Death by Home Improvement

January 22, 1982 - Tommy Tucker died on this day. Born in Springfield, Ohio, Tucker is most remembered as the singer-songwriter/bluesman behind the 1964 hit, Hi-Heel Sneakers.

It was Tucker's first and only song to make the Billboard charts, but it was such a catchy tune that hundreds of artists have recorded cover versions. The list includes Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead.

Tucker died young at only 48. He had been refinishing the floors in his home when he inhaled a lethal dose of carbon tetrachloride.

Writer: Robert Higginbotham ● Releasing date: Feb. 1964 [UK] ● Format: 7" single ● Label: Checker Records (#1067) [Usa]; Pye International (7N 25238) [UK] ● B-side: "I don't want cha" ● Chart positions: #23 UK charts; #1 Cashbox r'n'b chart, #11 Billboard Hot 11 [Usa] ● Recording: Chicago, late 1963/early 1964 ● Producer: Herb Abramson ● Other versions: Jeff Beck & Jed Leiber; Chuck Berry; Sammy Davis Jr.; The Everly Brothers; Wilton Felder; Josè Feliciano; John Fred & His Playboy Band; Wynder K.