Gene Pitney

One of the most interesting and difficult-to-

categorize singers in '60s pop, Gene Pitney had a

long run of hits distinguished by his pained, one-

of-a-kind melodramatic wail. Pitney is sometimes

characterized (or dismissed) as a shallow teen

idol-type prone to operatic ballads. It's true that

some of his biggest hits - "Town Without Pity,"

"Only Love Can Break a Heart," "I'm Gonna Be

Strong," "It Hurts to Be in Love," and "Twenty

Four Hours From Tulsa" - are archetypes of

adolescent or just-post-adolescent agony,

characterized by longing and not a little self-pity.

But Pitney was not just an archetype of his style -

he was one of the best at his style, and indeed one

of the few (along with Roy Orbison) that could

pull it off convincingly. Also (like Orbison), he

had more range than he's generally given credit

for, making forays into tough pop/rock, country,

and even borderline rockabilly

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