Town Without Pitney

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of Gene Pitney's passing, the tribute to the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Famer on display at Vernon Town Hall will be rearranged, remixed and made just a little bit louder.

Pitney died on April 5, 2006 while on tour in the United Kingdom. The display was put up shortly after the singers death. There is also commemorative display in the town clerk's office as part of Vernon's permanent records.

"His memory will forever be engraved into the downtown Rockville landscape," says Cliff Edwards, president of the Gene Pitney Commemorative Committee.

The committee oversees the display.

A biography on the committee's Web site, www.genepitney.org, points out that Pitney was born  in Hartford on Feb. 17, 1940 and lived on Hammond Street in Vernon. He received his nickname "The Rockville Rocket" at Rockville High School.

He later made his home in Somers.

Pitney scored his first big hit in 1961 with "Town Without Pity." The song accompanied a movie  by the same name, and captured a Golden Globe Award for "Best Song in a Motion Picture." It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.

According to the bio, Pitney was the first pop singer to perform at the Oscars, singing "Town Without Pity" at the 34th Annual Academy Awards on April 9, 1962.

Pitney wrote several big songs for other artists, including "He's a Rebel" for The Crystals, Vikki Carr and Elkie Brooks, "Today's Teardrops" for Roy Orbison, "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee and "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson.

Pitney made a huge impact with "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." The song is often associated with the 1962 John Ford film starring Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin. The bio points out that, although the song was a certified Top 10 hit for Pitney, it was never used in the movie due to a publishing squabble between Famous Music and Paramount Pictures. A theatrical trailer included with a DVD release mentions a forthcoming title track, but not by name.

The bio says that Pitney's 1963 hit, "Mecca," is considered by some to be a precursor to psychedelia in its use of Indian musical influences, two years before The Beatles began incorporating the same types of  influences.

The bio says the use of exotic musical instruments became something of a Pitney trademark, judging by the Mariachi trumpets employed in "Lonely Drifters," the ukuleles in "Hawaii," and the gypsy fiddle in "Golden Earrings."

The Mick Jagger-Keith Richards song, "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday," which became a hit for him, was the first Rolling Stones song to be a success in the United States, and it was partly Pitney's endorsement of the group which helped them to find favor in America, according to the bio.

He was in the studio in England with the Stones on some of their earlier recording sessions, including those which resulted in both sides of their first Top 10 single "Not Fade Away."

Pitney was elected into the Rock 'N" Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.