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Great gig, the Pitney passes away
Gene Pitney, whose tenor voice produced a string of hits including 24 Hours from Tulsa, has been found dead in his Welsh hotel room following a concert which fans acclaimed as one of his best.
Pitney, 65, apparently died today in his room in Cardiff of natural causes, police said.
"Last night was one of the best performances, not vocally, but from the enthusiasm. He just wanted to please - and he did," said Wendy Horton, who reviewed last night's concert in Cardiff for the South Wales Echo newspaper.
"It came through in his voice because he really let it rip. If you are ill, that would be one of the first things to show it," said Nigel Corten, who reviewed the show for the South Wales Argus.
"The audience were in raptures," Corten.
During a long career, Pitney had hits as a singer - Town Without Pity, (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance, Half Heaven, Half Heartache - and as a writer, penning Hello Mary Lou for Ricky Nelson and Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee.
In 1962 Pitney had the top two songs on the US chart - his rendition of Only Love Can Break a Heart was at number two, just behind a song he wrote, He's a Rebel for The Crystals.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
"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."
"Last night was generally one of the happiest and most exuberant performances we've seen out of him," Kelly added.
Pitney waited until 1990 for his first British number one - he re-recorded 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 also took second place twice at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy, and had a regional hit with Nessuno Mi Puo' Giudicare.
"I'm a performer," Pitney said in an interview with in 1997. "I've tried everything there is. I don't know how you can label something like that."
Pitney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne, in 1967, and kept a base in Connecticut all his life. He built a recording studio in his home at Somers, 20 miles (30 kms) northeast of Hartford.
Pitney said he wrote many of his best songs, including Hello, Mary Lou, in his candy apple red 1935 Ford coupe, parked near a Rockville reservoir.
He is survived by his wife and three sons. |
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