{"id":2206257,"date":"2025-12-20T02:59:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T02:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2206257"},"modified":"2025-12-20T02:59:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T02:59:55","slug":"song-sung-blue-new-hugh-jackman-and-kate-hudson-movie-has-strong-ties-to-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/song-sung-blue-new-hugh-jackman-and-kate-hudson-movie-has-strong-ties-to-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Song Sung Blue,&#8217; New Hugh Jackman And Kate Hudson Movie, Has Strong Ties To Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>CHICAGO \u2014 The true story of tribute performance duo Lightning and Thunder is the heart of the movie \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d which hits theaters on Christmas Day. <\/p>\n<p>Married couple Mike Sardina, or Lightning (Hugh Jackman), would portray Neil Diamond, and Claire Sardina, or Thunder (Kate Hudson), would back him up, while often performing as Patsy Cline. And sometimes ABBA. The movie portrays the couple\u2019s ambitious efforts to become a successful tribute act.<\/p>\n<p>Those lucky enough to get to see the duo perform know that they were so good, so good, so good.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZqU7iiHFCzw\" data-id=\"ZqU7iiHFCzw\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SONG SUNG BLUE - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters This Christmas\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZqU7iiHFCzw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The real Mike (Lightning) and Claire (Thunder) Sardina, married Milwaukeeans, began performing in Chicago in the \u201890s at venues like the Cubby Bear (renamed Chubby Bear in the film), Hi-Tops, the Elbo Room and House of Blues, and gained a strong local following.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Mike Sardina died in 2006 from a brain bleed after a fall in his home. He was 55. Claire Sardina still lives outside of Milwaukee. In the new film \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d which opens Christmas Day, Hugh Jackman plays Lightning and Thunder is portrayed by Kate Hudson, who already received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Chicagoan Jim Belushi does a fine job as Lightning and Thunder\u2019s multitasking manager, another working-class person chasing a brighter light.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-1024x549.jpg?resize=1024%2C549&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-966190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C549&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C161&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C412&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C823&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1097&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C643&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1072&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C418&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C214&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C378&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00285_RC-1024x549.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left: Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina, Fisher Stevens as Dr. Dave Watson, Michael Imperioli as Mark Shurilla and Jim Belushi as Tom D\u2019Amato in director Craig Brewer\u2019s  \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d <span class=\"image-credit\"><span class=\"credit-label-wrapper\">Credit:<\/span> Focus Features<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On the eve of the movie\u2019s release, Lightning and Thunder fans like Urge Overkill\u2019s King Roeser, Metro owner Joe Shanahan and others recall the tribute duo as absolutely earnest about their love for the acts they were portraying, as well as just being really nice people to work with.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-momentous-evening-at-danny-s-in-bucktown\">A Momentous Evening At Danny\u2019s In Bucktown<\/h2>\n<p>Mike Sardina created the Lightning and Thunder personae in 1989. Terry Alexander was co-owner of Danny\u2019s in 1990 when he booked Lighting and Thunder on the suggestion of a co-worker who had seen the still-unknown team in Milwaukee.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just wanted him to perform,\u201d Alexander told Block Club. \u201cHe said, if you book me you have to book his [then-]girlfriend who does Patsy Cline. We said, \u2018Of course! This is great.\u2019 We paid $200 and a pizza from Bobalu\u2019s on Damen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alexander helped Danny\u2019s put up DIY leaflets in the neighborhood using Diamond\u2019s 1972\u00a0 \u201cHot August Night\u201d album cover as a template. Danny\u2019s was packed for its inaugural Thunder and Lightning performance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1015\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158-1024x1015.jpg?resize=1024%2C1015&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-966192\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.0088743577767398;width:466px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=1024%2C1015&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=300%2C297&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=768%2C761&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=1536%2C1522&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=1200%2C1189&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=780%2C773&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=400%2C396&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=706%2C700&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8496-scaled-e1766097884158-1024x1015.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The original Lightning and Thunder, Mike and Claire Sardina. <span class=\"image-credit\"><span class=\"credit-label-wrapper\">Credit:<\/span> Provided<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lightning jumped on the bar as he sang the Neil Diamond anthem \u201cAmerica.