Lou Christie

Lou Christie
Lou Christie in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco
Born	(1943-02-19) February 19, 1943 (age 74)
Origin	Glenwillard, Pennsylvania United States
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals (falsetto)
Years active	1962–present
Associated acts	The Tammys

Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), 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 hit "Lightnin' Strikes".

Christie was born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco on February 19, 1943, in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania, and grew up in suburban Pittsburgh. While attending Moon Area High School, he studied music and voice, served as student conductor of the choir and sang solos at holiday concerts. His teacher Frank Cummings wanted him to pursue a career in classical music, but Sacco wanted to cut a record to get on American Bandstand. At age 15 he met and befriended Twyla Herbert, a classically trained musician 20 years his senior, who became his regular songwriting partner and wrote hundreds of songs with her over the next 30 years until her death in 2009. Sacco performed with several vocal groups and between 1959 and 1962 released several records on small Pittsburgh labels, achieving a local hit with "The Jury" by Lugee & The Lions (a group consisting of Sacco, Twyla Herbert's daughter Shirley, and two others) released on the Robbee label. After graduating from high school in 1961, Sacco traveled to New York and worked as a session vocalist.

In 1962, Sacco approached Nick Cenci with some demo tapes. Cenci liked his falsetto voice and suggested that he listen to the Four Seasons' recent hit "Sherry". Sacco and Herbert used the song as a model to write an original song called “The Gypsy Cried.” Cenci produced a recording of Sacco performing the song at Gateway Studio in Pittsburgh and initially released it on his own C & C label as a single in 1962, credited to "Lou Christie," the name Sacco would use thereafter. The name "Lou Christie" was chosen by C & C Records, and "The Gypsy Cried" was credited to "Lou Christie" before they had consulted with Sacco about the name.