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 number 5.[2]

For the 2011 film, see Walk Away Renee (film).
"Walk Away Renée"
Single by the Left Banke
from the album Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina
B-side"I Haven't Got the Nerve"
ReleasedJuly 1966
StudioWorld United Studios, New York City
GenreBaroque pop[1]
Length2:43
LabelSmash
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)World United Productions, Inc.
The Left Banke singles chronology
"Walk Away Renée"
(1966)		 "Pretty Ballerina"
(1966)
Audio sample
  • file
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The song features a flute solo played during the instrumental bridge of the middle portion of the song. Brown got the idea for the flute solo from the Mamas & the Papas song "California Dreamin'" which had been recorded in November, 1965, but was not a hit and in heavy rotation until early 1966.[3] The arrangement 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 Brown's father, jazz and classical violinist Harry Lookofsky, who also led the string players.[4]

Rolling Stone placed "Walk Away Renée" at number 220 in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[5] The song returned to nationwide charts with cover versions by The Four Tops (1967) and Rick Price (1993).

Background

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. The song was written one month after Brown met her.[6] "Walk Away Renee" was one of a series of love songs the infatuated Brown wrote after meeting his newfound muse.[7] Other songs written 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.[8]

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[6]

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," he says. "There was no way I could do it with her around, so I came back and did it later."[9]

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 for the song, and that he randomly chose the name Renée because the Beatles used the name Michelle in their hit song of the same name, and so he did likewise, choosing the French name Renée as the female object for the song.[10][11]

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[4]

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

Chart performance

Four Tops cover
"Walk Away Renée"
Single by the Four Tops
from the album Reach Out
B-side"Your Love is Wonderful"
Released18 January 1968[16]
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 of the song was featured on their 1967 album Reach Out and is the second most successful cover version of the song,[17] having reached #15 on the soul singles chart,[18] #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 number 5 in the Irish Singles Chart in January 1968,[19][20] The Andantes provided backing vocals on this Motown release in unison with the other Tops.

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 No. 21 in Australia.

Vonda Shepard, in a version for the television show Ally McBeal, performed a lush recording, available on her album Songs from Ally McBeal (1998).

Weekly charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[27] 21
Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 52

References
  1. Stanley, Bob (September 21, 2007). "Baroque and a soft place". The Guardian.
  2. "Walk Away Renee". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2016-09-29.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "California Dreamin', Present at the Creation". NPR. Archived from the original on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  4. Session Notes For Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina LP Archived April 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine From Leftbanke.nu
  5. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  6. Walk Away Renee Archived 2007-04-27 at the Wayback Machine from leftbanke.nu
  7. 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.
  8. 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 ...
  9. "The Left Banke". Classic Bands. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  10. "Just Walk Away Renée". YouTube. September 23, 2012.
  11. Stagnaro, Angelo. "50 Years Ago, This Catholic Wrote a Song That Made the Beatles Jealous | Daily News". NCRegister.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6822." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  13. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  14. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 5, 1966". Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  15. "Top 100 Hits of 1966/Top 100 Songs of 1966". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  16. "Walk Away Renee / Your Love Is Wonderful - Four Tops". 45cat. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  17. 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.
  18. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 212.
  19. Whitburn, Joel. (2008). Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Record Research Inc. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7.
  20. Brown, Tony.; Warwick, Neil (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 426. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
  21. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100179." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walk Away Renee". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Four Tops – Walk Away Renee". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON The Four Tops"
  25. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  26. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  27. "Australian-charts.com – Rick Price %5BAU%5D – Walk Away Renee". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rick Price – Walk Away Renée". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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