Gene Pitney RIP

[Palmateer]

LONDON (AP) - Gene Pitney, the singer whose hits included "It Hurts to Be in
Love" and "Town Without Pity," died Wednesday at a hotel in Cardiff, Wales,
during a British tour, his agent said. He was 65.
Pitney was found in his bed by his tour manager, Mark Hawes of In Touch
Music told the British Broadcasting Corp.
"He did a good show last night at St. David's Hall and it was wonderful," he
said.
There was no immediate word on a cause of death.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Pitney had his first success as a song writer
with "Rubber Ball" which was a top 10 hit for Bobby Vee in 1961.
As a solo performer, he had his first success later that year with "Love My
Life Away." And he had another hit as a writer with Ricky Nelson's "Hello
Mary Lou."
Burt Bacharach and Hal David provided the songs which put Pitney in the top
10 - "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Only Love Can Break the Heart."

[Palmateer]

Gene Pitney was an interesting figure on the face of the rock-and-roll map.
He was a good singer with a distinctive voice who sang songs written by
others, and he was a good songwriter, whose songs were recorded and made
into hits by others.

He was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1941, but spent most of his youth in
Rockville, Connecticut. He formed a band while a student at Rockville High
School, then headed for New York City and the Brill Building.

In 1959 Gene Pitney joined with a young singer named Ginny Arnell and
recorded some tunes for Decca as Jamie & June. After a stop at Blaze and
some solo recordings under the assumed name, Billy Bryan, Gene recorded
under his own name for Festival in 1960. He was also a budding songwriter
and tried to push his songs to anyone who would listen. Brill Building
veterans Burt Bacharach and Hal David liked what they saw and formed an
alliance with the ambitious young singer/songwriter.

Under the guidance of Phil Spector, Gene recorded a song for Musicor in 1961
that was to be his breakthrough hit. Town Without Pity, a song from the film
of the same title, was a smash hit record in 1962 and the record-buying
public began to take notice. Bacharach and David were churning out songs in
the early 60's that Gene turned into hits: [The Man Who Shot] Liberty
Valance, Only Love Can Break A Heart -- his biggest hit ever, and Twenty
Four Hours From Tulsa. Valance was inspired by the John Wayne/Jimmy Stewart
movie of the same name, but the song was never actually sung in the movie
itself.

And he wasn't just singing. Some of the songs he wrote [or co-wrote] were
just as popular as those he sang -- the Crystals with He's A Rebel, Ricky
Nelson with Hello Mary Lou, Bobby Vee with Rubber Ball, Roy Orbison, and the
list goes on.

As the 60's wore on, Gene continued to sell records: Mecca, It Hurts To Be
In Love, I'm Gonna Be Strong.

As big a star as he had become in the United States, Gene Pitney was an even
bigger star in the United Kingdom. His publicist, Andrew Loog Oldham, acted
in the same role for the Rolling Stones and Gene did some things with them.
A song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, That Girl Belongs To
Yesterday, was recorded by Gene and went to number seven on the UK charts.
He played maracas on the Stones' recording of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away,
and piano in the background of some other songs by the Rolling Stones.
Pitney had 16 top forty songs in the USA from 1961 to 1968, and he had forty
such songs in the UK all the way up to 1974.

In later years Gene sang some country music, and made some recordings in
Italian.

[R***@gmail.com]

Post by Palmateer
Gene Pitney was an interesting figure on the face of the rock-and-roll map.
He was a good singer with a distinctive voice who sang songs written by
others, and he was a good songwriter, whose songs were recorded and made
into hits by others.

<snip>

Post by Palmateer
In later years Gene sang some country music, and made some recordings in
Italian.

Tom,

Since you gave credit to the BBC for your next post, I assume it was
unintentional that you did not give credit for the above to its author,
Tom Simon (or are you Tom Simon in disguise?).

His updated version can be found at: http://www.tsimon.com/pitney.htm


-- Rick Schubert <***@san.rr.com>

[Palmateer]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that!

[Palmateer]

From the BBC:

Gene Pitney found dead in hotel American superstar Gene Pitney has been
found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel.
Pitney - who found fame with Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa - was pronounced
dead at the Hilton hotel at 1000 BST.
He was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. The cause of death is
not yet known but is not suspicious.
His biggest success was in the 1960s and he enjoyed a 1989 revival with his
chart-topping duet, Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart, with Marc Almond.
Mark Howes of his management company In Touch Music said the singer was
found in his bed.

Mr Howes told BBC Wales that everyone had been shocked by the death and
there had been no signs that he was ill.
"He did a good show last night at St David's Hall and it was wonderful," he
said.
"I've seen him quite a few times on this tour and he was fit and well. He
said it was the best tour he had done for quite a few years."
Pitney has continually toured over the last 40 years.
He received a glowing local newspaper review for what proved to be his final
concert in Cardiff.
He received a standing ovation at the end of his 90-minute performance on
Tuesday night.
He had nine dates left on his 23-date UK tour and was due to appear at
Bristol's Colston Hall on Wednesday.
Pitney's songs have been recorded by some of the world's biggest stars -
Hello Mary Lou was released by Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison recorded Today's
Teardrops as the B-side to his million-selling single, Blue Angel.
He is also credited with helping the Rolling Stones break the American
market with his endorsement of the band.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote his hit That Girl Belongs to Yesterday
which became the Stones duo's first composition to reach the American
charts.
The son of a mill worker, Pitney said childhood ambitions of becoming a
performer could not have been further from his mind.
He once recalled how his first solo performance at school degenerated into
an embarrassing whimper as Pitney was petrified by the expectant audience.
Overcoming his nerves over the next few years, Pitney learned to play the
guitar and piano and formed a schoolboy band.
It was during one of their gigs that his distinctive voice was discovered by
the "the proverbial fat man with a cigar" who took him off to New York.
He is survived by his wife Lynne and three sons who live in his native
Connecticut.

[y***@yahoo.com]

Gene Pitney was a great talent. He will be missed. I appreciated
his soulful pop contributions to early 60's radio/music scene, even
more long after the hits stopped coming. Thanks for enriching the
scene, Gene.

-L.I.