Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney was an American singer-songwriter whose career spanned more than four decades, and included pop, country and R&B hits. Though sometimes dismissed as a middle-of-the-road artist, oldies radio stations on both sides of the Atlantic have had his hits and compositions on permanent rotation for decades, including The Crystals' "He's a Rebel," Rick Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou," and his own recordings of "Town Without Pity," and "24 Hours From Tulsa." Pitney enjoyed a brief overseas comeback in 1989, with an update of his 1967 track "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," recorded as a duet with Marc Almond—the track became a #1 hit in the UK. On April 5, 2006, Pitney was found dead, of natural causes, in a hotel room in Cardiff, Wales.