Gene Pitney

Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. Pitney was among a small group of early 1960s American acts such as Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Jay and the Americans, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes who continued to enjoy hits after the British Invasion in the U.S. in 1964. As a performer, Pitney singles charted 16 "Top 40" hits in the U.S., four in the "Top 10". In the UK he had 22 "Top 40" hits, and 11 "Top Tens". He also wrote the early 1960s hits "He's a Rebel", by The Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou", by Rick Nelson. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early years

Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Rockville, now part of Vernon. His early influences were Clyde McPhatter, country-blues singer Moon Mullican and doo-wop groups like The Crows. He attended Rockville High School, at which he was named "the Rockville Rocket," and where he formed his first band, Gene & the Genials. He made records as part of a duo called Jamie and Jane with Ginny Arnell (who later had a solo hit , DumbHead), and in 1959 made a single as Billy Bryan. The first of the two Decca 45s as Jamie and Jane was "Snuggle Up, Baby", a cover of a song Charlie Gracie recorded at Cameo 1957 or early 1958 which remained unreleased until London Records released Gracie's original version in Europe in 1978.

 

Career

[edit] Rise to fame (1961-1964)

Signed to songwriter Aaron Schroeder's newly formed Musicor label in 1961, Pitney scored his first chart single, "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away". For this song, he played several instruments and multi-tracked the vocals. This was followed that same year by his first hit, "Town Without Pity". This song, from the film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas, won a Golden Globe Award for best movie song and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Pitney was the first pop singer to perform at the Oscars ceremony, singing "Town Without Pity" on 9 April 1962. The song lost the Academy Award to "Moon River".

Pitney wrote songs for others. Notable examples are "He's a Rebel" for The Crystals, Vikki Carr, and Elkie Brooks, "Today's Teardrops" for Roy Orbison, "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee and also for Marty Wilde, and "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson. Ironically, The Crystals' "He's A Rebel" kept Pitney's highest peaking Hot 100 record, "Only Love Can Break a Heart", from the top of that chart on 3 November 1962.

Pitney is remembered for "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", which was associated with the 1962 John Ford film of the same name starring James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin. Pitney gave a strong performance of the song, which was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Although it peaked at number 4 on the Billboard pop charts, it was never used in the movie because of a publishing dispute between Famous Music and Paramount Pictures.

His 1963 hit, "Mecca", is a precursor to psychedelia in its use of Arabian music three years before The Beatles. Exotic instruments became a Pitney trademark, such as the mariachi trumpets in "Lonely Drifter", the ukuleles in "Hawaii", and the gypsy fiddle in "Golden Earrings".

His popularity in the UK market was ensured by the success of "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", by Bacharach-David, at the end of 1963. It reached number 4 at the start of 1964. It was also a hit in the U.S.

[edit] Involvement with The Rolling Stones (1964)

Pitney was present with Phil Spector at some of the Rolling Stones' early recording sessions in London, including "Little by Little" and other tracks for their debut album;^[1] he played piano, though the extent is uncertain.

The Jagger/Richards song "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" was a UK hit for Pitney in 1964; it was the first tune composed by the Rolling Stones to become a top-10 hit in the UK.^[2] In the U.S. the single stalled at #49, and ending a run of seven Top 40 for Pitney as a performer.

[edit] Maintaining popularity

After another low-charting single (1964's "Yesterday's Hero"), Pitney had another string of hit singles in the mid-1960s, with the song of unrequited love, "It Hurts To Be in Love" (#7 on the American pop charts) and "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (#9 US) in 1964, and "Nobody Needs Your Love" in 1966 (the last two peaked at #2 on the British surveys). "It Hurts To Be in Love" was planned for Neil Sedaka but RCA refused to sell it because he had recorded it outside RCA Victor in violation of his contract. The writers, Howard Greenfield and Helen Miller, presented the song to Pitney. Miller replaced Sedaka's voice with Pitney's.

In 1965, Pitney recorded two successful albums with George Jones They were voted the most promising country-and-western duo of the year. Pitney also recorded songs in Italian, Spanish and German, and twice finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival, where his strong vibrato reminded older listeners of the Italian tenor Caruso. He had a regional hit with Nessuno Mi Puo' Giudicare.

[edit] UK, Australian and European stardom (1966-1970s)

Pitney's career in the U.S. took a downturn after mid-1966, when "Backstage" ended another run of top 40 hits. He returned one last time to the top 40 with "She's a Heartbreaker" in mid-1968 and had a few hits in the lower reaches of the Hot 100 after that, but by 1970 he was no longer a hit-maker in the U.S.

Pitney maintained a successful career in Britain and the rest of Europe into the 1970s, appearing regularly on UK charts as late as 1974. In Australia, after a fallow period in the early 1970s, Pitney returned to the top 40 charts in 1974, as both Blue Angel (#2) and Trans-Canada Highway (#14 - production by David Mackay) were substantial hits. Pitney continued to place records in the Australian charts through 1976 including his hit song "Down This Road", written and produced by distant relation Edward Pitney. They also collaborated in the production of the hit song "Days of Summer".

In the early 70s, Pitney decided to spend only six months each year on the road.

[edit] Later career

Pitney's last hit the UK charts in 1989, after an absence of 15 years, was a duet with Marc Almond. It was a version of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by British writers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. It had been a number five for Pitney in 1967. This brought him his first UK number 1 in late January 1989, staying four weeks. It went to No. 1 elsewhere in Europe. The two appeared on the Terry Wogan television show in Britain, Almond dressed in leather, Pitney in a white tuxedo.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds had recorded "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" on their cover album, Kicking Against the Pricks, in 1986. But it never had the success of Pitney-Almond.

On 26 February 1993, Pitney performed at Carnegie Hall in New York on the day of the first World Trade Center bombing. On 18 March 2002 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[edit] Death

Pitney died on April 5, 2006, aged 66. His tour manager found him dead in the Hilton Hotel, in Cardiff, Wales, in the middle of a UK tour.^[3] His final show at Cardiff's St. David's Hall was a success, with a standing ovation, ending the show with "Town Without Pity". An autopsy confirmed heart disease, caused by atherosclerosis. He was survived by his wife, Lynne, and three sons, Todd, Chris and David.^[4]

[edit] Posthumous tributes

In tribute, Marc Almond recorded "Backstage (I'm Lonely)" for his 2007 covers album Stardom Road.

On 20 September 2007, a plaque to Pitney was unveiled at the town hall in his hometown of Rockville, Connecticut. Members of the family attended. The event was emceed by nationally known Oldies Radio DJ and friend of Pitney's, "Wild" Wayne. The Gene Pitney Commemorative Committee established a music scholarship in Pitney's name. It is awarded annually to Rockville High School. In October 2008, an international fan convention was held in Rockville. In 2009 Gene Pitney was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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