Artist: Johnny Duncan
Author: Gene Pitney/Cayet Mangiaracina
Label: Leader
Year: 1960

C&W artist from Clovis, New Mexico; not the British skiffle man. Cayet Mangiaracina, the man Gene Pitney shares credits with, was a pontiff-in-waiting when he wrote a song entitled Merry, Merry Lou, first recorded by his own band The Sparks in 1957 (Decca) and covered by Bill Haley ('57) and Sam Cooke ('58), both as Mary, Mary Lou. Decca sued Hello Mary Lou and won. As for Father Mangiaracina, he became parochial vicar of the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Hammond, LA, where he was better known as 'The rock & roll priest'.

Since The Kalin Twins covered his Loneliness, Gene Pitney knew his future lay in songwriting rather than in performing. Big names followed; Steve Lawrence cut his Tears From Heaven, Tommy Edwards Blue Heartaches and Roy Orbison Today's Teardrops. Rubber Ball became a hit for Bobby Vee (US) and Marty Wilde (UK). With Hello Mary Lou, Gene finally started cutting his own compositions.