Gene Pitney
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Wikipedia
Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer, Pitney singles charted 16 "Top 40" hits in the U.S., four in the "Top 10". In the UK he had 22 "Top 40" hits, and 11 "Top Tens". He wrote the early 1960s hits "He's a Rebel", by The Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou", by Rick Nelson.
Pitney was among a small group of early 1960s American acts such as Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Jay and the Americans, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes who continued to enjoy hits after the British Invasion in the U.S. in 1964.
