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Forever No. 1: Lou Christie, ‘Lightnin’ Strikes’
Following Lou Christie's death, we look at "Lightnin' Strikes" his lone No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s a list that includes British Invasion legends like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, West Coast pop-rock standard-bearers like The Beach Boys, The Lovin’ Spoonful and The Mamas & The Papas, pace-setting Motown groups like the Supremes and the Four Tops and even a couple less-remembered garage-rock acts with one all-timer to their credit in The Troggs and ? (The song’s B-side was called “Crying in the Streets” — appropriate, considering that “Strikes” most closely resembled a more emotive “Dancing in the Street.”) Extra musical punctuation was offered via backing vocals from New Jersey girl group The Delicates, who provide “stop!” echoes throughout the pre-chorus, and mark each verse lyric with an unintelligible-but-effectively harmonized “ uhheeeyaaooo ” that keeps things sweet-sounding throughout. )”s at the end of the pre-chorus — gradually working his vocals up the octave until he’s back in that recognizably signature range — he basically undergoes a Wolf Man transition, until he’s the lothario howling at the moon in soaring falsetto about liiiiiightniiiiiing striiiiikiiiiiing again and again and again and again.
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