When he was a kid, Gene Pitney gave little if any thought

to a career in music, though he sang in choir and in his high school glee club; but by the late 1950s, he was setting some of his musical ideas down on paper. He once told Steve Morse of the Boston Globe, "I used to go to Walkers Reservoir to write. It's about five miles from Rockville, Connecticut, where I grew up. I had a Ford Coupe with a rumble seat. It was candy-apple red with a white Orion top. I'd sit in it across from the pond and write. Those were great days." Sounds it.

Pitney went on to study electronic engineering at the University of Connecticut. At the same time, he was working as a singer. His first band was Gene Pitney and the Genials.¹ According to his official online profile, "When his songwriting began interfering with his electronics theory classes, he soon realized that music was taking over his life." By 1959, Pitney and Ginny Arnell were singing as a duo, calling themselves Jamie and Jane. They released a record, "Classical Rock and Roll." "I knew, however," said Pitney, "that I didn't want a professional career in music with only a first name or as half of a duet, so I moved on to record 'Cradle of My Arms' the following year under the name 'Billy Bryan.' In fact, the record company wanted to call me 'Homer Muzzy.'"

Hartford, Connecticut, had a rising rock community, led by vocal ensembles such as the Embers and the 5 Bell Aires. Several of Pitney's early recordings, backed by the Embers, were released on Doo Wop Delights: The Hartford Groups (CD, Relic, 1992). He thought the influence of Clyde McPhatter, one of his heroes, could be heard on them. Pitney said, "The black groups of the 50's changed my life."

Singing, as it turns out, was not the talent that brought Pitney his first successes. It was his songwriting. His compositions were covered by Roy Orbison and other well-known artists.²

In 1960, Pitney circulated a demo recording of "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away." Early in 1961, it was released on Musicor,³ the new Aaron Schroeder⁴ record label distributed by United Artists. Schroeder "made it his mission to make Pitney a star," according to the booklet that accompanies the excellent Gene Pitney compilation, Anthology: 1961-1968. Though "I Wanna Love My Life Away" was a fine recording, it was not a big hit; but before we start feeling sorry for Pitney, we should check in first with Rick Nelson who, in the spring of 1961, was having success with the single, "Travelin' Man." While that song went to number one on the Billboard chart, the flip side became one of Rick Nelson's most beloved recordings. "Hello Mary Lou" (45, Imperial, 1961), written by Gene Pitney, was an early-'60s rock classic.⁵

No doubt royalty checks from the Rick Nelson single were quite welcome, but Pitney must have had high hopes for a big record under his own name. His second Musicor release, though, didn't even chart. Then along came Phil Spector with "Every Breath I Take" by the hit-making songwriter team, Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Spector was in the midst of developing his trademark Wall of Sound; and some serious money, for the times, went into this recording. Yet sales of "Every Breath I Take" (45, Musicor, 1961) were disappointing. For some reason, we seldom rushed to the stores to purchase Gene Pitney's happy and romantic songs. We seemed to like him best when he expressed heartbreak. "Phil and I had dinner the first night he arrived in New York," recalled Pitney. "I would hang out with him, but we only did one session together."

Next came "Town Without Pity" (45, Musicor, 1961), a lament about misunderstood teens, and suddenly Pitney had a Top 20 hit of his own; and "Town Without Pity" was nominated for an Academy Award. This success was followed by two much bigger hits, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (45, Musicor, 1962) and "Only Love Can Break a Heart" (45, Musicor, 1962). "[T]hese songs," commented Steve Morse, "established Pitney as a stylish, emotion-packed singer who was compared to Roy Orbison."

"Liberty Valance," a personal favorite, was the first of several hit songs for Pitney written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Pitney solved a puzzle when he told Boston Globe film critic Michael Blowen, "Burt Bacharach and I were in New York recording the song when Paramount decided to release the movie early. The song didn't even come out until the film was in the theaters." "Liberty Valance" reached number four on the Billboard chart.

Next, Pitney shot up to number two on the charts with the Bacharach-David composition, "Only Love Can Break a Heart" (45, Musicor, 1961). That single was his biggest domestic hit. It was followed, later in the year, by "Half Heaven Half Heartache" (45, Musicor, 1962). Around this time, Phil Spector launched a new label with the Crystals' recording of a Gene Pitney song, "He's a Rebel" (45, Philles, 1962). It spent ten weeks in the Top 20 and went to number one in October. Pitney was having a very big year.

1963 got off to a good start for Pitney with the single, "Mecca" (45, Musicor, 1963), which was followed by "True Love Never Runs Smooth" (45, Musicor, 1963). Pitney was becoming known for his songs of pain felt; but "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa"⁶ (45, Musicor, 1963) was more a matter of pain inflicted. "I hate to do this to you ... but I've found somebody new." It ended with the telling line, "And I can never, never, never go home again."

In the fall of 1963, Pitney was in England promoting "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa." While he was there, he saw the future of rock and roll ... and his name was Keith Richards.⁷ Richards played Pitney "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday," a song he wrote in collaboration with Mick Jagger. Pitney recorded the song in London; and it was released in January 1964, before Beatlemania, much less the broader British Invasion, had fully set in here. "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" had the distinction of being the first Jagger/Richards song to chart in the United States, though evidently the Rolling Stones never saw fit to release a recording of their own.

While the English were invading the USA, Pitney was invading England. In London that February, he and Phil Spector visited a Rolling Stones recording session. Pitney played piano and Spector played maracas on "Little by Little," which appeared on the Stones' American debut album. Pitney had two Top 10 hits on the English charts that year.

