Vernon Honors Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Pitney With Bench

VERNON, CT – Vernon is again a town with Pitney as a bench dedicated to the memory of Vernon native and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Pitney settled into its new home in Downtown Rockville on Thursday.

And it was, perhaps, a better location for something dedicated to the singer known as "The Rockville Rocket." That was at least the consensus of Mayor Daniel Champagne and members of the Gene Pitney Commemorative Committee, who gathered near Vernon Town Hall for a short unveiling ceremony.

The bench had been atop Fox Hill at Henry Park. In September, the marble bench had to be removed after structural damage was discovered, town officials said.

On Thursday, it was replaced with a metal slatted bench that is 6 feet long and weighs 300 pounds, Champagne said.

It is bolted a slab in front of Town Hall looking up toward the Fox Hill Tower. It will be there for about 11 months each year. It will be moved to the Town Hall lobby and a Pitney display in December, when the Santa House takes to the central park.

Parks and Recreation officials gladly supervised the relocation,

Pitney grew up in the Rockville section of Vernon and later lived in Somers.

He died in 2006.

Pitney was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002 with The Ramones, Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Talking Heads. In addition to his own hits, Pitney also worked with legends like The Beatles.

Here is one of his hits, "A Town Without Pity," from the movie of the same name.

Video Credit: YouTube

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel