Let's discuss Gene Pitney!

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

With Marc Almond; a #1 hit for 4 weeks in 1989 in the UK:

Had a roomie in the service who played nothing BUT Gene Pitney records. It was maddening. Then he shipped out. Then he died.

Great, great song from Pitney. Starts off nice and low and builds to a stunning climax. Very Roy Orbisonish in feeling, but Roy was really the master of this type of song.

Pitney was reed slim and gorgeous. Died way too young.

I'm a big fan -- he was sort of the male equivalent of the Shangri-La's... hyper-dramatic songs, often about tortured love.

My favorite is "Half Heaven, Half Heartache."

He also did this minor Bacharach/David gem that was also covered by Dusty Springfield:

I love " Town Without Pity" and " Secret Agent Man".

Secret Agent Man was Johnny Rivers.

Johnny Rivers did "Secret Agent Man."

Love him! Half Heaven, Half Heartache is perfect.

I'm also fond of Donna Means Heartbreak.

Little Betty Falling Star

Only love can break a heart

Imagine that. A line from a song a million years ago .. a few typed letters and you can listen to it. Amazing

Talented guy, and he had a handful of great singles - Only Love Can Break a Heart, Mecca, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, It Hurts to Be in Love...

I'm Gonna Be Strong:

Love Gene Pitney.

I find him rather shrill and a ham. Dusty owned Tulsa.

I do like "She's a Hearbtreaker", which is quite an uncharacteristic song and performance from him.

It's amazing how great his voice still sounded towards the end of his life.

They're talking about him right now on SiriusXM's 60s on 6's Cousin Brucie show.

Followes by Dusty! OK, which one of you bitches works at SiriusXM??

I love Gene Pitney. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" was my favorite.

A medley of his hits from An Evening with Gene Pitney.

One of the greatest male voices ever. Proud to say he is from my home state of Connecticut.

I've always loved "Last Exit to Brooklyn, Last Chance to Turn Around." Also no one could hold a note like Gene Pitney as in "I'm Gonna Be Strong."

This is a website without pity. Be careful what you say, and what you wish for.

I loved watching that video, R20!

Until I read his Wikipedia entry, I had no idea how many hit songs he wrote (mostly for others.)

He wrote the song "He's a Rebel" for the Crystals

OMG, how true, r21! I used to play that song over and over just to try to hold that note with him!

He wrote "He's A Rebel" which went to number one for the Crystals, oddly enough his song "Only Love Can Break A Heart," which he sang but did not write, was in the number two spot, kept out of number one by the song he wrote but did not sing.

He also wrote "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Springfield.

I LOVE "Mecca!"

"Each morning I face the window/And pray that our love can be..!"

He looks just like Winona Ryder in OP's pic.

[quote]He also wrote "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Springfield.

Oh, DEAR!

I love Jane Olivor's cover of "Half Heaven, Half Heartache."

r31

I was upset because I was in love and the feeling wasn't returned.

Was this his lover?

[quote]I find him rather shrill and a ham.

That dramatic teen-angst plaintive cry in his voice was in fashion in the early 1960s. Connie Francis, Roy Orbison, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vinton did it too.

Pitney was very much part of that era. His hit making career didn't last very long

..........................

Pitney was the first to sing Burt Bacharach. His unusual voice was perfect for that material.

I LOVE "True Love Never Runs Smooth".

[quote]Pitney was very much part of that era. His hit making career didn't last very long

We took care of that!

I watched him on American Bandstand.

R36 In fact.

But while he was finished in the US he had huge career in Italy.

His voice and singing style was right for Italian pop...and his pronunciation was perfect.

One thing I've noticed about "busy" music from that period (as opposed to more striiped down productions) is that mono mixes tend to sound better. The vocals were meant to be "in" the mix, battling the instrumentation, with appropriate reverb, rather than dry, out front and naked while the the instrumentation is largely reduced to being present in one of the two channels. Peak era Pitney, and Dusty Springfield (pre Atlantic) were meant to be heard that way.

I love my Beatles and Beach Boys in mono, r39. To say nothing of tout le Phil Spector. And even Dylan has a mono box set now.

I don't even have the stereo settings turned on if I have the mono (CDs ripped to iTunes).

He had the best voice of male singers in the '60s. He didn't have the looks of some of the greasers, so it was his voice that set him apart. Never really an idol like Bobby Vee, who couldn't really sing.

I was surprised to read that he had a fling with Marianne Faithfull. She said he was a shit.

1969 Psychedelic Gene Pitney... still dressed and coiffed like it's 1964.

It's strange: there's no evidence of him ever appearing on any of the TV variety shows during the 60s.

He would not want a bunch of homosexual to even think about him, much less discuss him. Please refrain from doing so.

It’s shitty to live in a city without pity

Kiss my titties

singing in a Swinging London discotheque, 1968.