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Road Runner (Junior Walker album)
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==Songs== Among the album's notable songs were four charting singles. Peak among them at #3 on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B Singles]], #18 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Pop Singles]] charts and #22 on the [[UK Singles Chart|UK Singles]] was the [[Holland–Dozier–Holland]] song "[[How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)]]",<ref name=Singles/><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 590}}</ref> which had previously hit for [[Marvin Gaye]] in 1964. Not far behind, "[[(I'm a) Road Runner]]", by the same songwriters, reached #4 on Black Singles and #20 on Pop Singles, while surpassing "How Sweet It Is" to reach #12 in the UK. "Pucker Up Buttercup" did not crack the top 10, but reached #11 Black Singles and #31 Pop Singles. A distant fourth, Junior Walker & the Allstar's cover of the 1959 [[Barrett Strong]] hit "[[Money (That's What I Want)]]" reached #35 Black Singles and #52 Pop Singles. The album is titled for "(I'm a) Road Runner", which had been previously released on Junior Walker & The All-Star's 1965 debut album, ''[[Shotgun (1965 album)|Shotgun]]''. It proved so successful in its March 1966 single that it was included and singled out on the band's follow-up.<ref name=UALR>{{cite web | url = http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuar/.artsmain/article/14/306/988529/Arkansongs/Junior.Walker/ | last= Koch | first = Steven | title = I'm a Road Runner | publisher = UALR Public Radio | accessdate = 2009-07-01}}</ref> Although "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" surpassed it in two out of three charts, "(I'm a) Road Runner" is regarded as a superior offering from Junior Walker & The All-Stars, one of three songs by the band (along with "Way Back Home" and "[[Shotgun (Junior Walker & the All Stars song)|Shotgun]]" included in 1999's [[Da Capo Press]] publication ''The heart of rock & soul: the 1001 greatest singles ever made''.<ref name=Marsh>{{cite book | last = Marsh | first = Dave | title = The heart of rock & soul: the 1001 greatest singles ever made | publisher = Da Capo Press | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-306-80901-X | pages= 144, 310, 382}}</ref> Ranking it second of the three at #467, music critic [[Dave Marsh|David Marsh]], identifying Junior Walker as "the one [[Washtub bass|gutbucket]] star in Motown's heaven", says "even...<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> never saw the like of this blend of booming bass, tanked-up tambourine, and gritty guitar. Much less Walker's fractured saxophone."<ref>Marsh, 310.</ref> Sometimes known as "I'm a Road Runner", the song has been covered by a number of [[Rock music|rock]] bands, including [[Fleetwood Mac]] (on album ''[[Penguin (album)|Penguin]]'') and [[Peter Frampton]] (on ''[[I'm in You]]''), and also by [[comedian]] [[Bill Cosby]] on ''Bill Cosby Sings Hooray For the Salvation Army Band!''<ref name=UALR/>
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