The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

GENE PITNEY
Feb. 17, 1940 - April 5, 2006

Among the ranks of American male pop vocalists courting hits in the early '60s, only Roy Orbison rivaled singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gene Pitney in withstanding the onslaught of the British Invasion to notch up a ... morestring of major chart hits that held their own against U.K. exports. Pitney's strong, urgent tenor was a strong foil for the widescreen ballads that were Pitney's trademark on such signature songs as "It Hurts to Be in Love," "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" and two movie theme songs, "Town Without Pity" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Pitney was much more than a voice for hire, however. As a songwriter, he penned major hits for The Crystals ("He's a Rebel," an iconic Phil Spector production), Ricky Nelson ("Hello, Mary Lou"), Roy Orbison ("Today's Teardrops") and Bobby Vee ("Rubber Ball"). Pitney played multiple instruments and vocal overdubs on his very first single, and he was a skilled sound engineer. Pitney had an equally strong audience in England, where he notched his final major single hit in 1989. Pitney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

(Image: Harry Goodwin/Redferns/Retna Ltd.)