The 10 Best Gene Pitney Songs of All-Time

Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and sound engineer raised in Rockville, Connecticut, where his family lived. When he was studying at Rockville High School, which is the place where his profound love for music began to show, he formed a band with his friends, and he named it Gene and the Genials. He has had a very successful career as a performing artist both in the United States and in the United Kingdom back in the 60s. In the U.S., his scorecard has 16 top 40 hits, out of which four of them reached the top 10. In the U.K., he also performed better by scoring 22 top 40 hits, and 11 of them reached the top 10. This article is ten Best Gene Pitney Songs of All-Time.

10. “I’m Gonna Be Strong”

 

“I’m Gonna Be Strong” was written by excellent songwriting duo Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Frankie Laine first released it in 1963. According to Rock Pasta, when Pitney added his amazing voice to this song lyric, he turned it into a major hit in 1964.

9.” Backstage”

 

Backstage was composed by Willie Denson and Fred Anisfield before Pitney recorded and released it in 1966. This song is a typical dramatic arrangement that is given an Italian opera pop feeling. Pitney has given this song a Las Vegas intro style, and he talks in the song about losing something that he only cares about. This song performed well in the mainstream charts, reached number 25 on the Top U.S. Billboard charts, and was ranked 4 in the U.K.’s top 100 hits.

8. “Only Love Can Break A Heart”

 

This song made Gene Pitney famous. Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote it. This song Pitney released as the title track when he launched his second album, “Only Love Can Break a Heart”.

7. “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU8bBlPtBK4

 

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance “was an idea that sprang into the mind of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Pitney recorded it in 1962, and it immediately became famous after he released it. This song is unique and doesn’t contain the usual bleeding heart pop love accustomed to many songs. It is highly evocative with a storyline that will leave you in suspense as much as it talks about people. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at position 4, where it stayed for 13 weeks. On the Canadian CHUM Hit Parade, it reached position 2 and position 4 on New Zealand’s (Lever Hit Parade).

6. “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa”

 

This is another ballad that talks about fickle love co-written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and found itself in the country charts. The song theme is focused on a long-haul trucker whose heart was stolen by a new person. It was loved by country listeners everywhere, and several artists did cover it, including female artists such as Dusty Springfield, who recorded it conveying the same message of the song but from a female perspective to give it a different sound and meaning that appears more like an emancipating unearthing of true love.

5. “I Must Be Seeing Things”

 

“I Must Be Seeing Things” was written by Bob Brass, Irwin Levine, and Al Kooper. The first recording of this song was done in 1964. Pitney recorded his hit version in 1965, which performed well in the U.S., U.K., and on Canada’s top charts. In the U.S. Top Billboard charts, it reached position 31, and in the U.K. and Canada, it stayed in the top 10 for a while the year it was released.

4. “Every Breath I Take”

 

“Every Breath I Take” was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. When Pitney was recording this song at Phil Spector’s New York Bell Sound Studios in 1961, he developed a cold while trying to sing it, which affected his vocals and forced him to do the final verses of this song falsetto. Producer Phil Spector spent an unprecedented $14,000 to ensure that this song became a hit. The halos backed Pitney in this song. It performed well on the Billboard top 100 charts, where it peaked at position 42 in 1961.

3. “H

ello, Mary Lou”

 

“Hello, Mary Lou” is one of Gene Pitney’s masterpieces that performed well. Many artists did covers of this hit. He wrote this song back in 1960. Johnny Duncan was the first artist who got the opportunity to record it first in 1961. The version that Ricky Nelson did was the one that propelled this song to gain fame. It did well in the charts and reached number 9 on the Billboard music charts in 1961.

2. “It Hurts To Be In Love”

 

Helen Miller and Howard Greenfield wrote this Pitney hit song in 1964. When it was released in 1964, it reached Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent 16 weeks on the chart and peaked at position 7. It is well arranged, with a catchy rhythm, influential background singers, and trademark bending notes. It is a song that is associated chiefly with Pitney. This song also became one of the most successful songs in the long chain of “Brill Building Sound” hits created by arrangers and composers working at the Brill Building in New York City at 1619 Broadway. The song has been covered by many other renowned artists, such as Bobby Vee in 1981, whose version peaked at position 72 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1. “Town Without Pity”

 

“Town Without Pity “is a smash hit that many music lovers loved because it had many life lessons that one can pick. This song was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, and Pitney recorded it in 1961 for a film soundtrack with the same title. This tragic song reached position 13 on the Hot 100 hits. It stayed on the charts for 19 weeks.

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