Gene Pitney

[stoutfellow]

I've talked about the singer Gene Pitney from time to time, positively and negatively. Today, flipping to the back of this week's Economist, I was surprised to learn that he died on the 5th, at age 65.

The Economist's obituary was surprisingly complimentary; apparently he was more popular in the UK than in the US, being best known for "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa". (The article said that his top US hit was "Only Love Can Break a Heart"; I would have guessed it was "Town Without Pity".)

It's disconcerting to realize that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who were friends of his despite the, ahem, sharp difference in their lifestyles, are still around and he's gone. I don't rate him as a great singer, but he wasn't bad, and he was a top-notch songwriter as well ("Rubber Ball" and "He's a Rebel" came from his pen). Kind of sad.

I still haven't gotten my hands on that one album of his - the one that Amazon kept screwing up my order for. Frustrating, that.

Comments

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Geez. I *love* the song "Rubber Ball." One more star in the night sky, I guess.

[filkferengi]

half.com has his greatest hits cd as low as 4.12.

http://search.half.ebay.com/gene-pitney_W0QQmZmusic

Just sayin.' Great taste in music should party with great prices on music.