I was in the car this afternoon and when I turned on the 60s Channel on Sirius XM and I was stunned to hear that one of my favorite performers, Lou Christie, had just died. His big hits were "Lightning Strikes", "Rhapsody in the Rain", "Two Faces Have I" and "The Gypsy Cried." I had the good fortune to see him in concert twice. The first time was when I was living outside Philadelphia before 1985. He was part of an oldies review with a number of other old time rock and roll performers at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Now bear with me with 40 year old memories, but the story that sticks in my mind was that he had not been performing for a while and this was his first time in an oldies review show. Christie came out with a spirited singing and dancing performance topped off when he peeled off his coat and was jiving to "Mickey's Monkey", the old Miracles song. When all of the acts came out for their curtain calls, Christie brought down the house.
I moved to Frederick, MD in 1985 and the Great Frederick Fair for several years was holding oldies concerts in addition to concerts for country acts and I got to see Lou Christie in concert there. Like many old time rock and roll performers I've seen, he put on a show as if he was still 20 years younger, and it was complete with special effects. I like to think that the response he got to his first time on the oldies concert circuit made him realize he still had a lot of energy and showmanship to give.
I moved to Frederick, MD in 1985 and the Great Frederick Fair for several years was holding oldies concerts in addition to concerts for country acts and I got to see Lou Christie in concert there. Like many old time rock and roll performers I've seen, he put on a show as if he was still 20 years younger, and it was complete with special effects. I like to think that the response he got to his first time on the oldies concert circuit made him realize he still had a lot of energy and showmanship to give.
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