Jay Black - July 9
Receive Free tickets to the show -
Caesars Pocono Resorts - Poconos PA
www.CaesarsPoconoResorts.com
Posted on 04/05/2006 5:41:25 AM PDT by GeneD
LONDON - Gene Pitney, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whose hits included "Town Without Pity" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart," died Wednesday at a hotel in Wales after playing a show, his agent said. He was 65.
Pitney was found dead in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales. Police said the death did not appear suspicious.
"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."
He added: "Last night was generally one of the happiest and most exuberant performances we've seen out of him. He was absolutely on top of his game and was really happy with the show."
Born in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 17, 1941, Pitney had his first success as a songwriter with "Rubber Ball," a Top 10 hit for Bobby Vee in 1961. Later that year, Ricky Nelson had a hit with Pitney's "Hello Mary Lou."
As a performer, Pitney had his first success that same year with "Love My Life Away."
But Burt Bacharach and Hal David provided the songs that put Pitney in the Top 10: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart."
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" was Pitney's biggest U.S. hit, peaking at No. 2 on the charts in 1962. The No. 1 song at the time was The Crystals' "He's a Rebel," written by Pitney.
He had more than a dozen Top 40 hits and even contributed to an early Rolling Stones recording session.
Pitney waited until 1990 for his first British No. 1 — he rerecorded "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" with Marc Almond.
Pitney also had some success as a country singer, pairing with George Jones to record "I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night" and "Louisiana Man."
He recorded in Italian and Spanish, and twice took second place at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy. He also had a regional hit with "Nessuno Mi Puo' Giudicare."
Pitney was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
___
On the Net:
I downloaded the Beware by Louis Jordan and thats not the song.I only heard this song once-at a junior high dance in 1960.It was one of the most haunting songs I ever heard.It was an up tempo tune with incredible vocals.
1963 was a fabulous year for music.Fingertips by Stevie,Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas,Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis,Precious Words by the Wallace Brothers and Groovy Baby by Billy Abbott.
I stand corrected then.
The memory fades a little as I get older!
Thanks,Fiji.I think it just may BE Jesse Belvin and the Capris.I grew up in Northern Cali and had a junior high gym teacher who was an R and B nut and would bring all these off the wall classics to play at the dances.
I heard the Que Sera Sera song in July,1963.I THINK it was the Five Keyes but I may be wrong on the group name.It was nothing like the Doris Day version of course.The end tailed off with this impromptu rap-"what will my future bring me,maybe I'll be a singer"?.Just a dynamite song.
Thanks for your knowledge.
I LOVE OH,My Angel by Bertha Tillman.
Another classic from that 1962 era is This is My Prayer by Theola Kilgore.She is originally from Oakland but I found her in zabasearch living in Los Angeles and wrote her a short letter telling her how much that song meant to me.
Two months later Miss Kilgore passed on to the other side!She was 77.
Wow, so great to see somebody mention "Groovy Baby." One of my favorites too. You and Fiji Hill are far beyond me in R&B knowledge, I concede right off the bat, but I'm always up for learning. Some more good songs from 1963 included "Hey Girl" by Freddy Scott, "Monkey Time" by Major Lance, "Pride and Joy" by Marvin Gaye, and lots of Wall of Sound stuff -- "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Be My Baby" among the big ones, but also "Wait 'Til My Bobby Gets Home" by Darlene Love. From late 63 I remember The Girlfriends doing "Jimmy Boy." Also a late white doo-wop effort I always had affection for, "Denise" by Randy and the Rainbows.
Oh yeah, one of my favorite rot-gut songs was from 63, "The Bounce" by The Olympics. It was a nice year for music, an interlude between Elvis and The Beatles that allowed some creative stuff to bubble up.
RIP, Gene Pitney. Way too young!
FH, you are an amazing asset. You and riverman have this thing pretty well under control. Do you remember a song called "Go On And Have Yourself A Ball" by the Marvells? Always liked that one. How about "Oh What A Night For Love" by Roy Tyson? Haven't thought about those in ages; this is knocking off some of the cobwebs. Oh yeah, and Donnie Elbert "Have I Sinned?" Great stuff.
Theola Kilgore. She was great. Also did "The Love Of My Man," but I think "Prayer" was better. How cool that you wrote her. How about The Clickettes "Just To Be A Part Of You"? Haven't listened to that in years.
I liked his music. I just now spotted this thread.
Sad news.
I also dig that disk, along with the their follow-up, "Do the Slauson Shuffle." The Slauson Shuffle, a dance craze named for Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles, probably never got far beyond the Southland, but it inspired a number of songs such as "Do the Slauson" by Round Robin. His follow-up, "Kick Your Little Foot, Sally Ann," also inspired by the dance, nosed nto the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1964 about the time the Beatles arrived.
Onyx -- yes, too many from the 60s have passed on. It doesn't seem right. I'm still trying to adjust to Skeeter Davis! Well, we still have Brenda Lee and Lesley Gore, not to mention Brian Hyland and Lou Christie. All is not lost!
I've heard "Have I Sinned," which is from 1959, but not the others, which, incidentally, are from 1963.
Don't remember the Slauson Shuffle, Fiji Hill. Is that anything like The New Continental or The Philly Freeze? Not to mention the Tennessee Birdwalk. I grew up in Philly, so I'm pretty comfortable with the Bristol Stomp and The Pony. Of course, the Olympics also gave us the Hully Gully, but then again they did The Philly Dog too, so maybe at heart they were bi-coastal.
Bet you know all about Vernon Green and the Medallions and Don Julian and the Meadowlarks. When I lived in LA, among other musical pilgrimages I went to the house where "Earth Angel" was written in South Central and the site of DooTone Records. Also paid my respects at the grave of Cornell Gunther in Inglewood.
Jay Black - July 9
Receive Free tickets to the show -
Caesars Pocono Resorts - Poconos PA
www.CaesarsPoconoResorts.com
I just found out that the first Jay (Jay Traynor) is still alive and has become a member of the Tokens. Jay Seigel is the only original member of the Tokens, but he is the lead singer on all of the Token's hits.
Jay Traynor was the original Jay of Jay and the Americans, but he only appears on a few songs. "She Cried" was the only hit with Traynor as the lead. Shortly after, the group had a falling out, Traynor left and was replaced by Jay Black. I have an album of Jay and the Americans that has a cover version of Gene Pitney's "24 hours from Tulsa".
How's that for a Rock and Roll lesson?
Wasn't Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) the keyboardist for J&A?
And we still have Bobby Vee.
Dylan was inspired by Vee, and Pitney wrote songs for him.
The Clickettes?Thats great!
Don't play yourself cheap,speedy.I think we would probably be in a real horserace if we ever had to be in an oldies one on one contest.
Another great 1963 tune-Where Did You Go? by The Sapphires.
A tragic sidenote to The Olympics.One of the group was killed by police for looting a store during the 1965 Watts riot!
This according to the seminal book of the riot,Rivers of Blood,Years of Darkness by Robert Conot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.