11:42 p.m. July 22
Pop-rock singer Gene Pitney died on April 5.
I was on the road and unable to weigh in on his obituary. Unless you're Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, news moves faster than when Gene was turning out the hits; "Town Without Pity" (1961), "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa," (1963) "It Hurts To Be In Love" (1964) and "Princess In Rags" (1965).
In 1964 Gene even dipped into the songbook of spaced out rock savant Joe Meek, when he had a minor hit with Meek's cheery "Lips Were Redder On You." Check it out.
Gene died of natural causes in his hotel room after a show in Cardiff, Wales. I don't have any obit in front of me, but he had been all over the world. He knew the reward of travel was understanding the warmth of home.
Continue reading A Town Without Pity.
Dave Hoekstra has been a 
