Gene Pitney; "The Rockville Rocket"

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 and 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 those little minds tear you in two
What a town without pity can do

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 those 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
Whoa, can do

A great site from his friends, Brian and Sue Dench, on the "other side of the pond"

"I don't think there is anyone who comes even close," said Jones, who has hosted an oldies music show on WWUH-FM91.3 for 30 years and devoted a two-hour program Sunday to the late singer.

"We tried to show some of the diversity, how he did everything from doo-wop to country hits. He could do it all."

Jones was among hundreds of mourners from around the country and even overseas who came to the Somers Funeral Home on Tuesday night to pay their respects to the family of the man known as the "Rockville Rocket."

A funeral Mass for Pitney, who died last week during a month-long British concert tour, was to be celebrated today at All Saints Roman Catholic Church, with burial to follow in Somers Center Cemetery on Battle Street.

Pitney, 66, a Vernon native and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was found dead in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales, on April 5, only hours after performing a concert in the Welsh capital's St. David's Hall. British authorities attributed his death to natural causes.

On Tuesday, friends, fans, and colleagues remembered Pitney fondly for the way his music, and his approach to his music, touched their lives.

The originator of songs like "Town Without Pity," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," and "Only Love Can Break a Heart," Pitney rose from his humble beginnings as a singer in a local band to international stardom.

Among those paying respects Tuesday was Gary Rue, a Minneapolis resident who played in Pitney's U.S. and Canadian bands since the mid 1980s.

Since 1988, Rue had served as Pitney's U.S. and Canadian music director, playing piano and cueing Pitney during his performances.

Rue, 54, said Pitney, despite his successes, was always down to earth and easy to talk to.

That combination helped the musicians in his band thrive, Rue said.

"It was like talking to your brother," Rue said. "It made you do your job well and we functioned within those parameters and we did it beautifully."

Many of those who gathered Tuesday were still dealing with the shock of Pitney's sudden death.

Once word of the singer's death became public, so many people logged on to Pitney's Web site for information that it crashed, said Dave McGrath, who was in charge of Pitney's tour merchandise and his international fan club.
Pitney - McGrath's best friend - served as best man at McGrath's wedding in 1998.

He recalled the times when crowds of 150 to 200 fans would attend fan club events in Great Britain, where Pitney had a huge following, to spend time with their favorite singer.
McGrath said Pitney would spend personal time with each one of the fans who came.

And McGrath also reflected on some of the projects that Pitney was working on that would not come to fruition.
Among them was a long-planned Christmas album.

"Gene never looked back," said McGrath, who came to Somers Tuesday from his home in Wisconsin. "The guy never talked about how great it was in the '60s. He always looked forward."

Pitney's friends and associates were not the only ones who made long trips for Tuesday's wake.

Linda Mallory, a longtime fan, flew to Connecticut from Chicago to attend the Pitney services.

Mallory said she had gone to 35 of Pitney's concerts during the past five years, the most recent coming in September.
Although he didn't travel as far as some others, Bob Dellarocco of Enfield said he became a big fan of Pitney's while he was a boy during the early 1960s.

Dellarocco, 50, was present at one of Pitney's last Connecticut performances, when he played a benefit concert at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Connecticut Community Care Inc.

"He was a real legend in the business," said Dellarocco, who called news of Pitney's death shocking. "He was truly a great man."

Although Tuesday's viewing was not scheduled to begin until 4 p.m., crowds began to gather at the Somers Funeral Home by 3 p.m.

Several times during the evening, the line outside the funeral home stretched around the corner of the one-story, brick building.

Two state police officers were on hand to ensure an orderly flow of vehicular traffic on Route 190.

Pitney's former musical colleagues were well represented, who talked of performing with the Rockville native before he became famous.

Louis Clayton of Hartford, a member of the 5 Bell Aires, a group who sang backup with Pitney during the late 1950s and early 1960s, talked about Pitney's precise musical ability.
Clayton recalled a time when the group was rehearsing and Pitney told them they sounded a bit flat.

Not believing the future star at first, the Bell Aires watched as Pitney went over to the piano to demonstrate what he was hearing.

"He was right, we were flat," Clayton said with a smile.
Now an employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Hartford, Clayton said his colleagues didn't believe him when he told them he played with Pitney.

