Susan Christie

Susan Christie is an American singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had a minor hit with the novelty song "I Love Onions" (written by Donald Cochrane and John Hill).[1] The track, which peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966, is described as having a sound reminiscent of the 1930s, with Christie's "breathy" vocal backed by a chorus of kazoo players and male backup singers.[2]

The song features a harmonica player and a spoken recitation from a male speaker. It ends with an Elmer Fudd type of voice saying, "How very, very crude".

In Canada, however, the single fared much better, reaching #19 on the RPM 100 national singles chart on August 1, 1966.[3] The tune was adapted as "I Love Funyuns" for a late 60's TV commercial for an onion-flavored snack food. The tune was later adapted for a Canadian television commercial as "I Love Turtles" in 1980.[4][5]

Signed to Columbia Records, Christie recorded an album in 1970, Paint a Lady. Described as "psychedelic folk music", the album went unreleased by Columbia, which considered it to be non-commercial, and Christie was dropped from the label. The album, of which only three vinyl copies were ever pressed,[6] languished in obscurity until 2006, when Manchester-based DJ Andy Votel received a copy and brought the album renewed attention and a CD release. SPIN magazine described the album as "funky free folk" filled with "[b]rilliantly original songs" and Christie as a "dark, strange songbird".[7]

Christie participated in the 2008 "Lost Ladies of Folk" project spearheaded by Votel and his spouse, recording artist Jane Weaver, performing in concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and appearing on the compilation album Bearded Ladies.[6] In 2010, Christie appeared as a guest artist on Weaver's album The Fallen By Watch Bird.[8]

References

  1. ↑ International Lyrics Playground. http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/i/iloveonions.shtml
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Library and Archives Canada, inferred from following week's listing. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5795&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=kcr4kjfogh58km4jlp4so26bs5
  4. ↑ YouTube, Turtles Chocolate Commercial 1980. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0GEMuj4I5Q
  5. ↑ http://www.whatsthatcalled.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11716
  6. 1 2 Lie back and think of ukuleles
  7. ↑ Reviews: New CDs
  8. ↑ Jane Weaver: The Fallen By Watch Bird
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