Up for auction "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" Lou Christie Hand Signed 45 Record. This item is authenticated By Professional Autograph Authentication Service (PAAS) and comes with their certificate of authenticity and hologram affixed.

ES-6688

Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American soft rock singer-songwriter known for several pop rock hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 UK number-two "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". 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 him 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 City and worked as a session vocalist. In 1962, Sacco approached Nick Cenci with some demo tapes. One of the first things Cenci did was change the name Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco to Lou Christie. Cenci told Sacco that there was only one great Italian singer and that he had to change his name. Sacco's father liked the name change, because it had "Christ" in it. Cenci liked Sacco's 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 used 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. "The Gypsy Cried" became a regional 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 released the single on Roulette, 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. 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 June 1963. Roulette released an album of 12 Lou Christie / Twyla 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. Christie made numerous TV appearances on Where the Action Is (1965–1967), and also appeared on American Bandstand and The Buddy Deane Show (1962–1964) in Baltimore. He also sang with Del Shannon. Christie's third Roulette release, "How Many Teardrops" (written by Milan), stalled at No. 46 as Christie's career was temporarily derailed by his induction into the US Army. Christie did not have another charting single for two and a half years.