Musician Who Held No. 1 Billboard Spot in 1966 Has Died: Lou Christie Was 82

Lou Christie, the singer-songwriter who scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 with his song “Lightnin’ Strikes” before releasing the controversial “Rhapsody in the Rain,” died Wednesday. He was 82. 

Christie died at home in his native Pittsburgh after a brief illness, his wife told The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco in Glenwillard, Penn., on Feb. 19, 1943, Christie would first befriend his longtime collaborator Twyla Herbert when he was just 15 years old. The two would go on to write hundreds of songs together throughout their careers after Christie moved to New York in 1961.

Initially working as a session vocalist, Christie’s signature falsetto first earned him public success in 1963 with he and Herbert’s “The Gypsy Cried” and “Two Faces Have I.” In 1965, “Lightnin’ Strikes,” which featured backing vocals from Bernadette Carroll, Peggy Santiglia and Denise Ferri of The Delicates, was released by MGM Records and made it to No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart just two months later.

Christie then released “Rhapsody in the Rain” later that year, which made it to No. 16 on the Hot 100, despite the controversy over the song’s lyrics, which were deemed racy for the time, as they referred to a teenager having sex in a car during a rainstorm. While many radio stations banned the song from being played, Christie eventually released a cleaner version of the song.

Christie would go on to have another hit in 1969 with “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” which hit No. 10 on the Hot 100, and in 1974, he found success again with his rendition of “Beyond the Blue Horizon” following a pivot to country music.

Christie is also well-known for his songs “Outside the Gates of Heaven,” “Are You Getting Any Sunshine?,” “Big Time” and “She Sold Me Magic,” and his concept album Paint America Love, which he himself regarded as his best LP.

Christie also recorded vocals on the major hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” before a dispute between his manager and Neil Bogart of Buddah caused his vocals to be removed and replaced by Robert John.

In 2004, Christie recorded his final album, but continued to tour later in life with the supergroup Dick Fox’s Golden Boys, which also featured 1950s teen idols Frankie Avalon and Fabian.

Christie is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1971, and his daughter Bianca. Christie’s son, Christopher, died in 2014 at 46 in a motorcycle crash.