Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Barry Mason and Les Reed. Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington. Randy Newman. Al Kooper. An eclectic group of famed and acclaimed songwriters who all have one thing in common: in the 1960s they all wrote hit songs for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Gene Pitney.
"Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday," "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa," "Town Without Pity," "Just One Smile," and "Backstage" are just a few of Pitney's worldwide hits.
Gene Pitney was, without a doubt, the Frank Sinatra of his generation. Hit after hit after hit. Screaming female fans. Sold out concerts in the US and abroad, especially England, Ireland, Italy, and Australia. He did not just sing the songwriters' songs; he interpreted them; he brought them to life. He actually gave them context and essence that the writers never imagined. Whether it was a searing lyric of lost love that Pitney delivered with crushing pain or the story of eternal love that he delivered with a warmhearted whisper, every
song received the extraordinarily unique Pitney treatment. When one of his hits blared out of a transistor radio in the 1960s, there was never any doubt who was singing.
How did the shy, clean-cut 24-year-old American singer rework, recast, and record an early Rolling Stones song in 1964 and give the Glimmer Twins, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, their first chart hit in both England and the USA? Why did Pitney NOT want to record "Only Love Can Break A Heart," the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song that became his biggest hit in the USA, and how did recording it come about? How did a very wet-behind-the-ears Gene Pitney get his hands on a song that would be nominated for an Academy Award before his career was in full swing?
Dave McGrath was Gene Pitney's friend, business partner, and confidante for over twenty years. Together they formed Gene Pitney Music & Merchandising in 1985, when Pitney decided to resurrect his career in the USA. McGrath did press, fan, and PR legwork for Pitney and, along with his wife, Guida Brown, designed and produced all of Pitney's American tour merchandise. Pitney was Best Man at McGrath's wedding in 1998; McGrath was a pallbearer at Pitney's funeral in 2006.
