The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (song)

"The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" is a song by the band Traffic from their 1971 album of the same name. The song was written by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood.

The title refers to an inscription written by actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's book while they were both in Morocco. Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said:

Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark,' for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level.

The song begins with a gradual fade-in and ends with a slow fade-out. At about 11 minutes and 35 seconds, it is the longest song on the album. Musically, it is noteworthy for its sparse arrangement and slow deliberate pace alternating with a double-time densely layered pop chorus. The verses are in D minor while the choruses modulate to D major. The song has received wide praise for the extended solos played by band members in the later portions of the song.

A live rendition of the song is the opening track on Traffic's only concert video, which was recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California on 21 February 1972, with the lineup of Winwood, Capaldi, Wood, Rebop Kwaku Baah (percussion), David Hood (bass) and Roger Hawkins (drums).

In addition to being performed solo by Capaldi and Winwood after the breakup of Traffic, the song has been covered by Rickie Lee Jones,^[1] Widespread Panic,^[2] and The Dead,^[3] among others.

References

1. ^ Soundstage . Rickie Lee Jones . Bio | PBS
2. ^ Everyday Companion Online - Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
3. ^ PT | Grateful Dead | Songs | Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys

External links

• Song review by Matthew Greenwald at Allmusic.