Twyla Herbert (27 July 1921 – 11 July 2009)[1] was an American songwriter known for her long songwriting partnership with the singer Lou Christie.
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Herbert was born in Riverside, California. 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.[2] Over 20 years older than he was, with flaming red hair, she was a self-described clairvoyant and mystic who allegedly predicted which of their songs would become hits.[3]
The pair co-wrote the great majority of Christie's hits, including "The Gypsy Cried," "Two Faces Have I," "Rhapsody in the Rain," "She Sold Me Magic," and most famously, "Lightnin' Strikes," a song later covered by such artists as Del Shannon and Klaus Nomi. Christie discussed their songwriting relationship: "Twyla is a genius. She was going to be a concert pianist but we started writing rock 'n' roll. The hardest part was that we had too many ideas. If we wanted to write a song, it would never stop."[4]
Herbert and Christie also composed for his backup singers, a girl group named the Tammys, a handful of songs, including the eccentric single, "Egyptian Shumba," which with its over-the-top, savage vocals and faux-Middle Eastern melody, has become a cult classic.[5]
Herbert died in Phoenix, Arizona in 2009, at the age of 87.