But that changed once a biography about Pitney was published in 2004 and he was able to show his coworkers pictures of him and Pitney.

"He was a damn good singer," Clayton said. "He knew his music."

Clayton and other members of the 5 Bell Aires reunited with Pitney at a concert at the Mohegan Sun in March 2003.

Also at the reunion were members of Pitney's first band, The Genials, who were formed during the late 1950s while Pitney and the Genials were still students at Rockville High School.

Bob Terry, who played guitar with The Genials, said he is still in shock over the sudden death of his childhood friend and musical collaborator.

"He was always a presence in my life, but I didn't realize, until now, just how big that presence was," said Terry, who now lives in Coventry. "He was so powerful. He was so robust. He was in such good shape."

And although he had achieved international fame, friends and colleagues said Pitney always loved returning to Connecticut, where he could spend private time with his wife, Lynne, and his three sons, Todd, Chris, and David.

McGrath said Pitney was a devoted husband and father, who put his family before work.

Sometimes, he would even bring Lynne and his family on tour with him.

Calling Lynne Pitney an "awesome woman," McGrath said the singer's family has a good support network surrounding them as they deal with the loss of their husband and father.

Although he didn't talk specifically about Somers or Connecticut very often to him, Rue said he could understand why Pitney remained here.

"He was the kind of guy who would be comfortable in a place liked this," Rue said. "Gene is a small-town guy."

And while he demanded a lot of those who performed with him, Rue said, Pitney always delivered to his audiences.
"Gene never did a bad show," Rue said, with a smile. "I'm going to miss him like crazy, the whole experience."

Gene Pitney, 66, of Somers and formerly of Rockville died on Wednesday, April 5, 2006, in Welsh Capital, Cardiff, UK. Gene was born on February 17, 1940, in Hartford, CT the son of the late Harold F. and Anna A. (Orlowski) Pitney. He was passionate about his work, but most of all he loved being home with his family. He will be dearly missed, but will live on through his music. He is survived by his loving wife Lynne (Gayton) Pitney, his three sons, Todd, Chris and his wife Shannon, and David; his Akita, Gracie; two brothers Francis Pitney and Dennis Pitney; two sisters Shirley Stutz and Nancy Pike; several nieces and nephews. He also leaves his many close friends, associates and dedicated fans from around the world. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 11 am at All Saints Church, 25 School St., Somersville, CT. Please meet at the church. Gene will be laid to rest in Somers Center Cemetery. His family will receive relatives and friends during visiting hours from 4-9 pm on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at the Somers Funeral Home, 354 Main St. (Rt. 190), Somers. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Gene’s memory may be made to either the Connecticut Public Broadcasting, 1049 Asylum Ave., Hartford, CT 06105 or to the Humane Society of the United States through their website: www.hsus.org. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Small & Pietras Funeral Home 65 Elm St., Rockville, CT 06066. For online expressions of sympathy to the family please visit www.smallandpietrasfuneralhome.com

The following pictures show his hometown of Rockville. Just as he had "snow on his roof" as he got older. Rockville received an unusual snow fall over night into the morning.

The Memorial Tower on Henry Park is similar to a rocket.
It had snow on it's roof this sad day, perhaps in his honor?

Pitney was in the middle of a 23-date touring schedule, playing a show in the United Kingdom almost every night for a month.

He was found dead in his bed this morning after having played a show in Cardiff the night before, his tour manager told the Associated Press.

"Last night was generally one of the happiest and most exuberant performances we've seen out of him," the manager, James Kelly, said. "He was absolutely on top of his game and was really happy with the show."

No cause of death was immediately available, but a Cardiff police spokesman said Pitney's death was not suspicious.

Pitney married his Rockville High School sweetheart, Lynne, in 1967, and they raised three sons in Somers.

Kathleen Devlin, a Somers selectwoman and friend of the family, remembered the singer fondly today, saying her own son had been treated like a member of the Pitney family.

"He was very kind, very generous," she said.

"He was a private man," Devlin added. "He loved his family and his children and wanted what was best for them."

Pitney, who often recorded in a studio in his Somers home, told the Journal Inquirer last year that it was always a relief to come home after a long tour.

