Hi-Heel Sneakers

Paul McCartney recorded a live version of Tommy Tucker’s ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ in 1991. It was released later that year on Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).

‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ was recorded by Tucker in 1963, and released the following year. In the USA it topped the Cash Box R&B chart, and reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has been recorded by a range of artists including Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

‘Can I Get A Witness’, ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’, ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ – I think of all of those early Motown-type songs in one great rush. There was no particular reason to do it on Unplugged other than that I just thought of it one day. What I like about it now is that sneakers are so in vogue – Reebok, Nike, Air and the others – so I think the idea of ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ is a very funny one, this year particularly. They should bring one out, a sneaker with a built-in heel! And I love all those black lyrics, ‘A wig-hat on your head’! Like in ‘Crackin’ Up’ – ‘I spoiled you woman a long time ago!’ Very chauvinist stuff.