"Shotgun" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Junior Walker & the All Stars | ||||
from the album Shotgun | ||||
B-side | "Hot Cha" | |||
Released | February 13, 1965 | |||
Recorded | 1964 | |||
Studio | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit, Michigan | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 2:54 | |||
Label | Soul | |||
Songwriter(s) | Autry DeWalt a.k.a. Junior Walker | |||
Producer(s) | Berry Gordy, Lawrence Horn | |||
Junior Walker & the All Stars singles chronology | ||||
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"Shotgun" is a song written by Junior Walker and recorded with his group the All Stars. Called a "dance tune", [1] it was produced by Berry Gordy Jr. and Lawrence Horn. [2] Gordy's Soul Records, a Motown Records subsidiary, issued it as a single in 1965. It reached number 1 on the U.S. R&B Singles chart for four non-consecutive weeks and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. [3] In Canada, the song reached number 26. [4]
"Shotgun" was Walker's debut as a vocalist –when the singer who was hired to perform at the recording session did not show up, Walker stood in. [1] Rather than re-record the vocal at a later date, producer Gordy decided to keep Walker's take, much to the latter's surprise. [1]
The song opens with the sound of a shotgun blast and a drum roll, with the verses alternating between Walker's vocals and tenor saxophone fills. [1] It does not employ the typical progression, but remains on one chord throughout. [5]
Personnel
In his biography, Robbie Robertson recalled an early performance of the song:
Junior Walker and the All Stars were a very different Motown act—raw, sax-blowing energy in all league all its own. A four piece unit, they sounded like eight. When the guitar player fell to his knees on "Shotgun", Junior Walker tore the roof off the joint. [8]
In July 1965, Jimi Hendrix, who was then touring with Little Richard, made his first television appearance performing the song. With Richard's backup band and vocalists Buddy and Stacy, he was filmed for Nashville's Channel 5 Night Train show. [9] In 1966, the Norwegian R&B group Public Enemies performed the song in the film Hurra for Andersens. Their version reached number seven on Radio Luxembourg's Top 20 Chart.[ citation needed ] A version by Vanilla Fudge reached number 59 in Canada in 1969. [10]
Road Runner is a 1966 album by Junior Walker & the All-Stars. The band's second album, it reached #6 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart and #64 on Billboard's Top Albums chart, launching four hit singles. First released on record by Motown's Soul label in the US and Tamla/Motown internationally, it has been multiply reissued on cassette and compact disc. It has also been remastered and reissued in conjunction with the band's following studio record, Home Cookin', as Road Runner & Home Cookin'.
"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording.
"My Girl" is a soul music song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. Written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, it became the Temptations' first U.S. number 1 single, and is currently their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing "My Girl" was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant".
"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by The Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B charts for eight non-consecutive weeks. The song's success, in the wake of the relative underperformance of the previous Temptations' single, "Get Ready", resulted in Norman Whitfield replacing Smokey Robinson, producer of "Get Ready", as The Temptations' main producer. In 2004 it finished number 94 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs poll thanks to its inclusion in The Big Chill soundtrack.
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Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were a Canadian soul band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group recorded for the Gordy Records division of Motown Records in 1968, where they had a top 30 hit single, "Does Your Mama Know About Me". As a producer and solo artist, Bobby Taylor contributed to several other soul recordings, both inside and outside of Motown. Taylor is most notable for discovering and mentoring The Jackson 5. Tommy Chong was a member of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers before he became famous as a comedian.
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"Shop Around" is a song originally recorded by the Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label. It was written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. It became a smash hit in 1960 when originally recorded by the Miracles, reaching number one on the Billboard R&B chart, number one on the Cashbox Top 100 Pop Chart, and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was the Miracles' first million-selling hit record, and the first-million-selling hit for the Motown Record Corporation.
Ralph Gallant, better known by the stage name Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listened to drummers in the world. He played on more hit records during his career than any other drummer, with the exception of the legendary session drummer Hal Blaine, and his work covers the complete musical spectrum."
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