"The best move I ever made was to stay here," he said. "It really is a beautiful place to live."

Born in Hartford on Feb. 17, 1940, Pitney grew up on Hammond Street in the Rockville section of Vernon. At an early age, he began playing in bands with friends from school, eventually leading the band Gene and the Genials.

Richard "Dick" Spurling and Robert "Bob" Terry, who both played in the five-member Genials, said they were shocked when they received word today that Pitney had died.

It was Pitney and Spurling, a drummer, who joined together to plant the seeds of what would become the Genials.

Spurling, a childhood friend, said he could tell from an early age that Pitney had a special talent for music.

Spurling, who now lives in Ellington, recalled a grade-school Christmas celebration, in which Pitney performed a striking version of "Silent Night."

Even as they played with him in the band, Spurling said, the Genials were always mindful of Pitney's talents and wanted to help him succeed.

"He was a brilliant guy, and he could have done anything he wanted to in his life," Spurling said. "It was a fun time."

Terry said that while Pitney's work had a lasting impact on music around the world, that success never made the Vernon native lose touch with the people from his past.

Terry, who played guitar in the Genials, said he had the opportunity to reunite with Pitney and Spurling during one of his performances at the Mohegan Sun in Montville a couple years ago.

Both Terry and Spurling said they enjoyed the experience of seeing Pitney and talking about their past experiences, which included lugging band members and equipment around in a small 1930s coupe.

Terry said he was always struck by the way Pitney demanded excellence from himself while he was on stage.

"He was so demanding of perfection in what he did," said Terry, a Coventry resident and a retired teacher at Cheney Technical High School in Manchester. "He never let up on getting it right and the people who worked with him, knew this."

Still, Terry said, Pitney always had an approachable and friendly demeanor.

"He was a very serious guy, but a nice guy," Terry said.

As a young man, Pitney was nicknamed "The Rockville Rocket" by a local radio disc jockey, a moniker that stayed with him throughout his career.

He first became prominent not as a performer, but as a songwriter. When he was barely out of his teens, he wrote "Hello Mary Lou" for Rick Nelson and "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee.

He became famous in his own right, though, for a string of remarkable, well-crafted songs that showed off his range and ability as a singer.

The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote a number of compositions for Pitney, including "Only Love Can Break a Heart," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," and "24 Hours From Tulsa."

Although Pitney never had a No. 1 hit in the U.S., "Only Love Can Break a Heart" reached No. 2 in 1962. Ironically, Pitney kept himself off the top of the charts, since the Crystals' rendition of "He's a Rebel," which Pitney had written, was No. 1 at the time.

Pitney shared a publicist with the Rolling Stones, and in 1964 sat in on a recording session that produced their hit "Not Fade Away."

Pitney, in fact, recorded the first composition by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to reach the American charts, with "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday."

As the 1960s wore on and British Invasion groups displaced American singers from the charts in the U.S., Pitney found fame in Britain and continental Europe that lasted throughout his life.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pitney avoided the oldies revival circuit, thanks to his European success.

He even had a No. 1 hit in Great Britain in 1989 with "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," a duet with former Soft Cell singer Marc Almond.

In 2002, Darlene Love, who sang on "He's a Rebel," inducted Pitney into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Last June, Pitney performed at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford in a benefit concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Connecticut Community Care Inc.

In an interview conducted days before that show, Pitney told the Journal Inquirer that he was looking forward to returning to the Bushnell, where he had last performed in the early 1960s.

He also talked about his upcoming tour, which included stops at the Mohegan Sun and in Palm Beach, Las Vegas, and Pennsylvania before he was scheduled to begin the European leg of the tour last month.

During that interview, Pitney talked about his personal stamina, noting that he was doing some of the longest shows of his career.

Pitney credited his spending three days a week with a personal trainer for allowing him to perform longer than an hour in recent years, whereas 45-minute performances used to take all of his energy.

"I'm doing the best shows now that I've ever done in my career," Pitney said.

Obituary: Gene Pitney

Pitney's career spanned five decades

Gene Pitney went from being a successful songwriter for other acts to become a major international pop star in his own right.

