Gene Pitney (1940 - 2006)

This past Wednesday (April 5, 2006), the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee who sang one of my favorite 60s Pop songs, Town Without Pity (wonderfully covered instrumentally by Ronnie Montrose) was found dead of heart failure in a hotel room in Wales. He had performed a concert earlier that evening.



I did a post on him a year or so ago but have been unsuccessful in locating it.

Among his accomplishments are:
~Wrote He's A Rebel for The Crystals and Hello Mary Lou for Ricky Nelson
~The early "voice" of Bacharach/David compositions
~Sang the title tune for the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
~One of the early Pop multi-instrumentalists (for those that are interested in that kind of thing)

Other U.S. hits include It Hurts to Be in Love and Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa.
One of those American artists that became much more popular in England.

There's a lot more info on his website which unfortunately is currently crippled due to the increased traffic.
www.gene-pitney.com




Town Without Pity
When you're young and so in love as we
And bewildered by the world we see
Why do people hurt us so
Only those in love would know
What a town without pity can do

If we stop to gaze upon a star
People talk about how bad we are
Ours is not an easy age
We're like tigers in a cage
What a town without pity can do

The young have problems, many problems
We need an understanding heart
Why don't they help us, try to help us
Before this clay and granite planet falls apart

Take these eager lips and hold me fast
I'm afraid this kind of joy can't last
How can we keep love alive
How can anything survive
When these little minds tear you in two
What a town without pity can do

How can we keep love alive
How can anything survive
When these little minds tear you in two
What a town without pity can do

No, it isn't very pretty what a town without pity...can do




...Ronnie Montrose


http://prince.org/msg/8/184818

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Snapshots: Gene Pitney — gentleman and scholar
May 12, 2009
by Ian & Lauren Wright



At all of his concerts and cabaret performances Gene Pitney had an “open door” policy for the press.

Once Gene met a member of the press, he filed their name and number for his next visit. It was always a joy to answer the phone to hear, “Hi, this is Gene Pitney. I’d like to invite you to my show.”

Gene was always erudite. I recall a political writer from one of the national newspapers questioning him on American/U.K. policies after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Gene replied to every question without hesitation, deviation or repetition. As you can imagine, Gene always received positive editorial.

So it came as a great shock when the all-American Ivy Leaguer, on his 1964 U.K. Tour, became the envy of all British males by having a love affair with his co-star Marianne Faithfull, the skinny ex-convent girl who was an icon of the 1960s and later a legend in her own lifetime.

Lady Faithfull had quite a reputation on the buses of the national tour shows. Many fell in love with Marianne and had their hearts broken.

One hapless fellow from The Hollies had to change the title of his song to “Hey Carrie Ann, Now What’s Your Game?” even though it was about Faithfull.

But it was Gene who held her affections even though she found him aloof, pompous, self-satisfied and humorless (Now who’s calling the kettle black?) When Gene returned home to Hartford, Conn., he bombarded Marianne’s home in Reading, England with letters of love and devotion.

Unbeknown to the love birds, Marianne’s mother used to get up at the crack of dawn to intercept Gene’s missives, and she hid them in the attic. For a very short while. Marianne felt jilted but soon recovered and moved on. The ever-professional Gene sang “I’m Gonna Be Strong.” his ode to Marianne, which became a massive hit.

Gene was a magpie who collected anything and everything to do with his shows, including tickets, programs, posters, handbills, newspaper cuttings and invitations. He even kept all the fans’ letters which were delivered backstage. But he was also a giver, especially to his fans, who remained his No. 1 priority.

Never, on all the occasions I met him, did he ever refuse to sign an autograph or pose with a fan for a photo. On more than one occasion, he asked me to do the honors when a camera or flash refused to work. And how could you say no to a man who was always so generous with his time, so well-mannered and so cool?

In those early days on the road, performers all carried pockets full of postcard-size photos to sign for fans.

Gene’s tour was being extended, and he was out of pictures. He asked if I could print 50 for him.

The next day, I returned to his hotel with my mum, who was a big Pitney fan but had no idea she was about to meet him. Gene greeted us in the foyer, “Nice to see you Ian. Thank you so much for doing me this favor. Who is this lovely lady?” Mum’s expression was priceless.

She was also speechless. Gene shook her hand and said, “I’m so pleased to meet you, Mrs. Wright.” Mum gently curtsied and stammered, “Oh thank you, Mr. Pitney.” Over a pot of tea, Gene signed a photo for her, which she kept on her bedside table until she died.

Gene Pitney died April 9, 2006, in Cardiff, Wales. He was 66.

He was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.





http://www.goldminemag.co...d_scholar/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431