My earliest memory of “Shotgun” by Junior Walker & the All Stars doesn’t actually involve the song, exactly. I remember watching the Cosby Show with my family a lot as a kid, and I thought, when I was younger, that “Shotgun” was the theme song, at least for a couple of seasons. As it turns out, it was a really a similar sounding song by Craig Handy called “Kiss Me”, but that confusion goes to show how iconic a song “Shotgun” is.
It’s been used in TV, movies, and everywhere in between, and in addition Junior Walker is one of the greatest Rhythm and Blues saxophonists of all time (as well as one of the first musicians my fiance and I connected over), so it was about time I dig into Walker a little deeper. It helped that Walker’s birthday came around recently, and my friend, record collector/A&R Man/Super Supporter of Soul Music Colton Thomas (who I interviewed on the blog here) hit me up to suggest a little transcription in honor of the occasion. This intro is just a start, and a work in progress; my first reaction to learning it was surprise that I haven’t had to learn flutter tonguing until now! Here’s to filling more holes in my technique and learning new things!