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was behind the bar,\u201d remembered Alexander, now founding partner of One Off Hospitality (Avec, the Publican, Violet Hour, etc.). \u201cEverybody was putting their hands over their heart [for \u2018America\u2019]. The guys from Urge Overkill were there. I distinctly remember that. They always had great outfits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Lightning and Thunder] were the nicest people. They ate their pizza, and there were two or three pieces left over. They wrapped it up and put in their station wagon, and after the show, they drove straight home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose guys had a dream, driving around their beat-up station wagon to Bucktown in the early 1990s to a bar they had never heard of. You had to root for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an email from Europe, Urge Overkill guitar-vocalist Eddie \u201cKing\u201d Roeser wrote, \u201cThey [Lightning and Thunder] admired Urge\u2019s sense of showmanship and stagecraft \u2014 the lost art of showmanship in the grunge era, which sadly was lacking a sense of humor and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Lightning and Thunder opened a 1993 record release party for Urge Overkill at Metro. Urge famously covered Neil Diamond\u2019s \u201cGirl, You\u2019ll Be a Woman Soon,\u201d which wound up in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film \u201cPulp Fiction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"552\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-1024x552.jpg?resize=1024%2C552&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-966133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C552&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C162&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C414&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C827&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1103&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C646&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1077&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C420&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C215&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C380&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00763_RC-1024x552.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina and Kate Hudson as Claire Stengl in director Craig Brewer\u2019s \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d <span class=\"image-credit\"><span class=\"credit-label-wrapper\">Credit:<\/span> Focus Features<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere are cover bands, and there are tribute bands. This was a tribute to Neil Diamond. Urge thought it was tongue-in-cheek, but when they got on stage, they realized they were totally pro. Everyone paid attention, as opposed to \u2018I\u2019m going to the bar for a drink,\u201d Metro owner Joe Shanahan said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time [Lightning and Thunder] came to Chicago, I\u2019d go see them. They were nice people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kenn Goodman is founder of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2024\/08\/27\/pravda-records-marks-40-years-of-chicago-indie-music\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Chicago\u2019s Pravda Records<\/a> and now-keyboardist for the popular Expo \u201876 tribute band. When Goodman was a member of the fun-loving New Duncan Imperials in the \u201990s, the band shared several gigs with Lightning and Thunder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The first time NDI played the old Elbo Room in West Lakeview, the club hired Lightning and Thunder to open. \u201cThey were fun and kind of odd,\u201d Goodman said. \u201cFor us it was perfect \u2026 The crowd took it all in. We liked it so we did it again. They were friendly and fun and it was just the two of them, so it wasn\u2019t cumbersome.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-1024x549.jpg?resize=1024%2C549&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-966191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C549&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C161&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C412&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C824&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1099&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C644&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1073&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C418&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C215&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C379&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4245_FP_00839_R-1024x549.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hugh Jackman as Mike Sardina and Kate Hudson as Claire Stengl in director Craig Brewer\u2019s \u201cSong Sung Blue.\u201d <span class=\"image-credit\"><span class=\"credit-label-wrapper\">Credit:<\/span> Focus Features<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 1995, Chicago actor Jamie Vann and his roommate hired Lightning and Thunder to play a Halloween party at the Lincoln Tap Room on the North Side. They had seen them in a small Chicago club.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMike had a flyer he handed out at the end of the night,\u201d said Vann. \u201cMy roommate calls the number and Mike answers, \u2018Lightning!\u2019 It was hilarious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way Lightning and Thunder traveled, we didn\u2019t provide anything,\u201d Vann continued. \u201cHe had a couple lighting effects he brought to the stage. He brought his own microphone. Thunder ran the [tracking] tape in their own tape machine. She came up first as Patsy Cline. They did a couple of duets, [like] \u2018You Don\u2019t Bring Me Flowers.\u2019 But what was most endearing was that she stood off to the side and took cues from him to hit him with the spotlight or to start and stop the tape. He loved the crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-story-made-for-the-screen\">A Story Made For The Screen<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d isn\u2019t the first time the saga of Lightning and Thunder has graced the big screen. A documentary with the same title was released in 2009, and caught the attention of director Craig Brewer (\u201cHustle &amp; Flow,\u201d \u201cBlack Snake Moan\u201d and the 2011 \u201cFootloose\u201d remake), who helmed the new film. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BSmHkqijTRc\" data-id=\"BSmHkqijTRc\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/BSmHkqijTRc\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SONG SUNG BLUE \/\/ Movie Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BSmHkqijTRc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The duo\u2019s relentless pursuit of their dreams through hardships and tragedies makes them perfect for cinematic treatment. Mike Sardina\u2019s father poured molten metal for a living, but was also a jazz guitarist. His mother made car seats and automotive products. In 1970, Sardina enlisted in the Marines and began a tour of duty in Vietnam. He was a recovering alcoholic, and often punctuated his stage sets by saying, \u201cOne day at a time, ladies and gentlemen!