He enjoyed more than 20 hits, including songs like 24 Hours from Tulsa and Something's Gotten Hold of my Heart.

With an unmistakeable singing voice, at once plaintive and melodramatic, Gene Pitney had hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

A friend of The Rolling Stones, Phil Spector and Burt Bacharach, Pitney was also a noted songwriter.

He was born on 17 February 1941 in Hartford Connecticut and soon gained a reputation as a musician while studying at the nearby Rockville High School, where he earned the nickname the Rockville Rocket.

But his early flirtation as a performer initially failed to lead to anything bigger. Undaunted, Pitney moved to New York, where he worked as a songwriter at the fabled Brill Building alongside titans like Carole King, Gerry Goffin and Doc Pomus.

Success

Success was not slow to come, and he was soon penning hits like Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee and Ricky Nelson's Hello Mary Lou.

By 1961, when The Crystals' He's a Rebel gave Pitney his first US No 1 hit as a writer, he was a star in his own right.

But Pitney's career was anything if predictable. After his own successful 1961 single, (I Wanna) Love My Life Away, he was approached by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

They co-wrote three of his best known hits, Only Love Can Break a Heart, (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance and the classic 24 Hours from Tulsa.

Duetting with Marc Almond in 1989

Together with songs like Town Without Pity and Half Heaven-Half Heartache, they constituted a formidable range of work.

Pitney also enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with country music legend George Jones, with whom he recorded an album of duets.

And, in 1964, he met The Rolling Stones, whose then manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, was his publicist - and recorded the Jagger-Richards composition That Girl Belongs to Yesterday

Always more popular in the UK than America, Pitney also made his mark in Italy, Spain and Germany.

More recently, he could be found duetting with Marc Almond on an 1989 version of Something's Gotten Hold of my Heart which gave him his only UK No 1 hit.

Pitney later reflected: "Musically I got along perfect with Marc. The video in the middle of the desert, with me in the white tux and him in the leather, that was great."

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4879230.stm

Gene Pitney found dead in hotel

Gene Pitney wrote songs for some of the world's biggest stars

American superstar Gene Pitney has been found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel.

Pitney - who found fame with Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa - was pronounced dead at the Hilton hotel at 1000 BST.

He was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness. The cause of death is not yet known but is not suspicious.

His biggest success was in the 1960s and he enjoyed a 1989 revival with his chart-topping duet, Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart, with Marc Almond.

Almond said he was "saddened and shocked" at the news. "Together we had one of the biggest hits of 1989 with Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart and it was an honour to have worked with him," he said.

"He was a great, unique singer of great, unique songs. Today is a sad day."

Mark Howes of his management company In Touch Music said the singer was found in his bed.

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I've seen him quite a few times on this tour and he was fit and well. He said it was the best tour he had done for quite a few years

Mark Howes, In Touch Music

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Mr Howes told BBC Wales that everyone had been shocked by the death and there had been no signs that he was ill.

"He did a good show last night at St David's Hall and it was wonderful," he said.

"I've seen him quite a few times on this tour and he was fit and well. He said it was the best tour he had done for quite a few years."

Pitney has continually toured over the last 40 years.

He received a glowing review for the South Wales Echo - "non-stop enthusiastic performance" during what proved to be his final concert in Cardiff.

Gene Pitney was staying in an executive suite at the Hilton

He had nine dates left on his 23-date UK tour and was due to appear at Bristol's Colston Hall on Wednesday.

Pitney's songs have been recorded by some of the world's biggest stars - Hello Mary Lou was released by Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison recorded Today's Teardrops as the B-side to his million-selling single, Blue Angel.

He is also credited with helping the Rolling Stones break the American market with his endorsement of the band.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote his hit That Girl Belongs to Yesterday which became the Stones duo's first composition to reach the American charts.

Pitney returned to the charts with Marc Almond in 1989

The son of a mill worker, Pitney said childhood ambitions of becoming a performer could not have been further from his mind.

He once recalled how his first solo performance at school degenerated into an embarrassing whimper as Pitney was petrified by the expectant audience.

Overcoming his nerves over the next few years, Pitney learned to play the guitar and piano and formed a schoolboy band.

It was during one of their gigs that his distinctive voice was discovered by the "the proverbial fat man with a cigar" who took him off to New York.

