I missed getting this one when it came out over here but 'Road Runner' was huge for me and my preferred Jnr track that I bought from the ex-jukebox bins as a single but this was a stormer and not least for his unique signature style on the saxophone! Check the Willis' guitar! That IS SOUL! 

On this day in music history: March 13, 1965 - “Shotgun” by Jr. Walker & The All-Stars hits #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart for 4 weeks, also peaking at #4 on the Hot 100 on April 3, 1965. Written by Autry DeWalt, Jr. (aka Jr. Walker), it is the biggest hit for the saxophonist from Blytheville, AR. Walker cuts the song in Motown’s Studio A in late 1964 with his own band members Willie Woods and Victor Thomas, along with Funk Brothers bassist James Jamerson, drummer Benny Benjamin, percussionist Jack Ashford, keyboardist Earl Van Dyke and guitarist Eddie Willis. Willis kicks off the song, literally when he kicks the reverb unit on his guitar amplifier, providing the “shotgun” blast sound effect heard during the intro of the record. During the session, Walker records what he thinks is just a scratch vocal, intending to come back and re-record it when he returns home to Detroit from a tour. Berry Gordy likes Jr’s rough vocal so much that he releases it as is on January 14, 1965. Walker only discovers the record is out, when he hears it on the radio one day. Over the years, “Shotgun” is featured in a number of films including “Malcolm X”, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”, and “Misery”. “Shotgun” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2002.