Left Banke, Four Tops - hell, I love both versions equally. Each one has its merits - what shines through is the beauty of the original melody and the wonderful, haunting lyrics. Many thanks for posting a masterpiece.
@wjf1950 Ha ha ha. You're dead right. I was amazed to read as well that Michael McKean of Spinal Tap was once a member of The Left Banke. Look it up !
remembers driving a 1966 ford pickup dating a girl named renee at the time this song was playing on the radio when she walked away ,tough split i never forgot it and when i hear this i still see her walking away
OMG what memories this brings back memories of spending a whole summer in the hospital all we had to look forward to was cousin Brucie on the radio and meeting other youngsters i met another young person with MD who was in a wheel chair named Renee she had an awesome personality
Bless you where ever you are Renee..This song is for you
ACTUALLY ..Steve Martin (The Left Banke's lead singer) DOES look a little like Paul McCartney....but I think he looks MUCH MORE like Dino Danelli (the drummer for The Rascals)..go watch one of their vids and tell me I'm WRONG !! lol...he's a DEAD RINGER for him...
@davidlangzelli yeah...I just realized it..lol...I was looking at the vid and then it dawned on me...trivial point, really..the music is the IMPORTANT thing obviously....love this song:)
The band comes from NYC (my home area)..Michael Brown (the keyboardist wrote "Renee" & "Pretty Ballerina" (my fave)...the lead singer was from Spain actually....CLASSIC
@pigurine Actually I must disagree with you, because a lot of the songs that became popular in the 1950s and 60s were copied from popular pieces of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, but there were some songs that were original and forever will be in my own heart, but to say it was the only decade with pure hits...I would not say that.
@pigurine Again I must disagree although I like music from the 60s I must say that as you wrote; In the 1960s you had TV and Radio, even in 3rd world countries they had that technology thus the music became global, yet the music that was written in the 1910s through the 30s did not have that possibility, to rate a group a song just because they sang about drugs, sex and anti-war themes does not make them great, yet I respect your perspective.
@pigurine A large portion of the Beatles early work was not original, if I have misunderstood what you're saying I apologise, I cannot see the post you are replying to.
Tom Finn's response upon learning that Tony Sansone actually wrote the lyrics to Walk Away Renee: "Tony, Thanks for dispelling the myth about Mike writing the song for Renee. Hey I’m the guy who was supposed to be her boyfriend. Another myth. We hung out but it wasn’t like she was my girlfriend. People like the story of Mike being lovesick. If he was lovesick, I never saw it. Yeah! He dug her, a lot of people did, she was very pretty..... Thanks, Tom Finn – Of The Left Banke"
@druther530 Yes, I agree. You can't top the Tops, of course, but as you say, the rueful quaility of longing and loss has never been duplicated in another song....
@theoxley What he meant is rock he can tolerate (as a classical music lover) because it has classical melodic elements. But this is NOT what rock was meant to be. Rock n roll is supposed to be gritty and rompy blues-based music. This song is 1960s pop, not rock & roll.
Ehh, I feel like I should like this, but it's just a bit too... uninteresting. There's better Baroque music out there, there's better Pop music out there. Hell, there's even better Baroque Pop music out there. These guys kind of seem like pale imitations. On the other hand, I love the music of Michael Brown's (the keyboardist/songwriter) father, Harry Lookofsky. It's criminal how overlooked he is in the Jazz spectrum
@mark10579: Pale imitation? This was the song that STARTED baroque rock & roll. BTW: Harry Lookofsky managed the group for the short time they were together. And I love his work with Blue Mitchell. Whether you can appreciate "Walk Away Renee" or not - it remains a milestone moment in the evolution of pop music.
@mark10579: For teens from Chicago to New York - "Renee" had a sound similar to the bands at our school dances. It really spoke to us.
Other Chicago to NYC regional sounds: Things I'd Like To Say (New Colony 6), It's Cold Outside (The Choir), Younger Girl (The Critters), Sugar On Sunday (Tommy James & The Shondells), Kind of a Drag (The Buckinghams), A Thing Of The Past (The Tweeds), Dark Side (Shadows Of Knight), Sugar & Spice (Cryan Shames), I Can't Find The Time To Tell You (Orpheus).