He is survived by his wife Lynne and three sons who live in his native Connecticut.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4878926.stm

LONDON -- Connecticut music legend, Gene Pitney, a singer and songwriter whose hits included "24 Hours from Tulsa" and "Town Without Pity," died Wednesday at a hotel in Wales while on tour in Great Britain.

"We don't have a cause of death at the moment but looks like it was a very peaceful passing," said Pitney's tour manager, James Kelly.

"He was found fully clothed, on his back, as if he had gone for a lie down. It looks as if there was no pain whatsoever," Kelly said.

"Last night was generally one of the happiest and most exuberant performances we've seen out of him," Kelly said. "He was absolutely on top of his game and was really happy with the show."

Pitney jumped onto the national music charts with hits such as "Town Without Pity" and "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance." He also wrote songs that became classics for other singers, including "Hello, Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson and "He's a Rebel" for the Crystals.

The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David noticed him and wrote several hits for him, including "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" and "24 Hours From Tulsa."

Altogether, Pitney had 16 Top 40 hits from 1961 to 1968. A Hartford disc jockey gave him a homespun nickname that would stick with him through the years: The Rockville Rocket.

Throughout his career, Pitney kept his home in Connecticut. he was born in Hartford, Conn., grew up in the Rockville section of Vernon and moved to nearby Somers, where he lived since 1970. He married his high school sweetheart, Lynne, in 1967, and they raised three boys together.

Pitney never had a No. 1 hit in the United States. The most successful record he had at home was "Only Love Can Break a Heart," which reached No. 2 on the charts in 1962. Ironically, the record that stopped him from hitting No. 1 was "He's a Rebel," a song he wrote that went to the top of the charts for the Crystals.

Born Feb. 17 1941 Gene Francis Alan Pitney in Hartford, Connecticut . Gene spent most of his youth in Rockville, Connecticut. Gene formed a band while a student at Rockville High School called Gene and the Genials. On leaving high school Gene headed for New York City and the Brill Building. In 1959 Gene Pitney joined with a young singer Ginny Arnell and recorded some songs for Decca as Jamie & June. After a stop at Blaze and some solo recordings under the assumed name, Billy Bryan, Gene recorded under his own name for Festival in 1960.

Gene's first hit came with his first recording under his own name, "I Wanna Love My Life Away",a song which he wrote himself. Gene was also a budding songwriter and tried to push his songs to anyone who would listen. Brill Building veterans Burt Bacharach and Hal David liked what they saw and formed an alliance with the ambitious young singer/songwriter.

Under the guidance of Phil Spector, Gene recorded a song for Musicor in 1961 that was to be his breakthrough hit."Town Without Pity" a song from the film of the same title, was a smash hit record in 1962 and the record-buying public began to take notice. Bacharach and David were churning out songs in the early 60's that Gene turned into hits: Liberty Valance,Only Love Can Break A Heart -- his biggest hit ever, and Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa. Valance was inspired by the John Wayne/Jimmy Stewart movie of the same name, but the song was never actually sung in the movie itself.

Gene wrote [or co-wrote]songs for others like the Crystals with He's A Rebel or Ricky Nelson with Hello Mary Lou or Bobby Vee with Rubber Ball amongst others. during 60's Gene continued to make records: Mecca It Hurts To Be In Love, I'm Gonna Be Strong.

As big a star as he had become in the United States, Gene Pitney was an even bigger star in the United Kingdom. His publicist, Andrew Loog Oldham, acted in the same role for the Rolling Stones and Gene did some things with them. A song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, That Girl Belongs To Yesterday was recorded by Gene and went to number seven on the UK charts. He played maracas on the Stones' recording of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away and piano in the background of other songs by the Stones.

Gene Pitney had 16 top forty songs in the USA from 1961 to 1968, and he had forty such songs in the UK all the way up to 1974. Gene is married with three sons, Gene is to start recording duets with one of his son's shortly. Gene has also recorded songs in Spanish,German and Italian.




	Hundreds of Gene Pitney’s family, friends, and fans pay their respects to the Hall of Famer on Tuesday at Somers Funeral Home in Somers. (David Butler II for the Journal Inquirer)

Apr 5 2006

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