I was walking the aisles of our neighborhood grocery story this week when the original recording of “Walk Away Renee” started playing on the overhead speakers. There might have been another customer or two somewhere in the store, but I was virtually alone and started singing along. I haven’t heard the song since I posted my favorite versions a few years ago. I came home and gave each of them several more spins. What a song.
Written by Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, and Tony Sansone, “Walk Away Renee” broke through the radio static in the fall of 1966 to become a hit. 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 Left Banke single reached number 5 on the charts. Brown’s father, Harry Lookofsky, had the keys to the studio and helped produce the recording. 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, but it hurts. Singing along with the song last week, I was struck by its naked desolation. “Renee” is long gone. She doesn’t need to be told to walk away. The singer is talking to himself.
The song hit home with a lot of listeners. It reminded me of Peter Asher’s definition of a hit — a song you want to hear over again. Levi Stubbs glommed onto it immediately and covered it with the Four Tops on Motown. He proved Asher’s point. The Four Tops had a hit with it the following year.
Peter Noone recorded an unreleased cover of the song in 1968. Southside Johnny, Holly Cole, Rickie Lee Jones, Terry Reid, the Boston band Orpheus 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 2006 collection of Cajun-flavored songs. Savoy sings the high harmony on this one. The harmony compounds the feeling of heartbreak. 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 listeners this morning.
