Gene looking mean on a Euro P/S

 

Greetings all.

Whilst strolling through the back alleys of the windmills of my mind (and the to-be-blogged folder) I set eyes upon the blue-eyed soul smoker you see before you today, and decided to whip it on you all.

Though I suspect most of you vinyl types are at least familiar with the name Gene Pitney, and/or one of his many melodramatic hit singles of the 1960s, I wonder how many of you knew that he had something like ‘She’s a Heartbreaker’ up his sleeve.

I first heard (saw) the tune more than 30 years ago when someone passed along a VHS (remember those?) of bootlegged 1960s rock and soul TV appearances and promo videos. One of the clips in question was Pitney lip-synching ‘She’s a Heartbreaker’on some dance party show or other.

I was surprised by the tune, and dug it right away, yet managed to wait a few decades before I actually put my hands on the record.

Recorded and released in 1968, and marking the last time Pitney would hit the Top 40, ‘She’s a Heartbreaker’ is a killer tune, written by none other than Jerry ‘Swamp Dogg’ Williams and co-written and produced by Charlie (Inez and…) Foxx (though according to Swamp Dogg, it’s his joint and Charlie Foxx glommed his name onto it).

Propelled by a solid beat, some twangy electric sitar, a punchy horn section and some exciting strings, the real force behind ‘She’s a Heartbreaker’ is Pitney’s powerful voice. A performance like this makes you wonder why he didn’t do more like this, but considering his track record before and after this, I guess ol’ Gene knew where his bread was buttered.

That said, this is nothing less than a soul banger, and whether or not Gene Pitney saw fit to repeat its magic, it can stand on its own.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

 

 

 

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

3 Responses to “Gene Pitney – She’s a Heartbreaker”

1. Big George says:

   May 13, 2015 at 7:57 am

   I can’t believe this!! I absolutely love this song! This thing rocks. Gene Pitney made some fantastic pop records. Keep up the good work brother!

2. porky says:

   May 13, 2015 at 12:28 pm

   is there a bad record with Swamp Dogg’s name on it?

3. DJ Waterman says:

   May 19, 2015 at 10:21 am

   I always dug this tune but I didn’t know about the Swamp Dog roots, but it makes perfect sense.