Tommy Tucker (born Robert Higginbotham; March 5, 1933 – January 22, 1982) was an American blues singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for the 1964 hit song, "Hi-Heel Sneakers", that went to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and peaked at No. 23 in the UK singles chart.

Early life

Tucker was born Robert Higginbotham, to Leroy and Mary Higginbotham, the fifth of eleven children, in Springfield, Ohio, United States.

Career

Tucker released "Hi-Heel Sneakers" in 1964, which was a hit both in the US and the UK.

Tucker co-wrote a song with Atlantic Records founder executive Ahmet Ertegun, called "My Girl (I Really Love Her So)". Tucker left the music industry in the late 1960s, taking a position as a real estate agent in New Jersey. He also did freelance writing for a local newspaper in East Orange, New Jersey, writing of the plight and ignorance of black males in America, and the gullibility and exploitation of African Americans in general by the white-dominated media.

Death

Tucker died in 1982 at the age of 48 at College Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, from inhaling carbon tetrachloride while refinishing the hardwood floors of his home, though his death has been alternatively attributed to food poisoning.

Discography

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Label and Cat No

|-

|1961

|"My Girl I Really Loved Her So"<br><small>b/w "Rock and Roll Machine"</small>

|Atco 45-6208

|-

|1964

|"Hi-Heel Sneakers"<br><small>b/w "Don't Want 'Cha (Watcha Gonna Do)"</small>

|Checker 1067

|-

|1964

|"Long Tall Shorty"<br><small>b/w "Mo' Shorty"</small>

|Checker 1075

|-

|1965

|"Alimony"<br><small>b/w "All About Melanie"</small>

|Checker 1112

|-

|1966

|"Chewin' Gum"<br><small>b/w "I've Been a Fool"</small>

|Checker 1133

|-

|1966

|"That's Life"<br><small>b/w "That's How Much!"</small>

|Festival F-704

|-

|1967

|"I'm Shorty"<br><small>b/w "Sitting Home Alone"</small>

|Checker 1178

|-

|1967

|"A Whole Lots of Fun (Before the Weekend is Done)"<br><small>b/w "Real True Love (I Ain't Had None Lately)</small>

|Checker 1186

|}

Albums

  • 1964: Hi-Heel Sneakers (Checker)
  • 1978: Live + Well (Ornament)
  • 1978: Mother Tucker (Red Lightnin')
  • 1982: The Rocks Is My Pillow - The Cold Ground Is My Bed (Red Lightnin')

Appears on

  • 1975: American Blues Legends '75 (Big Bear)

References

  • Dispatch.com