Gene pitney

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Last updated on March 6th, 2018 at 12:30 am

The man who sang The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence has died at just 65.

(Via Bernie Slattery)

Posted by Tim B. on 04/05/2006 at 08:39 AM

I’ve been worried about him since he turned up singing that poofy song with that poofy Marc Almond.
Posted by murph on 2006 04 05 at 08:51 AM • permalink

I always thought that Town Without Pity was a better song; and that 24 Hours From Tulsa was the spark that ignited the Feminist movement….
Posted by Challeron on 2006 04 05 at 08:55 AM • permalink

He was the greatest of them all.
Posted by Zoe Brain on 2006 04 05 at 09:00 AM • permalink

…for he was the greatest of them all…
Posted by Just Another Bloody Lawyer on 2006 04 05 at 09:01 AM • permalink

Only Love Can Break A Heart
Half Heaven – Half Heartache
True Love Never Runs Smooth
Posted by stackja1945 on 2006 04 05 at 09:13 AM • permalink

Im thinking of “I’m Gonna Be Strong,” on a “Ready Steady Go’ compilation. I know I rented it to hear someone else, but that’s what I remember.
Posted by chinesearithmetic on 2006 04 05 at 09:35 AM • permalink

God rest his soul. And right in the middle of his UK tour. Another tragic lose.
Posted by Texas Bob on 2006 04 05 at 09:35 AM • permalink

JABL – Snap!
Great Minds Think Alike.
Fools Seldom Differ.
Posted by Zoe Brain on 2006 04 05 at 09:37 AM • permalink

I suppose Whitney Houston never married Gene because she’d be known as Whitney Pitney …
Posted by Stevo on 2006 04 05 at 09:41 AM • permalink

RIP, Gene Pitney. I used to be able to sing along with every GP song (and probably still could), so I guess that’s my small tribute to the man’s talent.
Posted by RebeccaH on 2006 04 05 at 11:06 AM • permalink

I was only 24 hours from Tulsa which looks like Mecca to me ‘cause something’s got a hold of my heart and I’m looking through the eyes of love with every breath I take and every step I make. But it’s a town without pity and she’s a heartbreaker, a devil on wheels, and it hurts to be in love for only love can break a heart, even when you’re the man who shot Liberty Valence, the bravest of them all.
Thanks for the memories, Gene.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2006 04 05 at 11:11 AM • permalink

And here I thought that was Frankie Lane!
Posted by BruceW on 2006 04 05 at 03:18 PM • permalink

Whew! I thought I was the only one who thought that.
Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 04 05 at 05:45 PM • permalink

Apparently it was a Cardiff-act arrest.
Posted by blogstrop on 2006 04 05 at 06:04 PM • permalink

Full disclosure: I had no idea he was still alive. For some reason I thought he died decades ago.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2006 04 05 at 06:13 PM • permalink

Vale, Gene.
Thanx for the songs and the memories.
Posted by Jay Santos on 2006 04 05 at 06:35 PM • permalink

A warm summers day, music from the neighbours radio complimented by a gentle rustle of the leaves of our Beech tree hedge I was only twenty four hours from Tulsa. Childhood memories, RIP GENE>
Posted by Howzat on 2006 04 05 at 07:12 PM • permalink

Part of my youth just died
Posted by BIWOZ on 2006 04 05 at 09:39 PM • permalink

My personal favourite is “It Hurts To Be In Love” but we should not forget the great work he did for other artists:
1. I know he appears on a Rolling Stones record playing percussion after being brought in by the producer Andrew Loog Oldham to help with a disasterous session which Mr Pitney cured with a bottle of brandy. I have always thought I heard him on Paint It Black doing back up vocals.
2. Well, of course there is “He’s A Rebel” he did for The Crytals, awesome.
3. “Hello, May-Lou (Good bye heart)” sung by Ricky Nelson.
Posted by James Hamilton on 2006 04 06 at 07:29 AM • permalink

#12,#13
You are right. Frankie Lane did sing it….
I shared it for you…
http://bjbarron.thatip.com:81/mp3/Cowboys/Frankie Lane ~ The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.Mp3
Posted by trainer on 2006 04 06 at 09:22 AM • permalink

Opps…paste the whole line into your browser…
Posted by trainer on 2006 04 06 at 09:23 AM • permalink

“Trans Canada Highway” 1974.
Great song from a time when Canada was not a joke or object of derision.
Vale, Gene.
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2006 04 06 at 10:17 AM • permalink

trainer et al,
I hate to say this, but Gene Pitney sang “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance “. I know because I still have the vinyl record from my youth that I listened to and tried to sing along with. The mp3 linked to listed as “Frankie Lane” was probably improperly titled as “Frankie Lane” should be spelled “Frankie Laine”.
Here’s a link to amazon.com with Gene Pitney’s version. Scroll down the page and you can listen to a sample from the song.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000I8AJ/102-9699490-6948912?v=glance&n=5174
You can compare the two and hear that it is the same song.
Dave K
Posted by Dave K on 2006 04 06 at 10:41 AM • permalink

Sounds like Gene was trying pretty hard to sound like Frank, and did a VERY good job of it.
Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 04 06 at 11:54 AM • permalink

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”
Great movie, but there’s something about it that’s bothered me for years. It’s the irony. Jimmy Stewart (genuine war hero) plays the wimpy-until-cornered non-combatant-wannabee who erroneously gets the credit for plugging evil dangerous Lee Marvin, who is actually plugged by strong-silent-tuffguy Marion Morrison (draft-dodging pussy). And the tag line for the whole movie is (not verbatim) “When the facts contradict the legend, print the legend.” Which is kind of what they did when they MADE that movie, innit?
Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 04 06 at 03:01 PM • permalink

Let me belatedly clarify. My remark #24 above is not posted in reply to Dave K’s remark #23. I wouldn’t dis a fellow Dave that lightly. I was talking about the original Gene Pitney rendition of the song, (which, ya gotta admit, sounds HELLA like Frankie Laine) and NOT disputing the singer’s identity. So there.
Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 04 06 at 07:13 PM • permalink