Topic: Lou Christie

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 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.

Sacco was born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania and raised in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sacco traveled to New York after graduating from Moon Area High School and found work as a session vocalist.

Sacco also recorded a few unsuccessful discs of his own for various record labels in both New York and Pittsburgh, most notably "The Jury" (as by "Lugee & The Lions") on the Pittsburgh-based Robbee label, which achieved local success. "The Gypsy Cried" features the vocal style that would characterize all of Christie's biggest hits: verses sung in his normal register, and then a dramatic shift to his falsetto on the choruses. That song was released in 1962 on the tiny C&C label and unexpectedly credited to 'Lou Christie' without Sacco's permission. Sacco had been working on a list of potential stage names, and he has stated that he hated the name for decades afterwards: "I was pissed off about it for 20 years. I wanted to keep my name and be a one-named performer, just 'Lugee'."