Lightnin' Strikes Lightnin' Strikes "Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. It was a hit in 1966, making it first to No. 1 in Canada in January 1966 on the "RPM" Top Singles chart, then to No. 1 in the U.S. on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in February, No. 3 on the New Zealand "Listener" chart in May, and No. 11 on the UK "Record Retailer" chart. RIAA certification on March 3, 1966, garnering gold status for selling over one million copies. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced
The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins when he was singing and down to the guitar when he was playing a solo. The album was first released at around the time the book "The Country Blues" came out and was an instant success and gave Lightnin's career a well-deserved new lease on life. Lightnin' went on to record many more songs in the '60s and '70s. The album was released in the UK by Verve Folkways as VLP 5003 (mono) and SVLP 5003 (stereo) and re-released in 1972 by Transatlantic Records (XTRA 1127). In 1990 it was re-released on CD under the title "Lightnin' Hopkins" by Smithsonian/Folkways