Twyla Herbert (born Twila Moody; July 27, 1921 – July 11, 2009) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

known for her long songwriting partnership with the singer

Lou Christie Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 ...

Beginnings

Twila Moody was born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, and as a child moved with her parents to Pennsylvania, where she married Earle Herbert (d.1982). In the late 1950s, Lou Christie was 15 years old when he met Herbert, a "bohemian gypsy, psychic, and former concert pianist," at an audition in a church basement in his hometown, Glenwillard, Pennsylvania. Over 20 years older than he was, with flaming red hair, she was a self-described

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

and mystic who allegedly predicted which of their songs would become hits.

Collaboration

The pair co-wrote the great majority of Christie's hits, including " The Gypsy Cried", "

Two Faces Have I "Two Faces Have I" is a song written by Twyla Herbert and Lou Christie and performed by Christie in his signature falsetto. The song was produced by Nick Cenci and was featured on his 1963 album, ''Lou Christie''. It reached #6 on the ''Billboard ...

", "

Rhapsody in the Rain "Rhapsody in the Rain" is a song written by Twyla Herbert and Lou Christie Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits i ...

", "She Sold Me Magic", and most famously, "

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 ...

", a song later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by such

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit " Runaway". In 1999, he was ind ...

and

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s Nomi immersed himself in the East Villag ...

. Christie discussed their songwriting relationship: "Twyla is a genius. She was going to be a concert pianist but we started writing

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

. The hardest part was that we had too many ideas. If we wanted to write a song, it would never stop." Herbert and Christie also composed for his

backup singers A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

, a girl group named

the Tammys The Tammys were an American girl group made up of sisters Gretchen and Cathy Owens and their friend Linda Jones. They are best known for their song " Egyptian Shumba." ''Billboard'' named the song #35 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Song ...

, a handful of songs, including the eccentric

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, " Egyptian Shumba," which with its over-the-top, savage vocals and faux-

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, has become a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

classic. Herbert died in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

in 2009, at the age of 87. Twyla Herbert, ''Legacy.com''
Retrieved September 4, 2022

References

External links

* Twyla Herbert on Allmusicbr>A Photograph of Twyla Herbert with Lou Christie (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Twyla Songwriters from California 1921 births 2009 deaths Musicians from Pittsburgh Clairvoyants Songwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American women