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〕 | birth_date = | origin = Glenwillard, Pennsylvania United States〔 | instrument = Vocals (falsetto) | genre = Pop | occupation = Singer-songwriter | 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". ==Biography== Sacco was born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania,〔 and raised in suburban Pittsburgh. He traveled to New York after graduating from Moon Area High School and found work as a session vocalist. He studied music and voice at Moon Township High School., where he was the student conductor of the choir. He sang solos with the choir at the holiday concerts. His teacher and mentor Frank Cummings wanted him to pursue a career in classical music, but Sacco wanted to cut a record to get on ''American Bandstand''. He performed with several vocal groups, worked as a session singer, and recorded songs on small Pittsburgh labels between 1959 and 1962. He released "The Jury" by 'Lugee & The Lions' on the Pittsburgh-based Robbee label obtaining local airplay and sales. In 1962, Sacco approached Nick Cenci with some demo tapes. Cenci liked Christie's falsetto voice and suggested that he listen to the Four Seasons' recent hit, "Sherry". Chrisite and his writing partner Twyla Herbert used the song as a model to write their original song called “The Gypsy Cried”. Cenci produced a recording of the song at Gateway Studio in Pittsburgh paying the band with wine and $500. Cenci’s boss at Fenway, Herb Cohen, provided financial backing for the recording. Christie had released several doo-wop singles on Robee Records under the name of Lugee & the Lions, a group composed of Christie, his sister Amy Sacco, Kay Chick and Bill Fabec. They had a regional hit with “The Jury” and had backed Marcy Jo on her national hit “Ronnie”. Wanting to create a new image Cenci changed the singer’s name to Lou Christie. The CO&CE label and released the single in 1963. It became a hit, selling 30,000 copies in Pittsburgh. Cenci contacted Morris Levy of Roulette Records saying that he had a hit that needed national distribution. Levy published the single on his label but initially nothing happened. Airplay slowly spread across the country, and "The Gypsy Cried" reached number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Selling over one million copies of the song, Christie was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Cenci produced additional recording sessions for Christie in 1963 that generated two more hits. "Two Faces Have I", his second million-seller, reached number 6 on the chart in March 1963. Roulette released an album of 12 Lou Christie / Tylwa Herbert songs in 1963 that reached 124 on the Billboard 200. With those hits Christie joined Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars Tour. During this pre-Army phase of his career, the female vocalists featured on Christie's records were The Tammys, a trio from Pleasantville, Venango County, Pennsylvania. Christie and Herbert wrote the single "Egyptian Shumba" for the group, and although it was not a hit, it became a cult favorite in the Northern Soul scene in the early 1970s. In 2002, The Tammys' singles plus several Christie hits on which they sang were released on a CD called ''Egyptian Shumba - The Singles and Rare Recordings: 1962-1964.'' ''Egyptian Shumba'' was also included in the box set ''One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost and Found.'' Christie's third Roulette release, "How Many Teardrops" (written by Milan), stalled at #46 as Christie's career was temporarily derailed by his induction into the US Army. Christie would not have another charting single for two and a half years.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lou Christie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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