into the United States Army, Walker persuaded the others to relocate from South Bend to Battle Creek, Michigan. While performing in Benton Harbor, the ensemble found drummer Tony Washington to replace Nicks, and Victor Thomas eventually took over for Fred Patton. The band took up a residency in Battle Creek's El Grotto club. It was at the El Grotto that they were noticed by Johnny Bristol, who recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, formerly of Harvey And The Moonglows. By this time, Fuqua was running his own fledgling record label called Harvey. Fuqua liked what he heard and signed the band, who then changed their name to Junior Walker's All Stars in 1962.

The Harvey label was soon bought out by Motown and the group found itself recording with Soul Records, changing their name again to Junior Walker And The All Stars. Around this time, drummer Tony Washington left and was replaced by James Graves. Soul was a subsidiary of Motown and all of the group's subsequent recordings in the U.S. were released on the Soul label, although they had some Tamla/Motown hits on the charts in the U.K. In March, 1965, the band scored their first big hit with a dance tune that Walker had written called "Shotgun", which marked Junior's vocal debut. In fact, the only reason he sang the song was that the vocalist he'd hired didn't show up for the session, and he was somewhat flabbergasted by the label's decision to leave his vocal intact. Berry Gordy's instincts proved right, when "Shotgun" topped the R&B charts and hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two more efforts also cracked the chart in '65, "Do The Boomerang" (#36) and "Shake And Fingerpop" (#29).

In 1966, James Graves left and was replaced by Walker's old friend Billy Nicks. The hits continued with tunes like "I'm a Road Runner" (#20 Pop), "How Sweet Is Is (To Be Loved By You) (#18), "Pucker Up Buttercup" (#31 Pop), "Come See About Me" (#24 Pop) and "Hip City - Pt 2" (#31 Pop). Toward the end of the '60s, seeking to diversify their approach, the All-Stars began recording more ballad material, complete with string arrangements and Walker vocals. That approach resulted in the group's second Hot 100, Top 5 hit, the R&B number one "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" which helped refuel Walker's career in 1969. He landed several more R&B Top Ten hits over the next few years, including a cover of The Guess Who's "These Eyes", which went to #16 on the Pop chart, also in '69. Musical tastes changed in the '70s and the final Top 40 hits for Junior Walker And The All Stars were "Gotta Hold On To This Feeling" (#21 Pop) and "Do You See My Love (For You Growing)" (#32 Pop) in 1970.

Walker resurfaced as a solo artist during the Disco era, working with producer Brian Holland beginning in 1976 with the single "Hot Shot". A pair of albums followed. In 1979, Walker joined up with another former Motown mainstay, signing with producer Norman Whitfield's Whitfield label, though without much success. Walker returned to the spotlight in 1981 with a guest solo on Foreigner's Top Five hit "Urgent". Two years later, he re-signed with Motown and recorded "Blow the House Down". His melodic style was now being absorbed into a new generation of R&B-flavored Jazz instrumentalists.

Junior continued to perform in the '80s and '90s, often with his son Autry DeWalt III on drums. Sadly, Junior Walker developed cancer in 1993 and as his health deteriorated, he had difficulty walking. He died on November 23, 1995 in Battle Creek, Michigan at the age of 64. In the wake of his death, Billy Nicks continued to tour with a version of The All-Stars. Drummer James Graves was killed in a car accident in 1967, and guitarist Willie Woods passed away in 1997 at the age of 60. Victor Thomas died November 28th, 2010 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Junior Walker's classic hit "Shotgun" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 and the entire group was inducted into the Michigan Rock And Roll Legends online Hall of Fame in 2007. "Shotgun" was voted a Legendary Michigan Song in 2010.