Jr. Walker And The All Stars A Gassss LP 1970 1st Pressing Motown / Soul

Description: Jr. Walker And The All Stars A Gassss LP 1970 1st Pressing Motown / Soul There's nothing weak or mediocre about Junior Walker's albums -- all have a high standard and feature his winning gusto sax screams and sauced vocals. He cut some of the tightest tracks laid at Motown's Studio A -- aka the Snake Pit. The insidious "Do You See My Love for You Growing" explodes for more than three blasting minutes. His deep-fried update of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her" is off the hook and as gritty as sandpaper. He dusts off Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers' "Carry Your Own Load," outshining the duo's nondescript original. On Neil Diamond's "Holy, Holy," Walker's sax cries like a mourning dog. "Shut Up, Don't Interrupt Me" didn't endear Walker to women libbers, but "Groove and Move" elevated his funk/psychedelic stock. Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist) and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a session and live-performing saxophonist with the band Foreigner during the 1980s.The group was spotted by Johnny Bristol, and in 1961 he recommended them to Harvey Fuqua, who had his own record labels.Once the group started recording on the Harvey label, their name was changed to Jr. Walker All Stars. The name was modified again when Fuqua's labels were taken over by Motown's Berry Gordy, and Jr. Walker & the All Stars became members of the Motown family, recording for their Soul imprint in 1964.The members of the band changed after the acquisition of the Harvey label. Tony Washington, the drummer, quit the group, and James Graves joined. Their first and signature hit was "Shotgun", written and composed by Walker and produced by Berry Gordy, which featured the Funk Brothers' James Jamerson on bass and Benny Benjamin on drums. "Shotgun" reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 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 remakes of two Motown songs "Come See About Me" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", that had previously been hits for the Supremes and Marvin Gaye respectively. In 1966, Graves left and was replaced by old cohort Billy "Stix" Nicks, and Walker's hits continued apace with tunes such as "I'm a Road Runner" and "Pucker Up Buttercup".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 station DJs made the track popular, resulting in Motown releasing it as a single, whereupon it reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart. From that time on, Walker sang more on the records than earlier in their career. He landed several more R&B Top Ten hits over the next few years, with the last coming in 1972. He toured the UK in 1970 with drummer Jerome Teasley (Wilson Pickett), guitarist Phil Wright (brother of Betty "Clean Up Woman" Wright), keyboardist Sonny Holley (The Temptations) and the youthful Liverpool UK bassist Norm Bellis (Apple). The band played two venues on each of the 14 nights. The finale was at The Valbonne in London's West End. They were joined on stage by The Four Tops for an impromptu set. In 1979, Walker went solo, disbanding the All Stars, and was signed to Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Records label, but he was not as successful on his own as he had been with the All Stars in his Motown period.

Price: 16.99 USD

Location: Portland, Oregon

End Time: 2024-11-16T16:56:56.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.63 USD