In honor of the late Lou Christie, who passed away last month, today’s classic song of the day is “Rhapsody in the Rain.” Released in March of 1966, this single went all the way to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Rhapsody in the Rain” was written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, who wrote a lot of songs with Mr. Christie. Believe it or not, many American radio stations back then thought the lyrics were a little “dirty,” so he had to re-record an alternate version with “cleaner” lyrics.
And what were the offending lyrics? Mr. Christie had to change “We were makin’ out in the rain” to “We fell in love in the rain,” and “In this car we went too far” to “Our love came like a falling star.” Really filthy stuff, most definitely capable of warping innocent teenaged minds.
As Mr. Christie later recalled:
“I had priests and nuns calling to complain. Even Time magazine did an article on it, saying I was corrupting the youth.”
My, how times have changed.
Born in 1943, Lou Christie (born Lugee Alfredo Sacco) grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He met Twyla Herbert when he was just 15; she was 20 years his senior and a classically trained musician. They started writing songs together and those songs fueled Mr. Christie’s music career. He started singing in local vocal groups when he was 16 years old, before he’d even graduated high school. After he got his diploma, he moved to New York City, changed his name, and hooked up with Nick Cenci, former Motown PR guy and founder (along with Herbert Cohen) of Co & Ce Records. Cenci signed Mr. Christie to a contract and put him into the studio to record his first single, “The Gypsy Cried.” Roulette Records liked that one and signed on to distribute Lou’s records nationally.
What followed was a remarkable string of hits, most written by Mr. Christie and Ms. Herbert, including “The Gypsy Cried” in 1962, “Two Faces Have I” in 1963, “Lightnin’ Strikes” a #1 hit in 1965, “Rhapsody in the Rain” in 1966, and “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” in 1969. He continued to record and perform live over the years, most recently on the oldies circuit. Lou Christie passed away on June 18, 2025, of cancer; he was 82 years old.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, a rather crude promotional film for “Rhapsody in the Rain.” It’s basically Lou Christie badly lip synching the song, with by lots of good-looking young people dancing around him. RIP, Mr. Christie.
