Gene Pitney

Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1941 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter. He was also a guitarist, pianist, drummer, and sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer, his singles charted 16 Top 40 times in the U.S., four in the Top Ten. In the UK he had 22 Top 40 hits and 11 Top Tens. He wrote the early 1960s hits "He's a Rebel", by The Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou", by Rick Nelson.

Pitney was among a small group of early 1960s American such as Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Jay and the Americans, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes who continued to enjoy hits after the British Invasion in the U.S. in 1964.

From Wikipedia