March 27, 2007 Earworm

1964 was a good year for operatic pop. Roy Orbison's "It's Over" reached #9 in April and "I'm Gonna Be Strong" by Gene Pitney (the older and butcher brother of The Chipmunks) followed in October, also reaching #9. "It's Over" uses cinematic strings and the sort of back up vocals usually associated with a 1940's Paramount Pictures logo and closing credits to remind you that this is a serious matter, regardless of what those snappy little flamenco flourishes would like you to believe. Not that you really need reminding because Roy loses his mind on the chorus, his cries of "it's over" so vivid that you may find yourself wiping imaginary spittle and exclamation points off your face. A bizarre piece of work to be sure, and only Roy Orbison could pull it off.

Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, "I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a much more understated affair. Originally recorded by Frankie Laine as the follow-up to his 1963 hit, "Don't Make My Baby Blue", hopes were high that it would not only surpass that tunes mid chart high, but keep him back on pop radio after a six year drought. It flopped despite a wonderfully complex Jack Nitzsche arrangement, a crisp Terry Melcher production, and brilliant double tracking on the vocal that made it impossible to believe that the singer was in his fifties at the time. Knowing a hit when he heard one, publisher Don Kirshner pitched it and "It Hurts To Be Love" to Pitney who ran with both of them.

Gene holds on to the grand gesture through much of his arrangement, letting the strings provide the drama throughout the verses, letting the tension build brilliantly on the chorus with a pumped up tympani, double tracking vocal, and big choir accompaniment that gets tucked way back in the mix. The money shot arrives as he takes the word "cry" to knew heights, literally, daring any element of the orchestra to feel his pain. Fin!

Neither Pitney nor Orbison would ever again be able to place such acts of high drama into the upper portion of the pop charts again as the times changed toward a Beatle-esque hysteria, which rendered that bands heroes obsolete. Although no one has had the brass to attempt a straight version of "It's Over", the Cyndi Lauper led Blue Angel recorded a version of "I'm Gonna Be Strong" that got enough attention to warrant Cyndi's solo attempt in 1994. No one was surprised when she nailed it.