(I'm a) Road Runner

January 2025 (I'm a) Road Runner Jr walker road runner.jpg single Junior Walker & the Allstars Road Runner Shoot Your Shot 1966 1965 Rhythm and blues 2:49 Soul Holland–Dozier–Holland Cleo's Back 1966 Cleo's Mood 1966 6wisuCBGvB4 [I'm A] Road Runner "(I'm a) Road Runner" is a hit song by Junior Walker & the Allstars, and was the title track of the successful 1966 album Road Runner. Written by the team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was released on the Tamla (Motown) label in 1966 and reached number 20 in the U.S. and in 1969 number 12 in the UK.AllMusic.comHDH Records Background Walker plays the distinctive tenor saxophone solo, backed by Mike Terry on baritone saxophone with Willie Woods on guitar.https://wbssmedia.com/artists/detail/2145 WBSS Media-Willie Woods During the recording, it was discovered that Walker could play the song in only two keys. So Walker sang in a key that he could not play, and after being recorded, the saxophone track was sped up to match.Brian's Weekly Sleevenotes from BBC Radio 2's "Sounds of the Sixties" broadcast 5 July 2014. The pictorial single sleeve used a running bird similar to the Road Runner cartoon character. Personnel Junior Walker & the Allstars Junior Walker – tenor saxophone solo, vocals Willie Woods – guitar Victor Thomas – organ James Graves – drums Additional personnel Johnny Dawson – tambourine The Funk Brothers – other instrumentationThe Complete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records Johnny Griffith – piano James Jamerson – bass Joe Messina – guitar Norris Patterson – tenor saxophone Mike Terry – baritone saxophone Eddie Willis – guitar Chart history Chart (1966)PeakpositionU.K. Singles Chartofficialcharts.com https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/12650/junior-walker-and-the-all-stars/ officialcharts.com June 6, 202112U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 Whitburn Joel Joel Whitburn 2013 Record Research 89320U.S. Billboard Top Selling R&B Singles Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004 Whitburn Joel Joel Whitburn 2004 Record Research 6074 Later versions Humble Pie included an extended version of this song titled, "Road Runner/Road Runner's 'G' Jam", in their 1972 album Smokin'. British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac recorded the song with Dave Walker on lead vocals for their 1973 album Penguin. The Jerry Garcia Band performed a version of the song in 1975, which was featured on The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let It Rock. James Taylor performed his version, in September 1976, in episode 1 of the second season of Saturday Night Live.April 2016 Taylor also included the song on his 2008 album Covers. Steve Gaines from Lynyrd Skynyrd performed the song with his own band, Crawdad, in the mid-1970s. A recording of them performing it was released on Gaines's 2001 live compilation CD, Okie Special. Peter Frampton included the song on his 1977 album I'm in You. Publishing rights organization BMI had songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland credited with co-writing Steve Winwood's 1988 song "Roll with It" due to its resemblance to "(I'm a) Roadrunner". The Grateful Dead performed a version as the opening song at their concert on March 21, 1986, at Hampton Coliseum. References External links List of cover versions of "(I'm a) Road Runner" at SecondHandSongs.com Category:Motown singles Category:1966 singles Category:Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Category:Junior Walker songs Category:1966 songs