David Bowie Webdream

Gene Pitney

Posted by Moonage | Filed under The World Of David Bowie

In 1964, the well-established and often touring Gene Pitney hooked up with a bunch of up-and-coming Brit boys calling themselves the Manish Boys/The Lower Third. Best I can tell, this was Bowie’s first “tour”. Many people refer to this era of Bowie’s career as the “Anthony Newley” sound. I can see that. But, what I actually see more clearly is this being the “Gene Pitney” sound. The British nasal twang did make Bowie sound more like Newley, but, the vocal range Bowie strived for reminds me a lot more of Pitney. Plus, needless to say, Bowie went for the “Pitney” look as well. Other than giving Bowie some stage and recording experience, the “Pitney” period was short lived and Bowie quickly moved on to “cooler” persona. Pitney, who was already famous as a writer, would team up with other notables such as The Rolling Stones. As usual, time has blurred the memory of Gene Pitney and his contributions. Gene Pitney died this week of natural causes.

I truly feel one of my favorite Bowie songs EVER, Silly Boy Blue, would never have been if it weren’t for the impact Gene Pitney had on Bowie at that time. I have always felt that what made that song “interesting” was the stress between the non-materialism of Buddhism and the total materialism of trying to be cool ala Anthony Newley or Gene Pitney. Bowie doesn’t pull it off. That’s what makes that song one of my Top 10 favorite Bowie songs ever.