Lou Christie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lou Christie (born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, February 19, 1943, in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter best known for a string of pop hits in the 1960s.

[edit] Life and career

Raised in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sacco traveled to New York after graduating from Moon Area High School, and found work as a session vocalist. He also recorded a few unsuccessful discs of his own for various record labels in both New York and Pittsburgh.

One of his singles, "The Gypsy Cried" was released on the tiny C&C label and credited to "Lou Christie" without Sacco's permission or consent. He has stated that he hated the name for decades afterwards.^{[citation needed]} It features the vocal style that would categorize all of Christie's biggest hits: verses sung in his normal register, and then a dramatic shift to his falsetto on the choruses. After the C&C release became a hit in his home town of Pittsburgh, the song was picked up by Roulette Records and charted nationwide, peaking at #24. "The Gypsy Cried" was the first of numerous songs Christie co-wrote with his songwriting partner Twyla Herbert, a self-described eccentric and mystic, who was over twenty years older than Christie, but also shared his love of classical music.

His follow-up single "Two Faces Have I" was an even bigger hit, peaking at #6, as Christie joined Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars Tour. On that tour, he was reportly linked in an interracial romance with Diana Ross of The Supremes. A third Roulette release, "How Many Teardrops" stalled at #46 as Christie's career was temporarily derailed by his induction into the US Army.

Already, Christie was frequently, if unfairly, written off by critics as an imitator of Frankie Valli, as both men possessed similar falsetto vocals, and the ability to change almost effortlessly between it and their normal registers.^{[citation needed]} Later reviewers have been less harsh, noting that Christie was one of the first singer-songwriters of the era, a move that John Lennon would later acknowledge as influential.^{[citation needed]} While a stint in the military might have ended the careers of many musicians, Christie's career would quickly be re-established after his discharge from the military, when he signed on with the MGM label.

"Lightnin' Strikes", his first release after his discharge would go to #1 in the U.S. in early 1966, and also climbed into the U.K. top 20, becoming his first hit in that country. The song's provocative lyrics featured his signature falsetto and included a female chorus (Bernadette Carroll, Denise Ferri, and Peggy Davison) shouting Stop!, which suggested to some an unwanted sexual advance:

When I see lips begging to be kissed (Stop!)

I can't stop, (Stop!) no I can't stop myself! (Stop! Stop!)

But whatever controversy "Lightnin' Strikes" caused paled in comparison to the firestorm brought on by the lyrics of his next release: "Rhapsody In The Rain".

Released in the Spring of 1966, the song featured a haunting melody inspired by Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet", and told of a teenager's regret over his sexual experience in the back seat of a car during a rainstorm as the windshield wipers made a rhythmic sound of "together, together". Later after the romance ends, the wipers seem to say "never, never". Many radio stations banned the song, and MGM insisted on a re-recorded version that toned down the lyrical content. Despite the edited version, many stations instead played two older songs re-released by other labels Christie had once recorded for: "Outside the Gates of Heaven" (on Co & Ce Records, a successor to C&C) peaked at #45, while "Big Time" (on Colpix Records) managed to hit #95.

Whether it was the controversial lyrics or competition from the other singles released simultaneously, "Rhapsody" only managed to hit #16 in the U.S. and #37 in the UK. His career seemed to be derailed once again as his follow up for MGM, "Painter", which also borrowed a melody from classical music - this time from Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly - stalled at #81. Two further MGM releases (produced by Jack Nitzsche) from 1966 missed the Billboard Hot 100 entirely, even though "If My Car Could Only Talk" (peaking at #118) seemingly revisits the ill-fated lovers from Rhapsody.^{[citation needed]}

After being dropped by MGM and an unfruitful stint with Columbia Records in the late 1960s, Christie teamed up with bubblegum music record producer Tony Romeo, and Buddah Records (a move prompted by his business manager Stan Polley) and had a surprise hit with "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" in the Autumn of 1969. The song peaked at #10 in the U.S., but was a smash hit across the Atlantic, climbing to #2 in the UK Singles Chart. A follow up, "She Sold Me Magic" charted only in the UK, peaking at #25, and was later covered by Elton John.

Christie spent the early 1970s in London, largely outside of the music industry and battling drug addiction.

In 1974, Christie would try another new musical style, going country on his Beyond The Blue Horizon album. The title track, a remake of a hit song from 1930, features one of Christie's strongest non-falsetto vocal performances ever. The song missed the Country charts entirely, and only made #80 on the pop chart, but managed a respectable showing at #12 on the Adult Contemporary chart, showing that his teenaged fans of ten years earlier were still supportive of him as adults. The song has been used in several film soundtracks, most notably in the 1988 film Rain Man.

Christie became active on the oldies circuit starting in the early 1980s, and even scored a final U.S. chart hit, credited as "Summer '81 Medley" by The Cantina Band featuring Lou Christie, in 1981 - and, coincidentally, peaking at #81. On it, Christie performs a medley of Beach Boys classics.

He remains a popular concert act on the oldies circuit in the U.S. and UK, and occasionally releases new material.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Lou Christie Fan Club
• Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba Home Page
• Bio at Yahoo! Music
• Bio at ClassicBands.com
• Fan page, with lyrics to several of Christie's biggest hits