[newfreep]

He certainly had a very unique voice.

I have a CD of his hits and “It Hurts To Be In Love” is my favorite of his many great songs. The drum riffs sound very “Hal Blaine-ish” but the song was recorded in NY so a local drummer was probably used.

HQ version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWABqBH7Oeo

[trisham]

I remember that one! It was great.

[Fiji Hill]

I have a CD of his hits and “It Hurts To Be In Love” is my favorite of his many great songs. The drum riffs sound very “Hal Blaine-ish” but the song was recorded in NY so a local drummer was probably used.

I first heard "It Hurts to Be in Love" over KRLA--back when it was a 50,000-watt rock blaster at 1110 kilocycles on the AM band, on August 23, 1964. That evening, the Beatles were performing at the Hollywood Bowl, so KRLA's playlist alternated between Beatles songs and new releases such as Gene Pitney's opus.

My favorite Gene Pitney tune is Half Heaven, Half Heartache, from the early months of 1963. Pitney is backed by a full orchestra and chorus, and the arrangement makes effective use of dynamics. I also like Mecca (1963), a tune that is highly politically incorrect in 2019 despite having been co-written by Neval Abounader, an Arab-American.