Gene Pitney
With his urgent, keening voice and pathos-ridden songs, Gene Pitney had some huge hits in the early 1960s ("Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break a Heart"), all just a little off-kilter and sinister, and was by far the most substantive of the era's teen idols. He was equally successful as a songwriter for other artists, though. Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" and the Crystals' "He's a Rebel" bore Pitney's name, as did songs recorded by everyone from Roy Orbison to Nick Cave. Along the way, the eclectic, unpredictable Pitney recorded albums of country music and Italian songs, and even played on an early Rolling Stones session. He died in 2006.
Listen to Gene Pitney
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Albums
- (1999) 25 All-Time Greatest Hits
Top Tracks
- Only Love Can Break a Heart
- Town Without Pity
- (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance
- Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa
- It Hurts to Be In Love
Related Artists
- Del Shannon
- The Righteous Brothers
- Roy Orbison
- Nancy Sinatra
- Take That
- Bette Midler
- Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach
- Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond
- Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer
- Whitney Houston Duet with Stevie Wonder
- The Everly Brothers
- Whitney Houston & Cissy Houston
- Bobby Darin
- Brenda Lee
- Petula Clark
- Bobby Vee
- Andy Williams
- Rick Nelson
- Lesley Gore
- The Paris Sisters
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