His first recordings were by his Rockville, Connecticut, high school band in 1958. They were released in 1990. In 1959, his first singles were released under the duo name of Jamie & Jane. His first solo single was released under the name Billy Bryan.

In 1961, when he finally released a solo single under his own name, Gene Pitney, born 84 years ago today, would stay on the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks, peaking at #39 with his own song “Love My Life Away.” He would go on to score hit singles in both the US and UK, but often with songs written by others. His first Top 20 single, the great “Town Without Pity” peaked at #13. It came from the film of the same name, starring Kirk Douglas. It was nominated for an Oscar but lost to “Moon River.” He’d score hits in the US, and more in England where he maintained popularity long after his US fame faded.

While his own singles success came from other songwriters, he had huge success with songs of his own covered by others. He wrote “Hello Mary Lou” for Ricky Nelson and “He’s A Rebel” by The Crystals. He scored a hit of his own with “Only Love Can Break a Heart,” right at the same time as “He’s A Rebel.” It peaked at #2 in the US, a career-high, but was kept out of the #1 spot by “He’s A Rebel.” It is the only time a songwriter has kept him or herself out of the #1 spot.

Going back to “Town Without Pity,” Gene followed that hit with another movie song, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, it would hit #4 in the US. While the lyrics clearly reflected the plot of the film, which starred Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, the recording itself is not heard in the film. Gene claimed that Paramount Pictures had funded the session, but the film was already released by the time of the recording. It remains unclear to this day whether the song was intended for the film or was simply about the film. It got me thinking about songs that appeared to come from soundtracks but really didn’t. Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” didn’t come from the 1975 Gene Hackman movie, though the writing of it was actually inspired by American Graffiti. Rihanna had a big hit with “Disturbia” but it wasn’t part of the soundtrack to the film from the same name The film Alfie didn’t include Cilla Black’s song “Alfie” in the British release. For the US release, Cher re-recorded the song which played over the end credits, but the currently available film doesn’t include either version. Eddy Grant was commissioned to record the main title theme to the film Romancing The Stone, but the song was cut from both the movie and soundtrack. The country singer Johnny Horton had a bit hit single with “Sink the Bismarck,” written and recorded for the British film of the same name. Even though the single made it to #3, it is only heard in the trailer, not in the movie itself.

Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium of songs that didn’t make the soundtracks they were intended for, along with songs written about movies…

#GenePitney #TownWithoutPity #LibertyValance #Movies #JohnnyHorton #RickyNelson #HelloMaryLou #HesARebel