Tune Tuesday

The great Gene Pitney was born on this day in 1940. In total, he charted 16 Top 40 hits in the US. His hits include, “Love My Life Away”, “Only Love Can Break a Heart”, “It Hurts To Be In Love”, “24 Hours from Tulsa”, “Mecca”, and my favorite, “Town Without Pity”.

“Town Without Pity” was Gene Pitney’s first hit. Its success was partly due to it being from the movie of the same name. It starred Kirk Douglas. The song won the very first Golden Globe award for best original song, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Because of the nomination, Gene Pitney became the first pop singer to perform at the Oscars in 1962.

Author Al Kooper (who was also with the group Blood, Sweat and Tears) reminisces his first encounter with Pitney in his book, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: “…this guy walks in wearing a salt and pepper jacket, heavily greased-down DA (“duck’s ass”) hairdo, and white bucks. Three dressing schools tied together; very strange. The creature was quickly ushered in, sat down at the piano, and proceeded to mesmerize us for two uninterrupted hours with his incredible songs and bizarre voice.” Kooper heartily recommended signing him when producer Aaron Schroeder asked for his opinion.

Kooper goes on to say of Pitney that he was strongly influenced by him, assimilating aspects of his style into his own work. Randy Newman’s song “Just One Smile,” included on the first Blood, Sweat & Tears album, was originally done by Pitney; Kooper cites this as an example of the longevity of Pitney’s inspiration.

In the US, Town Without Pity went to #13 on the Hot 100.

Town Without Pity would be the final song he performed at his final show at Cardiff’s St. David’s Hall in April of 2006, before his death from heart disease.

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Gene Pitney.

Sources: songfacts.com, wiki