What happened to Lou Christie? Career explored as 'Lightnin' Strikes' singer passes away at 82
Lou Christie, 82, passed away on June 17, 2025. The singer was known for his singles, including A Teenager in Love and Lightnin’ Strikes.
According to W42ST, the artist passed away after struggling with an illness. The news was also confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by his wife, Francesca. Notably, Christie was at his Pittsburgh-based residence. Further updates on his health history are currently awaited.
Lou Christie’s fans also took to social media to pay tribute to him, recalling his contributions to the music industry. Musician Fabian added a photo to his Facebook post and wrote:
“Didn’t know about his illness and now he’s gone. Unbelievable. A true friend and obviously a great talent. Shocked and stunned.”
Although he worked on several songs throughout his career, Lightin’ Strikes turned out to be the most popular hit.
The single marked his collaboration with late songwriter Twyla Herbert, and apart from reaching the top position on the Billboard charts, the song grabbed the same spot on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100.
The single’s music video was uploaded on YouTube around seven years ago, and it has received more than 16,000 views as of this writing. Before Lightin’ Strikes, Lou Christie became a popular face with his song, The Gypsy Cried.
Christie once told Classic Bands in an interview that he did not have any recording equipment when The Gypsy Cried was being made. He explained the entire situation by saying:
“I cut the thing on a little two track machine. That was up in someone’s place in Pittsburgh. Then we went to a four track machine… “Two Faces Have I.” That first album was on a four track. There weren’t things like punching-in and all those little terms they use today.”
Lou Christie released many hit singles over the years
The Glenwillard, Pennsylvania native accumulated a huge fan base for the songs that he released throughout his career. His musical journey began during his childhood days, when he developed a close friendship with a trained musician named Herbert, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Lou Christie arrived in New York City after graduation during the ‘60s and pursued a brief career as a session vocalist for some time.
He also served in the US Army for around two years after accompanying a few artists on tour, including Dick Clark.
As mentioned, Christie worked with Twyla Herbert on Lightin’ Strikes, which was one of the most popular songs of Lou’s career.
However, the duo additionally collaborated on other tracks, and Lou performed with famous bands and artists on stage, such as The Who and Jerry Lee Lewis, as mentioned in the biography of his self-titled official website.
The website biography stated that Lou contributed to the popularity of rock ‘n’ roll music. A few of his songs were included in the soundtrack of films like Barcelona, A Home of Our Own, Burnzy’s Last Call, and more.
During his conversation with Classic Bands, Lou Christie said that his mother, pop music, and the Catholic Church were an important part of his life while growing up:
“I was also raised on a farm. I was raised out in the country. My Dad had about 109 acres. It was mostly crab apples and trees. But, we had the garden. Sometimes we grew soyabeans and we had a big vegetable garden and corn. We had chickens and goats and pigs and pigeons and ducks. When I say we had chickens, we had 200 chickens.”
In 1963, Lou Christie grabbed a spot on the Billboard charts with Two Faces Have I. Around four years after the release of Lightin’ Strikes, he reached the 10th position on the US Billboard Hot 100 with I’m Gonna Make You Mine.
Lou Christie worked with record labels like Roulette and Columbia, releasing albums like Paint America Love, The Turquoise Trail, Summer in Malibu, and more.
Other singles in his credits include Lighthouse, Beyond the Blue Horizon, Summer Days, Why Did You Do It Baby, Outside the Gates of Heaven, If My Car Could Only Talk, How Many Teardrops, and Shy Boy.
