March 11, 2022 —– Chart #134

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We’re going way back today, all the way to 1966. “Walk Away Renée” is a song written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone for the band The Left Banke, released as a single in July 1966. Steve Martin Caro is featured on lead vocals. It spent 13 weeks on the US charts, with a top spot of #5. In 2005, Rolling Stone placed it at #220 in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The track returned to nationwide charts with cover versions by The Four Tops (1967) and Rick Price (1993).

Michael Brown has stated that the song is one of a number he wrote about Renée Fladen-Kamm, the then-girlfriend of The Left Banke’s bassist Tom Finn and object of Brown’s affection. She was associated with the band for a few weeks and was described as a free-spirited and tall blonde. Brown wrote it one month after he met her. “Walk Away Renée was one of a series of love songs the infatuated Brown wrote for his muse. Other works about her include the band’s second hit “Pretty Ballerina” and “She May Call You Up Tonight”. After decades of obscurity, she was identified in 2001 as a noted singer, vocal teacher, and artist on the West Coast.

Fladen-Kamm was looking on during the recording of the song, and her presence nearly prevented its completion. In an interview, Brown stated:

My hands were shaking when I tried to play, because she was right there in the control room … There was no way I could do it with her around, so I came back and did it later.

However, co-writer Tony Sansone has given a different version of the origin of the song and contends that he is the primary writer. Sansone has stated in interviews that he wrote the lyrics, and he randomly chose the name Renée because the Beatles used the name “Michelle” in their hit song of the same name; he likewise chose a French name, Renée.

The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. The band often used what the music press referred to as “baroque” string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as “Bach-rock” or “baroque rock”. The band’s vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies and other British Invasion groups.

The Four Tops:  https://youtu.be/xu5ynjOlnOg

Rick Price:  https://youtu.be/qiu2CWAGmNg

Keep Rockin’ my Friends,

Stan