"It Hurts To Be in Love" (45, Musicor, 1964) pretty much said it all about the theme that made Gene Pitney a star. That single and the follow-up, "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (45, Musicor, 1964), were Top 10 hits--the latter rising as high as number two on the UK charts.

The British Invasion brought down many American artists who had been flying high before the arrival of the Beatles in America; but Pitney managed to withstand the challenge quite nicely. Yet our domestic rock scene was changing, too. In 1965--which some consider to be rock's finest year--Motown acts made us stop! in the name of love, folk-rock was getting its turn turn turn, and James Brown got a brand new bag. Pitney had three Top 10 hits on the English charts, including the early Randy Newman song, "Just One Smile;" but only "Last Chance To Turn Around" (45, Musicor, 1965) got as far as the Top 20 here at home. While his record sales remained strong in the UK, Pitney had a long dry spell in the United States.

"She's a Heartbreaker" (45, Musicor, 1968)--with lyrics such as "The way you sock it to me, girl, you're outta sight"--returned Gene Pitney to the American Top 20, but not for long. "I'd been at the top of the charts for ten years," he once said. "It was simple to tour then. You just rode on the strength of your hits. Suddenly, I had to learn to be an entertainer, not just a singer, if I didn't want to fade away."

Thanks to popular concerts that characteristically opened with "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa" and closed with "Town Without Pity," Pitney absolutely did not fade away. He remained a star around the world. His standing at home, though, is hard to measure, up to about the mid-1980s when Rhino Records released a 2-LP compilation.⁸ "What emerges on these two discs," wrote Mitchell Cohen in the notes, "is a picture of an artist always willing to turn a new corner, always looking for where the next hit was coming from, and, more often than not, looking in the right places. Gene Pitney's music combined diversity of source with directness of purpose, and these records make a solid case for his durability."⁹ The 16-track compact disc version, Anthology: 1961-1968 (CD, Rhino, 1986), isn't as extensive; but it makes for great listening, including all the Pitney basics. Call it a Rhino Rescue or not, as you choose; but the Anthology set played no small part in reminding Pitney's American fans how much he has meant to them.

Next, we pick up the story in what seems, on the face of it, to be an unlikely quarter--the reporting of Boston Globe folk-music critic (and Gene Pitney scholar?) Scott Alarik. After a concert in the summer of 1987, in which Pitney sang the line, "I can't get a break," Alarik wrote, "Oh, I don't know, Gene; things seem to be working out OK." Pitney was returning to the United States concert circuit his way. He told Steve Morse of the Boston Globe, "I've turned down oldies shows left and right, including some very well-paying state fairs. You may as well get a cardboard cutout and put that up, instead of showing up yourself." Well, the real Gene Pitney showed up at this show that Alarik commemorated at the South Shore Music Circus the first week in July 1987; and Pitney was rewarded for his efforts with seven standing ovations. Alarik observed that

The deep whispering quality of his voice on the verses is, if anything, stronger and more commanding. And, although he may need a bit more of a running start at the high notes of a chorus these days, the slight catch in the throat still opens into a full-throated, warbling vibrato that is gloriously heart-rending and very good singing. Only Linda Ronstadt comes to mind as someone who can sing with such strength and still sound so vulnerable.

With Marc Almond of the British band, Soft Cell, Pitney re-recorded one of his oldies, "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart." And as the 1980s turned into the 1990s, this duet became the number one record in Europe. "He was a total fan," said Pitney, "and even brought in albums for me to sign."¹⁰ Surprisingly, this was his first number-one single in the United Kingdom, though he had long been very popular there.

The shock waves are still spreading.  Oldies legend Gene Pitney - one of the first acts produced by Phil Spector - had sold out his Wang Center show tomorrow night. That means 4,000 fans are willing to pay $20 each [in advance] to hear Pitney belt out such early '60s hits as "Town Without Pity," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Only Love Can Break A Heart."

"It's very exciting," said Pitney. "The sellout came out of the blue, but it's all right by me." "When you're put in the niche of the '60s artist, it can come back on you. You're competing with what's out there now and competing with your past." Competing with his past didn't seem to be a big problem for him, though. Steve Morse wrote, "Pitney retains a highly theatrical voice that makes you wonder why he hasn't tried out for more Broadway work." "Pitney hit his stride on the boppy 'It Hurts to Be in Love,' the flamboyant 'Mecca' ... and a stirring set of hits penned for him by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. There was the mock-gunslinger pop of 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' and the magnificent tear-jerker 'Only Love Can Break A Heart'...."

Pitney has joined the Information Age with his own Web site. He continues to perform and he continues to surprise.

-- Alan Lewis

2. It's been forty years now and it may take another forty years before our appreciation of Bobby Vee is fully realized. (When it comes to the many Bobby acts of that day, we lean heavily toward Bobby Darin with a tip of the hat to Bobby Vinton. The only one we ever heard live was Bobby Rydell.) Be that as it may, sources generally report that Gene Pitney collaborated with Aaron Schroeder to write the late-1960 Bobby Vee hit, "Rubber Ball."

3. Boston's Teddy and the Pandas recorded for Musicor circa 1966.

4. We find Aaron Schroeder's name often among the songwriter credits on Elvis Presley's 50 Worldwide Gold Hits Volume 1 (2 CDs, RCA, 1988).

5. I once attended an Elvis Presley concert specifically to hear Rick Nelson's long-time lead guitarist, the great James Burton, who was then with Elvis' band.

Many of us would like to think it was the Beatles that brought rock and roll out of its late-'50s slump; but music-writer Charlie Gillett has used the Billboard charts to show quite clearly that rock had a very big year in 1961.