Today we lost one of the greatest voices and songwriters of the 1960s. It appears that Gene Pitney died peacefully in his hotel bed at the Hilton in Cardiff, Wales, UK. During the ’60s, he wrote hit tunes for Ricky Nelson (Hello Mary Lou) and The Crystals (He’s A Rebel) and scored hit after hit himself with his own compositions and those of Bert Bacharach and Hal David. He embraced the coming British Invasion by being the first American to record a Mick Jagger/Keith Richards composition (The Girl Belongs To Yesterday). His voice was so passionate and powerful, he could make almost any tune come alive. I got to see Gene Pitney perform live about 14 years ago at the North Shore Music Theatre in Massachusetts. He put on a great performance and even wished me a happy birthday right from the stage. Gene was a class act thru and thru.

Tonight, remember and celebrate the music of Gene Pitney on the Night Prowl Show (7-11pm EST) on the 50s on 5.

Soulfully,

Matt The Cat