| "Walk Away Renée" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of label variants of the US single | ||||
| Single bythe Left Banke | ||||
| from the albumWalk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina | ||||
| B-side | "I Haven't Got the Nerve" | |||
| Released | July 1966[1] | |||
| Recorded | March 1966[2] | |||
| Studio | World United, New York City[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:43 | |||
| Label | Smash | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| The Left Banke singles chronology | ||||
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"Walk Away Renée" is a song written byMichael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone for the bandthe 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.[6] The song has been widely considered a quintessence of thebaroque pop genre.[7] As musicianMarshall 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."[8]
In 2005,Rolling Stone placed it at No. 220 in the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[9] The track returned to nationwide charts withcover versions bythe Four Tops (1967),Southside Johnny and the Jukes (1986) andRick Price (1993). It also featured on theRickie Lee Jones 1983 e.p. "Girl at Her Volcano".
Michael Brown has stated that the song is one of a number he wrote aboutRenée Fladen (later Fladen-Kamm), the then-girlfriend of the Left Banke's bassistTom 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.[10] "Walk Away Renée" was one of a series of love songs the infatuated Brown wrote for his muse.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15]
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 becausethe Beatles used the name "Michelle" in theirhit song of the same name; he likewise chose a French name, Renée.[16][17]
The song features analto flute solo[18] played during the instrumental bridge of the middle portion of the song. Brown was inspired to add it bythe Mamas & the Papas song "California Dreamin'" which had been recorded in November 1965, but was not an immediate hit until early 1966.[19] The arrangement for "Walk Away Renée " also includes a lush string orchestration, a jangling harpsichord part, and a descendingchromatic 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 violinistHarry Lookofsky, who also led the string players.[2][20] The session took place in March 1966.[2]
Musicians
Technical[20]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts
|
| "Walk Away Renée" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Solid centre variant of the UK single | ||||
| Single bythe Four Tops | ||||
| from the albumReach Out | ||||
| B-side | "Your Love Is Wonderful" | |||
| Released | January 18, 1968[27] | |||
| Length | 2:42 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriters | Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone | |||
| Producer | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||
| The Four Tops singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
TheFour Tops' recording was featured on their 1967 albumReach Out and is the second most successful cover version,[28] having reached number 15 on the soul singles chart,[29] number 14 on theBillboard Hot 100, and charting higher than the Left Banke in Canada at number 2 on theRPM Magazine charts. Overseas, it peaked at number 3 on theUK Singles Chart and number 5 in theIrish Singles Chart in January 1968.[30][31]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.[32]Billboard called it "an exciting rock ballad" and said that the "driving vocal workout and exciting production will hit hard and fast."[33]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| "Walk Away Renee" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byRick Price | ||||
| from the albumHeaven Knows | ||||
| B-side | "We've Got Each Other" | |||
| Released | May 3, 1993 (1993-05-03)[40] | |||
| Length | 4:26 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters | Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone | |||
| Producer | Chris Lord-Alge | |||
| Rick Price singles chronology | ||||
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In May 1993, "Walk Away Renée" was released by Australian singer-songwriterRick Price as the fifth single from his debut studio album,Heaven Knows. The song peaked at number 21 in Australia and number 52 in Germany.
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[41] | 21 |
| Germany (GfK)[42] | 52 |
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 ...
