Lou Christie returns to Pittsburgh for 'Rock 'n Remember Live!'
The sounds of the swinging ‘60s will fill Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center on Saturday, as the artists who sang many of the era’s hits take the stage in Rock ‘n Remember Live!
Allegheny County’s own Lou Christie will headline shows at 4 and 8 p.m., along with Gary Puckett & The Union Gap.
“Those late-night PBS television specials have sanctified the Benedum for vintage rock and roll fans,” said promoter and producer Charlie Pappas of Spotlight Productions. “So, we thought it only fitting to stage one of our biggest shows ever on the Benedum stage.”
The walk down a musical memory lane is as important to the performers as it is to the audience, Christie said.
“What my audience lived was special. Our generation had life, romance, optimism, challenges, kindness, grace, hope and music that sparked the world,” said Christie, 79, who was born Lugee Sacco in Crescent Township. “Our music is still alive and, when I get to sing my songs, I see the audience turn 17 again.”
The show also features another Pittsburgh group, The Marcels, along with Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, The Chiffons and Chris Ruggiero, known from the “My Music” series. Local artist Jimmie Ross of The Jaggerz will make a guest appearance.
The artists collectively have charted more than 70 top 40 hits, Pappas said.
Christie’s hits include “The Gypsy Cried,” “Two Faces Have I,” “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” “Rhapsody in the Rain,” and the multi-million seller “Lightnin’ Strikes,” all of which he co-wrote. Christie recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Coast Music Hall of Fame.
Beginning in 1967 with “Woman, Woman,” the first five releases from Puckett and company went gold. In 1968, the group sold more than any other recording act, including The Beatles. Other hits include“Young Girl,” “This Girl is a Woman Now,” “Lady Willpower” and “Over You.”
Formed in Pittsburgh in 1959, The Marcels are best-known for the 1961 hit, “Blue Moon.”
Charlie Thomas’ Drifters have a catalog including “Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” “On Broadway,” “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “This Magic Moment.”
“Back in the day in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s, you had a lot of groups that just sang with a backup band behind them. After The Beatles, it transitioned into the self-contained groups that played their own instruments and sang,” he said.
“Once the Beatles hit, it shoved a lot of groups to the side and put them out of business,” he said. “These groups survived The Beatles and stayed relevant through the ’60s.”
Although most audience members probably will be those who heard the hits the first time around, Pappas said, the music is starting to appeal more and more to younger generations.
Vocal groups such as the Rock ‘n Remember slate “generated some of the best music in the last century,” he said.
“Today is a different time capsule,” Christie said. “I don’t know what’s ahead. I just know what I lived, and audiences feel safe when I do shows and sing their memories for them.”
Although there’s a definite Pittsburgh flavor to the lineup, it wasn’t planned with that in mind, Pappas noted.
Tickets for Rock ‘n Remember Live! are $39-$79, available by calling 412-456-6666, online at trustarts.org or in person at Theatre Square Box Office, 655 Penn Ave.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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