The Judge
RAVES!
Date: 05/03/11
Lou Christie - "Lightnin' Strikes" (1965)
This one is a bit odd, really.
Along with the more famous and celebrated Del Shannon and Frankie Valli, Lou Christie was one of the prime exponents of a vocal style which comprised the use of falsetto, especially in the chorus of songs.
This song - like most of his hits - was co-written with Twyla Herbert, a self-styled mystic and everyone-else-styled eccentric, who was over twenty years Christie's senior.
So far, so what? What makes it a bit strange nowadays is the lyrical content. When you listen to the words, the storyline boils down to the boy saying to his girl, in effect, "You stay home and keep your legs together, babe, while I go chasing around after anything with a hole in the appropriate place". Only rap artists could get away with that sort of thing nowadays (much to their discredit).
Nevertheless it's a good record, well orchestrated (by Charles Calello) and performed with great zest.
