Lou Christie

Singer Lou Christie had two big hits in 1963 - "The Gypsy Cried" (#24) and "Two Faces Have I" (#6) - in the quavery falsetto style popularized by Del Shannon and Frankie Valli. Three years later he returned to the charts with "Lightnin' Strikes" (#1, 1966).

In Pennsylvania the young singer won a scholarship to Moon Township High School, where he studied classical music and vocal technique and also sang with a group called the Classics. From 1959 to 1962 he recorded with various local acts for several small Pittsburgh labels, adopted the stage name of Lou Christie, and in October 1962 recorded “The Gypsy Cried.” The first of several songs cowritten with Twyla Herbert (a mystic 20 years Christie’s senior who claimed she could foresee his future and predict his hits), it was a big local hit and was subsequently picked up for national distribution by Roulette Records. By then Christie had moved to New York, where he found frequent session work as a background vocalist. Shortly after the release of “Two Faces Have I” (#6, 1963), he served two years in the army. After his discharge in 1966, he signed with MGM and returned with the lushly produced “Lightnin’ Strikes,” which sold over 2 million copies.

His followups included “Rhapsody in the Rain” (#16, 1966), a fairly sexually explicit song for its time. Christie subsequently recorded for Colpix and Columbia before signing to Buddah in 1969. “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (#10, 1969) was a hit in the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. Christie experienced problems with drugs in the early ’70s, and after cleaning up in London, he held a range of jobs, including offshore oil driller, ranch hand, and carnival barker. In the late ’70s he returned to New York, where he has done background vocal work. He continues to tour today. Pledging My Love is his first new studio album in over 20 years.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)