Shoes (Reparata song)
"Shoes" was a 1975 single by Reparata. It was a "comeback" record for the lead singer of the 1960s girl group Reparata and the Delrons. The song was written by Eric Seam and was a surprise minor hit, reaching number 42 in the UK singles charts, and number 92 in the Hot 100. It was released on Polydor records, with the serial number 14271.
Reparata (real name Mary Aiese) was prevented from promoting the single because of a legal dispute over the rights to the name Reparata brought by a former band mate. Although "Shoes" was only a minor hit, it was popular on Radio 1 in the UK, particularly with DJ Tony Blackburn.
"Shoes" is an unusual and striking, even bizarre, single.[1]. Its subject matter is the wedding of Johnny and Louise, with a repetetive folk-like tune accompanied by bazouki, an electric guitar solo, and a children's choir. The different elements add up to a tune that in the words of one critic is "absurdly catchy"[2]. Since her heyday as lead singer of a girl group, Reparata's singing voice had matured to a lower register that on first hearing could be either a male or female vocal, which adds to the ambiguity and strangeness of the record. One blogger writes that "... despite the surface bonhomie the music's thrust is slightly threatening and more than slightly unreal, particularly in the middle section when the beat cuts out to let through an ethereal cloud of dishevelled angel choirs ... while Reparata's voice strolls as serenely as Carole Bayer Sager's though cannot dispel the feeling that something isn't quite right with the scenario"[3].
In a 1989 interview with the NME, Morrissey included "Shoes" on his list of fourteen "Singles to be Cremated With". [4].