I'm trying to figure out what year this came out...1970? I was just 5 years old, but I actually remember this because Rene was my best friend's name at that time.
@TypesALot No problem..I remember distinctly only because they were a local band from my native NYC area...I was 13 when it came out...just so beautiful a song..and you're RIGHT..by 1970 it had ENORMOUS airplay..I remember Cousin Brucie playing it on WABC AM (out of New York ALL the time !) Thanks :)
what happened to the last refrain??? "Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall/still finds a way to haunt me/tho they're so small" Remember the words like yesterday--such a sap am I.....
This was a full blown gangster rap song from the get go! Look at the white shirt and tie the lead singer has on. Clearly mocking the white way of life! And trade! We've got to see trade as opportunity. Not as a competitive scary thing but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All this under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that..........
This was the first rap song, of course. The strings were ironic, the harmonies an intentional laugh at white, middle-class sensibilities. Even the name "Renee" is an allusion to black street walker famous in Milwaukee at the time.
@vcx9dfne Wikipedia sez,: "The song is one of a number Brown wrote about Renee Fladen-Kamm, then-girlfriend of The Left Banke's bassist Tom Finn and object of The Left Banke's keyboardist Michael Brown's affection. 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.""
@vcx9dfne How did you get the insane idea this is rap?!! Rap is talking, not singing, and Bert Sommer sings, not talks. And this song has nothing to do with a streetwalker. It's about the then-girlfriend of bassist Tom Finn, as acmefilmco points out.
@kaldemvor : Fact --Rene walked away because she fell in love with my brother Woody,married ,had a beautiful child, moved to Cambridge,MA--- then two SF---She currently lives in Berkely,CA
I have this on orignal 45. I am American and have a French spouse, much younger than I. Wow, did this song blow him away. He was not born until '67. Greetings from Paris via the USA, and thanks for posting.
@MrKissfan3 So sorry to hear of your condition. If I can help, let me know. Oh, by the way, I like it a lot. I was sixteen when I first heard it in 1966.
Not me. I had a "princeton": short all over and a little extra bit in front, like TinTin's.
[So hard to score acid when everyone thinks you're a narc. But the narcs are the guys have long hair and rainbow mushrooms on their van.]
Now get a hair cut, hippie. And i don't care which one.
I love this song. Like "Ruby Tuesday," I thought maybe it was about something. As VCX9DFNE points out, it is: Renée, famous black street walker who worked the House of the Foaming Pabst.
I remember this ..as a kid i loved to hear it ..and now when i hear it .. i drift back to my youth.. I wish there are songs like this now...just like my youth gone and never to return...so sad..
interesting to see them 'perform'. I love how he's slapping the change in his pockets doubletime :> Fun ear candy and yes, he does look a bit like Sir Paul - something that probably helped him get laid over and over - thanks for posting
Thanks for all the "green thumbs up"...thankful that I got to see/hear these guys in concert in person. Not for a minute am I casting stones at anyone for her/his taste in music...just wish you and your loved ones could have been there...think you would have liked them. OMG!...briefly worked as a movie theater usher back then..."English Leather", "Canoe", "Bay Rum" men's cologne, and let's not forget the ladies Avon "Wishing". I forget...was Lincoln President?...Tunesmith
It's almost 50 years since I first heard this record yet not a day goes by that I don't hear it played on the radio.
And it continues to bring back memories of those few wonderful years in the mid 60's in Britain where I lived although this is an American group. Truly a song for the ages but sadly just a one hit wonder for The Left Bank
@gordonAfranks well..their follow-up was "Pretty Ballerina" (which is even MORE beautiful than "Renee"--if that's even possible :) "Ballerina" came out in early '67--it never reached #1, but it's still considered a classic..I absolutely LOVE this band from my hometown area of NYC...
these guys are from new york ,not engand. they went on to form, stories, a much different type of band ,including the number one hit brother louie, they also had a near miss with the well done mammy blue...tommy
I thing this version is the best but the Four Tops is great as well, the best cover in recording history, in my opinion, either version you choose, you're getting a masterpiece.
