"Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. The song was arranged, conducted, and produced by Charles Calello and was recorded on September 3, 1965. The backup singers on the recording were Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll and Denise Ferri. It was a giant hit in 1966, making it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February and #11 on the UK Record Retailerchart. RIAA certification on March 3, 1966, garnering gold status for selling over one million copies. It was covered years later by the New York underground artist Klaus Nomi. Because of Christie's high pitched tone during the chorus, the song is often miscredited to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

On September 28, 1974, John Lennon was a guest of Dennis Elsas[1] on WNEW-FM, a New York City radio station, where he commented:

"We're gonna play Electric Light Orchestra from last year, Showdown, which I thought was a great record... And for those people who like to know where licks and things come from, which I do.... this is a beautiful combination of I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye and Lightning Strikes Again [by] Lou Christie, and it's a beautiful job with a little Walrus underneath."[2]