“Walk Away Renee” is the beautiful pop song written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone. Brown played keyboards in the Left Banke — “Banke” is a giveaway that we are in the era of the British Invasion. Brown was 16 when he wrote the lyrics.
The song broke through to reach number 5 in 1966. Brown’s father, Harry Lookofsky, had the keys to the studio and helped produce the single. Brown sang lead and played the harpsichord. “Renee” is said to have been Renee Fladen, the girlfriend of bassist Tom Finn. Brown supposedly had an unspoken crush on her. He is quoted as saying she was in the studio when he first tried to play his part on harpsichord, but he needed a do-over at a later date because his hands were trembling.
The lyrics are self-explanatory. Sometimes you have to let go. Just about everyone can identify one way or another.
The song hit home with a lot of listeners. Levi Stubbs glommed onto it immediately and covered it with the Four Tops on Motown. They had a hit with it the following year.
Peter Noone recorded an unreleased version of the song in 1968. Vonda Shepard and others have covered it since. Jimmy LaFave slowed the tempo down in a heart-wrenching 1992 cover that reminded me how much I love the song.
Linda Ronstadt covered the song with Ann Savoy on Adieu False Heart, their great 2006 collection of Cajun-flavored songs. Savoy sings harmony on this one. Speaking of heartbreak, I should note that Adieu was Ronstadt’s last studio album. Sam Broussard is on acoustic guitar among the backing musicians. I especially wanted to share this sublime cover with interested readers this morning.
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