I still have the 45 record of this song.I loved it as a teenager and years later,still loving it,gave my daughter Renee for her middle name. My grandaughter was born last month and her middle name is Renee.What a lovely name-What a lovely song!
please tell me.....right at about 37-38...he sings ..my thoughts are not the same..
is that a skip?...the music is .jerky..or is that the original pattern. it sounds weird.
and to all you ladies out there,,,i looked just like the singer when i was his age back then. i have lost the great hair, same weight and, i still retain the same choir boy gleam in my eyes.
@TubeNumber1USA ...so it 'is' a skip..and you filled-in the lyrics..thanks. even with those few words missing in there on here,,,it still is...a timeless little classic.
The Left Banke are still around; they have reunited in part and are performing new shows. If you like their music, post on their Facebook page (The Official Left Bank Fan Page) and say so. There is a LOT more music of theirs to hear.
The Twin Towers in NYC are the first frames of this video. When I listen to the lyrics and think about what could not have been know in 1966 by those young musicians...I am beyond words to express what I feel. It is very powerful emotionally to me. Thank you for this very special post.
You what I find really amazing Julie B. 20 years from now people are going to refer to that C**P your 19 year old is listening to as classic material. Not you yourself of course but than again do your parents consider Hendrix and Zappa classic material?
All the anti-rap baby boomers commenting here seem to forget how much their parents hated the music they listened to. Ignorant, narrow-minded people spawned more ignorant narrowminded people. I feel fortunate to have broken the cycle, and I'm able to like both this and hip-hop. Opens up the possibility of so much more music in my life. I feel sad for these people, they've forced their minds shut to new opportunities and experiences. That's a shame.
@pikachusurf I give you a thumbs down on your comment. I listen to most styles of music from Funk to Metal and some of the new school stuff is pretty cool, like XXX or even the Ting Tings and Tokyo Police (I'm 45 btw) but and a very big BUT-one day you will wake up become 45 years old and will question the music of 2025 something. Just wait and see. Hip Hop died in 1997-98 in my opinion.
@MrVeesworld styles of music don't die. Interest in them dies within each person. there is always good music, there is always bad music. I'm wasting my life on music I like. I hope I can still do that in 2038, when I turn 45, and hopefully I'll still be contributing to music myself.
@pikachusurf Excellent retort. I enjoy a good debate. I will go on record as to say this: Each form of entertainment has it's golden era - Hollywood circa 1939-59, rock n roll 1957-1969, hip hop 1985-1996, and so forth. I do believe you will be singing a different tune in 30 years though.
Also, I take umbrage to the fact that you spoke a negative generalization about youth of today but then immediately protested my use of a negative generalization about middle-aged people. We're both hypocrites, let's not kid ourselves around here, that's simple human nature.
I"ve said this before, and will say it again and again. Steve Martin Caro's soulful voice is perfect for this song. It so perfectly reflects the pain of a lost first love. Thanks again for posting and keeping this up.
I have NEVER seen any Left Banke footage. So thanks. When I got along with my parents (that was a long time ago now) we played a trivia game and it seemed to amaze them that I knew the words to this song (in order to complete the question). Depressing as it is. Again thanks.
How the heck did this devolve into a tired and trite referendum on the legitimacy of rap as a musical form? Whether you believe rap sucks or not is immaterial. Just enjoy the wonderful baroque pop of the Left Banke. Also check out my favorite Left Banke song, "Pretty Ballerina," after this (which is also about Renee, the subject of this song and Michael Brown's crush in high school.)
I also agree with the comments about Rap. Especially the crass rap songs.
There's no mystery of love, no longing to win the girl like this song. It's forceful, selfish and narcissistic. Like a big pissing contest where guys compare the size of... Can you imagine thinking that way 24/7? What has the world come to?
I agree with all the comments regarding the opinions of Rap music on this page. In plain English, Rap music can only be described as Scum of the Earth music performed by real scumbags. This wasn't a big hit here in the UK where I live, I was a teenager in the sixties, I loved this song very much & still do, I look back to those days & feel blessed to have lived in that decade of wonderful music
Thank you for making this video. It was one of the first singles I ever owned when I began buying records, and I never ever saw them perform it anywhere. What happened to contemporary music after 1981 is beyond me, it was never the same after that...perhaps even before.
I am a US Army Vietnam Vet 1967-68. I first heard this on AFVN. I still cry why when I hear it. I don't know why it is so beautiful after so many years. Well done.
