Lou Christie, who headed the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lightnin’Strikes,” passed away in 1966. He was 82 years old.
Representative Mary Fox confirmed on June 18th that the Pittsburgh-born singer passed away on June 17th. No cause of death was given.
Writing falsettos, Christie began her rise from choir to teenage idols from Glenwillard, Pennsylvania. On the hit song that Twyla Herbert was cowrithtened, he went to Lou Christie from Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco.
A few years later, he made his name when “Rhapsody in the Rain” was banned by radio stations for what was considered suggestive lyrics. Then, in 1988, more than a decade after Christie released a direction for “Beyond the Blue Horizon,” the song appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Rain Man.” It was also included on the 1993 “A Home of Our Own.”
Lou Christie continued to be in the 80s
According to his website, Christie began his career at Glen Willard’s two-track studio without any music training. He told the Beaver County Times, part of the USA Today Network in 2016 that his first performance was a freshman Christmas pageant where he sang “Manger in.”
“I thought everyone could sing,” Christie said. “When I was finished, I heard all this applause and I was like, ‘Oh, what is this? This is kind of cool.’ ”
As a high school student in the Moon Area, he formed a band called Crewneck, followed by another group called Lugee & The Lions. At the Lions he performed, “In the church basement or in the school gym. Five times a week, three to four times a weekend.”
Christie appeared to have performed recently in 2023 when she was 80 years old.
Describing how he was still performing in the ’70s in 2016, Christie said, “I’m not a drinker, I’m not going out to places where the music is so loud and you need to scream for an argument or not interested in me.
He said, “When I’m performing in Wales and the UK, or when I’m traveling the South and beating myself on such a busy schedule for years, I start to wonder if I really know what I’m doing other than a very dedicated fan. That’s the most amazing part of my career.
Contributor: Scott Taddy, Beaver County Times
