Classic Pop Icons

Gene Pitney would have been 70 years old today. He died on April 5, 2006 at the age of 66 in a hotel in Cardiff, Wales, midway through a UK tour.

Gene Francis Alan Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut on February 17, 1940, but spent most of his youth in Rockville, Connecticut. He had musical ambitions from a young age and formed a band while a student at Rockville High School. His first singles were released as part of a duo called Jamie and Jane, with singer Ginny Arnell, and included the song “Classical Rock and Roll.” The singles were not hits and the duo was soon abandoned.

Gene Pitney’s first real success came as a songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote several very big hits, including “Rubber Ball”, which was a number one for Bobby Vee, “He’s a Rebel”, which was the Crystal’s biggest hit, and “Hello Mary Lou,” which was one of Ricky Nelson’s most memorable hits. It was in this period that Pitney also forged important alliances with producer Phil Spector and fellow songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

As a point of interest, it’s strongly rumoured that The Blossoms (Darlene Love, Famita Jones, and Gracia Nitzschke) are the real singers on “He’s a Rebel,” as The Crystals were out of town and Phil Spector was impatient about getting the recording done.

After briefly recording under the pseudonym Billy Bryan, Pitney reverted to his own name and recorded “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away” in 1961, which featured ambitious multi-tracked vocals and overdubbed instruments. Pitney achieved his first top 40 hit with this single. The experimentation was taken to the next level on “Every Breath I Take,” which was produced by Phil Spector and is an early example of the “Wall of Sound.” The song was written by the amazing songwriting duo, Gary Goffin and Carole King. Despite the greatness of the recording, the single failed to make the top 40.

Gene Pitney – “Every Breath I Take”

Pitney’s first really big hit was “Town Without Pity” in 1962, which reached number 13 on the Hot 100. This was followed by a series of hits penned by Bacharach and David, including “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “Only Love Can Break A Heart” and “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa.”

Gene Pitney – “Town Without Pity”

In 1963, while on a UK tour, Pitney met and befriended The Rolling Stones, who had not yet broken in the US. Pitney sat in on a recording session for the band’s first album, 12 x 5, and is rumoured to have played piano on some tracks. He recorded the Jagger/Richards song “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday” and this became the first song composed by The Rolling Stones to chart in the US and the first to hit the top 10 in the UK.

Gene Pitney with The Rollings Stones and Phil Spector

In 1965, Gene Pitney recorded an album of duets with country star George Jones. The double act also scored several moderate hit singles on the country chart.

Like Del Shannon, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, Gene Pitney was more popular in the United Kingdom than in America. He had 16 top 40 songs in the USA from 1961 to 1968, but managed more than 40 top 40 hits in the UK up to 1989. The last, in 1989, was a duet with Marc Almond on his old hit “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart.” This was the first number one hit of Pitney’s career. The song had already been a top five hit for Pitney in the UK in 1967.

Gene Pitney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Gene Pitney’s death came as a surprise in 2006 as he had shown no signs of ill health and was receiving great reviews on his tour. He spoke to the BBC about this tour, just days before his death:

Some living outside the UK might not be able to view the above interview. Apologies if that’s the case.

Let’s conclude with one of Gene Pitney’s most memorable hits.

Gene Pitney – “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”

Great purchases