Contrary to His Record Label, Lou Christie Believed in "Lightnin' Strikes" and He Struck Gold

Singer-songwriter Lou Christie could have become a classical singer, his voice was that good. But his goal was to perform on "American Bandstand." He achieved that goal more than once. Here he is on that TV show performing his first hit, "The Gypsy Cried," which reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, along with "Have I Sinned," his latest release as of the episode's air date, Oct. 17, 1964. Speaking of "American Bandstand," the show ran for more than three decades, and Dick Clark, its primary host and producer, played a major role in introducing rock and roll to Americans. His Wikipedia profile is a good indicator of his influence.Anyway, back to Lou Christie, whose real name was Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco. After the success of "The Gypsy Cried," Christie served in the Army for two years. His absence from the spotlight didn't seem to hurt his career. Soon after he came back from the service, he recorded "Lightnin' Strikes," which went all the way to No. 1 on Feb. 19, 1966, Christie's 23rd birthday. Here, you can watch him sing his big hit on "The Midnight Special" in 1974.The thumbnail photo is from April 1970 and shows Christie performing in the United Kingdom, where his song, "I'm Gonna Make You Mine," reached No. 2 a year earlier. The public domain photo is credited to the Evening Standard and is available on Wikimedia Commons. You can download a copy here.The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones. In the chapters, there's a color photo of Christie in 1966. It is credited to MGM Records and appeared in Billboard in June of that year. You can find this public domain photo on Wikimedia Commons. There's also a 1965 album cover in the chapters that's credited to MGM Records - joetroiano.wordpress.com. You can see it here. Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.