Gene Pitney RIP

I was lucky,...very lucky to see Gene Pitney at Summerfest in Milwaukee about 10 years ago. I have seen many, many people live...both from the past and from the present. This guy was just super live. I will never forget how much energy, effort and style he put into his performance. And where many sound poor live compared to their recordings....Pitney was better live than on disc.

All great songs, thank you one and all. I just listened to I'm Gonna Be Strong--wow, what a dramatic, powerful voice and song.

Zaikesman, thanks also for the Pitney trivia, which I did not know.

Pawlowski6132, you really should listen to some of his songs mentioned here. From the comments you see on this thread you can tell he was a special talent.

Indeed a great singer. Liked all of his songs. For John Dean--"Ride Away" was sung by Roy Orbison and is one of my favorites by him.

I have a few of his old albums, even though his kind of pop isn't always totally up my alley. But I recognize his prodigious talents, playing multiple instruments, overdubbing his wide-ranging vocals into choruses, writing a bunch of great songs, producing records, and even recording with the early Rolling Stones. (Gene's British publicist was Andrew Loog Oldham, the Stones' manager, and Gene -- who was even a bigger star in the UK than he was in America -- played piano with them in the studio on a few tracks, plus the maracas on their cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away". The group refered to him as Uncle Gene, and Jagger and Richards gave him their composition "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday", which in Gene's recording became the pair's first US chart success as writers, even though it's far from being a great song.)

My nomination goes to one of Gene's compositions recorded by others, "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals (1962, actually Darlene Love recorded by Phil Spector under The Crystals' name, and Pitney's only US number one chart hit as a writer or performer, ironically holding his own recording of the Bacharach/David composition "Only Love Can Break A Heart" to the number two position).

the greg kihn band used to do a show stopping version of Liberty Valance in concert. most in the audience probably had no idea where the song came from. Pitney was an original

second for Town Without Pity...I once had the 45!

"Only love can break a heart" "Mecca" "Teardrop by Teardrop" Come on enjoy oueselves!, Let's all have a good cry!

Never heard of him.

Only love can break a heart, need I say more?

I believe he wrote 'Hello Mary Lou' for Ricky Nelson.

Another vote for It Hurts to be In Love.

True Love Never Runs Smooth, my fav, also I'm Gonna Be Strong, Last Chance To Turn Around, Looking Through the Eyes OF Love, Backstage[I'm Lonely] and Only Love Can Break a Heart....A style all his own....some of these songs just don't "sound" right sung by someone else...IMO...there are still other singles and songs he wrote for others...quite the talent...

And Only Love Can Break Your Heart Only Love Can Mend It.
John Dean

2nd Man who shot Liberty Valance, add Town Without Pity, It Hurts to be In love, 24 Hours from Tulsa, She's a Heartbreaker and On and On and On it goes. A true talent and inspirational artist indeed. Thank God we have records of his existance.

Town Without Pity and It Hurts To Be In Love. Brings back memories of Top 40 Hits on CKLW out of Windsor Ontario, one great station back in the day.

If I didn't Have A Dime..one of my top 10 by any artist

The Man who Shot Liberty Valance and If I Didn't Have a Dime would be my favorites. A great singer with a great voice. Did he also do Ride Away?
John Dean