Sadness This Week!!!

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Gene Pitney, the singer and songwriter known for 1960s hits such as "Town Without Pity" and "24 Hours from Tulsa," has died while on a UK concert tour, his agent said.
Pitney, 65, was found dead just after 10 a.m. Wednesday (0500 ET) at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, Wales.
His agent, Jene Levy, told Reuters Pitney died on Wednesday morning after given a concert in the Welsh capital the previous day.
There was no immediate word on the cause of death. Friends said he was in apparent good health and his death came as a shock.
"We don't have a cause of death at the moment but looks like it was a very peaceful passing," said Pitney's tour manager, James Kelly, according to The Associated Press.
"He was found fully clothed, on his back, as if he had gone for a lie down. It looks as if there was no pain whatsoever."
South Wales police said they had been called to a hotel at 9:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning and that the death was not being treated as suspicious.
Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on February 17, 1941.
His 40-year career included hits such as "It Hurts to Be in Love," "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance," "Every Breath I Take," "Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break a Heart" and the operatic "I'm Gonna Be Strong." His last U.S. hit was "She's a Heartbreaker" in 1968.
Pitney was also a highly regarded songwriter -- he wrote the Crystals' No. 1 hit, "He's a Rebel," Rick Nelson's smash "Hello Mary Lou" and Bobby Vee's "Rubber Ball." Some of his own hits, though -- "Only Love," "Liberty Valance" and "Tulsa" -- were written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
He was an early subject of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound -- Spector produced Pitney's version of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Every Breath I Take" as well as the Crystals' "He's a Rebel" -- and an early supporter of British bands such as the Rolling Stones.
Pitney recorded Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" and attended the session at which the Stones recorded "Not Fade Away," according to Allmusic.com.
Pitney was introduced to a new generation of fans in 1989 when he recorded "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" as a duet with Marc Almond, the UK's Press Association reported.
The single gave Pitney his first UK No. 1 -- 22 years after its first release, PA added.
In 2002 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pitney's agent told Reuters that his wife, Lynne, had been told of his death. Pitney also leaves three sons, David, Todd and Chris.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Obituary: Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney went from being a successful songwriter for other acts to become a major international pop star in his own right.
Gene Pitney went from being a successful songwriter for other acts to become a major international pop star in his own right.
He enjoyed more than 20 hits, including songs like Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa and Something's Gotten Hold of my Heart.
With an unmistakeable singing voice, at once plaintive and melodramatic, Gene Pitney had hits on both sides of the Atlantic.
A friend of The Rolling Stones, Phil Spector and Burt Bacharach, Pitney was also a noted songwriter.
He was born on 17 February 1941 in Hartford Connecticut and soon gained a reputation as a musician while studying at the nearby Rockville High School, where he earned the nickname the Rockville Rocket.
But his early flirtation as a performer initially failed to lead to anything bigger. Undaunted, Pitney moved to New York, where he worked as a songwriter at the fabled Brill Building alongside titans like Carole King, Gerry Goffin and Doc Pomus.
Success
Success was not slow to come, and he was soon penning hits like Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee and Ricky Nelson's Hello Mary Lou.
By 1961, when The Crystals' He's a Rebel gave Pitney his first US No 1 hit as a writer, he was a star in his own right.
But Pitney's career was anything if predictable. After his own successful 1961 single, (I Wanna) Love My Life Away, he was approached by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
They co-wrote three of his best known hits, Only Love Can Break a Heart, (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance and the classic 24 Hours from Tulsa.

Duetting with Marc Almond in 1989
Together with songs like Town Without Pity and Half Heaven-Half Heartache, they constituted a formidable range of work.
Pitney also enjoyed a fruitful



Gene Pitney was one of my favorite Pop Stars from the 60's ans I am saddened by his death my favorite Pitney Hit was the song "Half Heaven Half Heartache"

Among his fans he will be missed.
Deb Walsh :(