“Lightnin’ Strikes” was a popular pop song by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert that was released in 1965. The song rose all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Although fans loved the song, the label head wasn’t originally a fan. Christie told Goldmine magazine, “They didn’t even like it! (Label head) Lenny Shear threw it in the wastebasket and said it was a piece of crap! So we put up our own money to get it played around the country, and it started taking off once it got played. Three months later, Lenny was taking a picture with me for Billboard magazine, handing me a gold record. I loved that.”
When speaking about working with Herbert, who was over 20 years older than him, Christie said, “I never worked with anyone else who was that talented, that original, that exciting. She was just bizarre, and I was twice as bizarre as her.”
Ralph Casale, who played on tracks for Frank Sinatra and Simon & Garfunkel, told SongFacts how he came up with the guitar solo. “I was asked by producer/arranger Charlie Calello to play the six-string bass guitar, which sometimes doubles the same line the bass plays,” he said. “When the track was being played back without vocals, I started jokingly improvising a solo on the bass guitar with a fuzz box. I didn’t know what the song was about, but Charlie obviously did. He stopped the playback and said, ‘I love it!’ I laughed and asked if he was joking. He excitedly replied, ‘I’ll tell you where to play it!’ After recording it and listening to the entire song, I realized why he included my solo. It actually sounded like thunder and fit in nicely with the entire recording. That’s how the solo in ‘Lightnin’ Strikes’ was born!”
Related: 1978 Soft Rock Song From Iain Matthews Was His Only Hit as a Solo Act
Christie’s other big song was “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” which spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached the No. 10 spot.
Christie died in 2025. He was 82.
Hence then, the article about 1965 song thrown in the trash by label head lenny shear became a no 1 hit was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 1965 Song, Thrown in the Trash by Label Head Lenny Shear, Became a No. 1 Hit )
Also on site :
- 1979 Supertramp Hit, Ranked Among the ‘Greatest Classic Rock Songs’ Ever, Was Partially Recorded in a Bathroom
- Inside ‘Married at First Sight’ Season 20: How Peacock’s Changes Led to 1.8 Billion Minutes Viewed, That Wild Reunion and Why Lindsay Hubbard Said No to the Show
- ‘Big Brother’ Season 28, Week 7 Eviction: A Celebration Of 1,000 Episodes & Another Houseguest Is Voted Out