Walter Luzar "Choker" Campbell (March 21, 1916 – July 20, 1993) was an American saxophonist and bandleader.

Biography

Born as an only child in

Shelby, Mississippi Shelby is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,229 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 2,926 in 2000. The town of Shelby was established in 1853 by Tom Shelby ...

, United States, his family moved to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

, when he was only five years old. Campbell studied saxophone under several musicians and left school at the age of nineteen. In the early 1960s, he got a job at Hitsville USA (which later became

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

) playing with the resident band, and then leading one of the road bands that supported the artists on tour. His band backed many well-known Motown artists, such as

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

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, the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

and others. Campbell toured the US with stops at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

in New York City and many other venues, before his role as bandleader was taken by

Earl Van Dyke Earl Van Dyke (July 8, 1930 – September 18, 1992) was an American soul musician, most notable as the main keyboardist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Career Van Dyke, who was born in Det ...

. He also appeared in the film '' Shake, Rattle & Rock!'', with

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

and

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor. He was best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975. This role ...

. He made a cameo in the TV series, ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'', with

in the 1960s. After leaving Motown, Campbell continued to lead his own band in Detroit; traveling to Canada with his band and playing several Canadian venues. He settled in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada, where he established the Tri-City Recording Company, started his own record label, Campbell Artist Productions, and did several recordings with Attic Records and Candy Apple (both of Toronto). He also did studio work with his friend,

Paul Zaza Paul Zaza (born 1952) is a Canadian Genie Award-winning film score and songwriter who worked frequently with director Bob Clark and with fellow composer Carl Zittrer. He has composed scores for more than 100 films. Early life and education Orig ...

. He wrote "Mother Nature" during this time, which was

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

by producer

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for

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's track " Be (Intro)." After several years, Campbell returned to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death in July 1993, aged 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Choker 1916 births 1993 deaths Musicians from Saginaw, Michigan Motown artists People from Shelby, Mississippi Musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American male musicians