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sardina got the nickname \u201cLightning\u201d in 1972, when he briefly played lead guitar with the Milwaukee soul group the Esquires, who had a national hit with 1967\u2019s \u201cGet On Up.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Claire Stingl studied cosmetology. She met her future husband in 1987 when she auditioned for his band Positive Traction, a mash-up of Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They were married in the summer of 1994 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. On Dec. 2, Hugh Jackman presented Claire Sardina with a commemorative engraved bench to be placed at the state fair park when he visited Milwaukee to promote the film.<\/p>\n<p>In 1999, Claire Sardina was hit by a car while planting mums in the front yard of their Milwaukee home and lost the lower half of her leg. But only months later Lightning and Thunder were performing again. The last songs Lightning and Thunder sang together were \u201cYou Don\u2019t Bring Me Flowers\u201d and \u201cWonderful Beautiful,\u201d a doo-wop ballad Mike Sardina wrote when he was 13 years old.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-elevating-past-kitsch-into-local-stardom\">Elevating Past Kitsch Into Local Stardom<\/h2>\n<p>One secret of Neil Diamond\u2019s songwriting is how he is able to make lonely moments feel big and connective. Those songs became the perfect therapeutic interpretations for Lightning and Thunder\u2019s real-life woes, as the pair continually embraced the spirit of Diamond\u2019s songs and the joy of playing for appreciative audiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me and a lot of other musicians when you\u2019re playing a gig in that moment, you\u2019re escaping all the other weird s\u2014t going on in the world. You\u2019re there just to do that. And so is the audience, wanting to escape and being lost in that moment,\u201d Goodman said. \u201cEverything [Lightning and Thunder] went through, the addiction, the accident \u2014 and meanwhile they were driving to Chicago and loading up a club with their weird sets of gear. And for an hour they\u2019d be entertaining people and themselves. It was probably therapeutic like it is for a lot of entertainers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chicago\u2019s live-music heyday of the 1990s made it easy for the pair to play out often. \u201cIn Chicago, that was the era of Urge, Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cThat was a $10 ticket [Lightning and Thunder and Urge Overkill]. It was sold out. And you walk in the room and see Lightning and Thunder. It was so good. And Neil Diamond wasn\u2019t \u2018cool\u2019 in 1993.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The performers elevated past kitsch with their sincerity, like when they sang \u201cForever in Blue Jeans\u201d with Eddie Vedder at Milwaukee\u2019s SummerFest in 1995, easily winning over the Pearl Jam crowd. The movie has the event taking place inside a theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u4LiQu5hjoA\" data-id=\"u4LiQu5hjoA\" data-query=\"feature=oembed\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/u4LiQu5hjoA\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eddie Vedder clip from Song Sung Blue\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u4LiQu5hjoA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSometimes people think a Neil Diamond impersonator is making fun of a big characterization,\u201d Vann said. \u201cIf you\u2019re a fan of the actual performer, you appreciate it when somebody shares that. That\u2019s what Mike did. He really delivered Neil Diamond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Goodman added: \u201cThey were sincere. They weren\u2019t doing it as a joke. It wasn\u2019t meant to be funny, but that happens. That was their thing. That was their American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And the obvious love between Lightning and Thunder \u2014 who performed together for 17 years and were married for 12 \u2014 was an integral part of the pair\u2019s stage success. As Neil Diamond himself said of the 2009 documentary, \u201cI\u2019m honored to have my songs be part of this love story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d will be released in theaters on Christmas Day. (At this writing, it has an <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/song_sung_blue_2025\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer\">80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-primary-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-primary-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p><strong>Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"pmdelayedscript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-minify=\"1\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n\t\t'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1320543462033816');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView', {\"page_title\":\"&#8216;Song Sung Blue,&#8217; New Hugh Jackman And Kate Hudson Movie, Has Strong Ties To Chicago\",\"user_role\":\"guest\",\"event_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blockclubchicago.org\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/19\\\/song-sung-blue-acclaimed-hugh-jackman-and-kate-hudson-movie-has-strong-ties-to-chicago\",\"post_type\":\"post\",\"post_id\":966130});\n\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source blockclubchicago.org \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO \u2014 The true story of tribute performance duo Lightning and Thunder is the heart of the movie \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d which hits theaters on Christmas Day. Married couple Mike Sardina, or Lightning (Hugh Jackman), would portray Neil Diamond, and Claire Sardina, or Thunder (Kate Hudson), would back him up, while often performing as Patsy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2206258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[22220],"class_list":["post-2206257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Song-Sung-Blue-New-Hugh-Jackman-And-Kate-Hudson-Movie.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2206257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2206259,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206257\/revisions\/2206259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2206258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2206257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2206257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2206257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}