GENE PITNEYFew recording artists of the 1960s enjoyed the international success of Gene Pitney who died on 5 April, 2006, aged 66.A talented multi-instrumentalis t, Mr Pitney recorded a string of chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic as well as writing numerous successful songs for artists such as The Crystals,Roy Orbisonand Rick Nelson.With his uniquely plaintive vocal technique Mr Pitney enjoyed unbroken chart success in the 1960s and was one of the few American artists to retain their popularity during the British invasion of the US charts.After his chart success began to wane Mr Pitney continued to tour relentlessly around the world and in 1989 he enjoyed his first UK Number One with “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart” in a duet with Marc Almond.Gene Francis Alan Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 17 February, 1940, but spent most of his youth in Rockville where, at the local high school, he formed his first band called “Gene and the Genials.”By the time he’d dropped out of the University of Connecticut he was already performing in a duo called “Jamie and Jane” with Ginny Arnell and as a singer-songwriter under the name of Billy Bryan.Mr Pitney was still in his teens when he had his first success in the music industry writing the hits “Hello Mary Lou” for Rick Nelson and “Rubber Ball” for Bobby Vee in 1961.Later in 1961 he recorded his first solo single as a singer, “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away,” in a small New York studio, multi-tracking the vocals and playing several of the instruments himself.This was quickly followed by his first big hit, “Town Without Pity,” which was a Top 20 success and won the Golden Globe Award for “Best Song in a Motion Picture.”By now, Mr Pitney had come to the attention of Burt Bacharach and Hal David who co-wrote “Only Love Can Break a Heart”, “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance” and “24 Hours from Tulsa” for him. The latter would become Pitney’s signature song.In 1964, he was introduced to the Rolling Stones and his recording of the Jagger/Richards song, “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday” was their first US hit. Mr Pitney’s endorsement of the band helped pave the way for their success in America.Mr Pitney continued to achieve prolific commercial success throughout the 1960s. His last US hit was “Heartbreaker” in 1969 but he continued to have chart success in the UK until 1974.He married Lynne in 1966 and together they had three sons – David, Todd and Chris. A strict fitness regime enabled Mr Pitney to tour his energetic and immensely successful stage show for six months a year throughout the rest of his career.He was also tremendously popular in continental Europe. He recorded songs in both Spanish and Italian and twice finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival.In 1998, he received a special BMI award when his composition for The Crystals, “He’s a Rebel,” achieved one million radio airplays in the US. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.Marc Almond, who collaborated with Mr Pitney on his only UK Number One, described him as: “A great, unique singer of great, unique songs.”
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