Lightnin' Strikes
Encyclopedia
"Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie
and Twyla Herbert
, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced by Charles Calello and was recorded on September 3, 1965
. The backup singers on the recording were Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll and Denise Ferri. It was a giant hit in 1966
, making it first to #1 in Canada in January 1966 on the RPM
Top Singles chart, then to #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart in February and #11 on the UK Record Retailer chart. RIAA certification on March 3, 1966, garnering gold status for selling over one million copies. It was covered years later by the New York underground artist Klaus Nomi
, appearing on his 1981 debut album Klaus Nomi
, and was the A-side of a 1982 single accompanied by a video. Because of Christie's falsetto
wail during the chorus, the song is often miscredited to Frankie Valli
and The Four Seasons.
On September 28, 1974, John Lennon
was a guest of Dennis Elsas http://www.denniselsas.com/ on WNEW-FM, a New York City radio station, where he commented:
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco , known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s , including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.-Biography:Sacco was born in Glenwillard,...
and Twyla Herbert
Twyla Herbert
Twyla Herbert was an American songwriter known for her long songwriting partnership with the singer Lou Christie.-Beginnings:...
, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced by Charles Calello and was recorded on September 3, 1965
1965 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
. The backup singers on the recording were Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll and Denise Ferri. It was a giant hit in 1966
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
, making it first to #1 in Canada in January 1966 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Top Singles chart, then to #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 chart in February and #11 on the UK Record Retailer chart. RIAA certification on March 3, 1966, garnering gold status for selling over one million copies. It was covered years later by the New York underground artist Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi
Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
, appearing on his 1981 debut album Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi (album)
Klaus Nomi is the debut album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi.-Track listing:#"Keys Of Life" – 2:26#"Lightning Strikes" – 2:59#"The Twist" – 3:10#"Nomi Song" – 2:47...
, and was the A-side of a 1982 single accompanied by a video. Because of Christie's falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
wail during the chorus, the song is often miscredited to Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
and The Four Seasons.
On September 28, 1974, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
was a guest of Dennis Elsas http://www.denniselsas.com/ on WNEW-FM, a New York City radio station, where he commented:
"We're gonna play Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
from last year, Showdown, which I thought was a great record... And for those people who like to know where licks and things come from, which I do.... this is a beautiful combination of I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye and Lightning Strikes Again [by] Lou Christie, and it's a beautiful job with a little Walrus underneath."http://www.jefflynnesongs.com/showdown/