The Gypsy Cried (song)
| "The Gypsy Cried" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Lou Christie | ||||
| from the album Lou Christie | ||||
| B-side | "Red Sails In The Sunset" | |||
| Released | December 1962 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:05 | |||
| Label | Co & Ce Records | |||
| Songwriters | Twyla Herbert & Lou Christie (as Lugee Sacco) | |||
| Producer | Nick Cenci | |||
| Lou Christie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Gypsy Cried" is a song written by Twyla Herbert & Lou Christie, using his actual name Lugee Sacco,[1] which was released by Lou Christie as a single in 1962.[2][3] The name "Lou Christie" was chosen by Co & Ce Records, and "The Gypsy Cried" was credited to "Lou Christie" before they had consulted with Sacco about the name.[4]
The song was the first song that Herbert and Christie wrote together, written over a period of 15 minutes, and was Lou Christie's first hit.[4][5] Producer Nick Cenci had originally suggested that Christie make a sound-alike record resembling The Four Seasons, given that Christie had a similar power falsetto register to Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli;[6] Christie resisted the suggestion, stating in a 2016 interview that he did not want to make records that sounded like another performer. [5]
The song was initially released by Pittsburgh-based Co & Ce Records, and was a local hit in Pittsburgh, but it was soon picked up by Roulette Records and became a national hit.[2][4] The song was released on Lou Christie's eponymous album in 1963.[7]
The song spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 24 on March 16, 1963,[8] while reaching No. 18 on the Cash Box Top 100,[9] and No. 3 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade.[10]
A cover by Swedish pop rock band the Hounds was released on their second studio album From the Hounds with Love in December 1967 through Gazell.[11] When issued as a single on 7 January 1968, with "Old Man in New York" as the B-side,[12] their version reached No. 4 on Tio i Topp and No. 17 on Kvällstoppen in March 1968.[13][14] It was their final top-ten single in Sweden.[13]
References
- ^ The Gypsy Cried - By: Lou Christie, MusicVF.com. Accessed July 24, 2016.
- ^ a b "Music as Written", Billboard, December 8, 1962. p. 47. Accessed July 24, 2016.
- ^ Lou Christie - The Gypsy Cried, norwegiancharts.com. Accessed July 24, 2016.
- ^ a b c Bronson, Fred. (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books. p. 193. Accessed July 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Behe, Rege, "At 73, Lou Christie's Voice Still Hits the Mark", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review March 6, 2016. Accessed July 24, 2016.
- ^ "Nick Cenci - Pittsburgh Music History". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-23. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ "Album Reviews", Billboard, August 3, 1963. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Hot 100 - Lou Christie The Gypsy Cried Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100", Cash Box, March 2, 1963. p. 4. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade – Week of February 18, 1963". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2018. Chart No. 310.
- ^ Anon. (8 December 1967). "Poppen imponerar inte" [The Pop Does Not Impress]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 14. Retrieved 20 October 2025 – via National Library of Sweden.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Hounds - The Gipsy Cried (song)". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ a b Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 [Tio I Topp With The Eliminated On Try 1961–1974] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Premium. p. 181. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
- ^ Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3 [Eric Hallberg Presents Kvällstoppen on P3] (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Stockholm: Drift. p. 176. ISBN 9-789-16-302-14-04.