Walk Away Renée

"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 No. 5.[4] The song has been widely considered a quintessence of the baroque pop genre.[5] As musician Marshall Crenshaw explained, "There's something about 'Walk Away Renee' that's one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard, just in terms of provoking an emotional reaction."[6]

For the 2011 film, see Walk Away Renee (film).
"Walk Away Renée"
side-A vinyl label
One of label variants of the US single
Single by the Left Banke
from the album Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina
B-side"I Haven't Got the Nerve"
ReleasedJuly 1966[1]
RecordedMarch 1966[2]
StudioWorld United, New York City[2]
GenreBaroque pop[3]
Length2:43
LabelSmash
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Left Banke singles chronology
"Walk Away Renée"
(1966)		 "Pretty Ballerina"
(1966)

In 2005, Rolling Stone placed it at No. 220 in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7] The track returned to nationwide charts with cover versions by The Four Tops (1967), Southside Johnny and the Jukes (1986) and Rick Price (1993).

Background

Michael Brown has stated that the song is one of a number he wrote about Renée Fladen (later 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.[8] "Walk Away Renée" was one of a series of love songs the infatuated Brown wrote for his muse.[9] 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.[10]

According to band member Tom Finn:

A bunch of teens got an apartment together around Tin Pan Alley, in the Broadway area, and Renee lived there part time when she wasn't living with her mother. Most of the kids were like half runaways in those days, and there was a "crash pad" there, as we used to call it. I guess I brought her to the studio one day where Michael met her and fell in love with her.[11]

Brown says of his unrequited love for Renée:

I was just sort of mythologically in love, if you know what I mean, without having evidence in fact or in deed ... But I was as close as anybody could be to the real thing.[12]

Renée 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.[13]

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.[14][15]

Composition

The song features a flute solo played during the instrumental bridge of the middle portion of the song. Brown was inspired to add it by the Mamas & the Papas song "California Dreamin'" which had been recorded in November 1965, but was not an immediate hit until early 1966.[16] The arrangement for "Walk Away Renée " also includes a lush string orchestration, a jangling harpsichord part, and a descending chromatic bass melody. Its production was credited to World United Productions, Inc., but the session was produced by brothers Bill and Steve Jerome, along with Brown's father, jazz and classical violinist Harry Lookofsky, who also led the string players.[2][17] The session took place in March 1966.[2]

Personnel

Musicians

  • Al Rogers — drums
  • John Abbott — bass
  • George (Fluffer) Hirsh — guitar
  • Mike Brown — harpsichord
  • Friends — strings
  • Jackie Kelso [uncredited] — flute
  • John Abbott – arranger
  • Steve Martin Caro — lead vocal
  • George Cameron & Tom Finn — backing vocals

Technical[17]

  • Steve Jerome — engineer
  • Harry Lookofsky — producer, strings
  • Steve Jerome — producer
  • Bill Jerome — producer

Chart performance

Four Tops cover
"Walk Away Renée"
side-A label
Solid centre variant of the UK single
Single by the Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side"Your Love Is Wonderful"
ReleasedJanuary 18, 1968[23]
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone
Producer(s)Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
The Four Tops singles chronology
"You Keep Running Away"
(1967)		 "Walk Away Renée"
(1968)		 "If I Were a Carpenter"
(1968)

The Four Tops' recording was featured on their 1967 album Reach Out and is the second most successful cover version,[24] having reached #15 on the soul singles chart,[25] #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and charting higher than The Left Banke in Canada at #2 on the RPM Magazine charts. Overseas, it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #5 in the Irish Singles Chart in January 1968,[26][27] The Andantes provided backing vocals on this Motown release in unison with the other Tops. Record World called it a "pretty version" of the song.[28] Billboard called it "an exciting rock ballad" and said that the "driving vocal workout and exciting production will hit hard and fast."[29]

Personnel

Chart performance

Rick Price version
"Walk Away Renee"
Single by Rick Price
from the album Heaven Knows
B-side"We've Got Each Other"
ReleasedMay 1993
GenrePop, soft rock
Length4:26
LabelColumbia Records
Songwriter(s)Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone
Producer(s)Chris Lord-Alge
Rick Price singles chronology
"A House Divided"
(1993)		 "Walk Away Renee"
(1993)		 "Where Is the Love"
(1993)

In May 1993, "Walk Away Renée" was released by Australian singer-songwriter Rick Price as the fifth single from his debut studio album Heaven Knows. The song peaked at #21 in Australia.


Weekly charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[36] 21
Germany (Official German Charts)[37] 52

References
  1. Rodriguez, Robert (2012). Revolver: How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll. Montclair: Backbeat Books. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-61713-009-0.
  2. Hyde, Bob (1985). The History Of The Left Banke. Rhino. RNLP 123.
  3. Stanley, Bob (September 21, 2007). "Baroque and a soft place". The Guardian.
  4. "Walk Away Renee". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. Guerrieri, Matthew (January 22, 2016). "Via Spector and Serendipity, the Harpsichord Invaded Pop". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  6. Hurt, Edd. "Marshall Crenshaw: The Cream Interview". Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  7. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  8. Walk Away Renee Archived April 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine from leftbanke.nu
  9. Simons, Dave (2004). Studio Stories: How The Great New York Records Were Made : From Miles To Madonna, Sinatra To The Ramones. Backbeat Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-87930-817-6.
  10. Mary Devlin (2001). Medieval Music, Magical Minds. p. 21. Renée Fladen-Kamm, my longtime vocal coach and vocal director of the Sherwood Consort, is a highly trained and skilled light lyric soprano, who has performed not only early music but opera as well—most often Mozart, who was partial to the ...
  11. Tom Finn, interview with music journalist Dawn Eden, posted to a Left Banke fan website created by Charlemagne Fezza circa 2006.
  12. Michael Brown, interview with Dawn Eden
  13. "The Left Banke". Classic Bands. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  14. Just Walk Away Renée. September 23, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  15. Stagnaro, Angelo. "50 Years Ago, This Catholic Wrote a Song That Made the Beatles Jealous | Daily News". NCRegister.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  16. "California Dreamin', Present at the Creation". NPR. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  17. Session Notes For Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina LP Archived April 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6822." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  19. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  20. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 5, 1966". Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  21. "Top 100 Hits of 1966/Top 100 Songs of 1966". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  22. "Top 216 Hits of 1966". hitsofalldecades.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  23. "Walk Away Renee / Your Love Is Wonderful - Four Tops". 45cat. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  24. Studwell, William E.; Lonergan, David (1999). The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s. Routledge. p. 148. ISBN 0-7890-0151-9.
  25. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  26. Whitburn, Joel. (2008). Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Record Research Inc. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7.
  27. Brown, Tony.; Warwick, Neil (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 426. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
  28. "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. February 3, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  29. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. January 27, 1968. p. 53. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  30. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100179." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  31. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walk Away Renee". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  33. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Four Tops – Walk Away Renee" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Four Tops"
  34. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  35. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  36. "Rick Price %5BAU%5D – Walk Away Renee". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  37. "Rick Price – Walk Away Renée" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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