@LasVegasJim I know what you mean....it's because it was a simpler time in some way...we saw a future, but the politicians took it all away....they have kill the American spirit. They have taken all the tax money and lived a life of luxury and never give a dam about the people they stool it from....they spat on us for a war we could have won had they let us...but it was not what they wanted...not we as a nation are paying the price. I got there just after you and it was even worst!
@truesignabove First of all, Welcome Home and thank you for your service. NEVER FORGET that we won the Vietnam War. YES! We have no permanent bases or military in RVN, they have never attacked the USA, we have free trade, you can tour the RVN, many Vietnamese have come to the USA as solid citizens, there were no "domino" counties to the Soviets, etc,. We won ONLY when we came home! I’m sorry to stray from my love of the music, but we’ve got to stop these endless wars and come home alive.
This is an AMAZING song straight from heaven - all the more so coz it was writtten by one so young. I always thought the four tops was the original until I u-tubed it a while back. Although the tops version has far more power - who can compete with the vocals of Levi Stubbs - there is a real charm about this original and the 60's feel that it evokes. As the Mr Stubbs himself sang in another 4 tops cover "sentimental fool am I - to hear an old love song - and wanna cry"
In 1966 we were blessed with this classic hit and with another song called Suspicions by a group called the Sidekicks....I was 14 at the time...I thought both lead singers were girls...turns out they were boys whose voices were just changing ...how lucky we were that these songs were captured at that time and we have them to enjoy forever...thanks for posting this much copied classic it is truly a great song...
Summer '66 pop music was getting harder and harder....not that that was all bad, with great stuff like "Wild Thing", "Psychotic Reaction", etc. But "Walk Away Rene" seemed to come out of nowhere like an oasis, a softer more mellow style pointing the way for things to come!!
aAlarge portion of the Beatles early work was not original?who gives a rats ass?as long as it was good!
flyinv1967 5 days ago
Left Banke, Four Tops - hell, I love both versions equally. Each one has its merits - what shines through is the beauty of the original melody and the wonderful, haunting lyrics. Many thanks for posting a masterpiece.
Mrfairchap 1 week ago
Like this if the movie Joyful Noise brought you here.
igoape 1 week ago 7
4 tops # 1 on this one...thanks for the memories
MOJOCHAZZ 2 weeks ago
Is that Scott Baio from Happy Days on lead vocals ?
TheAlistairDick 2 weeks ago
@TheAlistairDick LOL thati exactly who I thought the lead singer looked like!
Planktontwo 1 week ago
@Planktontwo Thanks for saying that. My wife reckons I always get my likenesses wrong !
TheAlistairDick 1 week ago
@TheAlistairDick you are not alone. Women always have to be right. Don't they??
Planktontwo 1 week ago 2
@Planktontwo Yes. And you are better off not arguing with them if you want a quiet life "
TheAlistairDick 1 week ago 2
@TheAlistairDick ...no it is not....it's Steve Martin...look it up!!
wjf1950 4 days ago
@wjf1950 Ha ha ha. You're dead right. I was amazed to read as well that Michael McKean of Spinal Tap was once a member of The Left Banke. Look it up !
TheAlistairDick 3 days ago
such a great song yet they look so young
match9441 2 weeks ago in playlist YouTube Mix for The Left Banke
remembers driving a 1966 ford pickup dating a girl named renee at the time this song was playing on the radio when she walked away ,tough split i never forgot it and when i hear this i still see her walking away
dburkssr 3 weeks ago
OMG what memories this brings back memories of spending a whole summer in the hospital all we had to look forward to was cousin Brucie on the radio and meeting other youngsters i met another young person with MD who was in a wheel chair named Renee she had an awesome personality
Bless you where ever you are Renee..This song is for you
alihart9 3 weeks ago
A kid of the 60's and I still love the music!
billeybop 3 weeks ago in playlist keep
So Paul really did die, and he joined The Left Banke. I get it now.
BlushingBride818 3 weeks ago
@BlushingBride818 The resemblance is uncanny :)
cudamanfl 3 weeks ago
ACTUALLY ..Steve Martin (The Left Banke's lead singer) DOES look a little like Paul McCartney....but I think he looks MUCH MORE like Dino Danelli (the drummer for The Rascals)..go watch one of their vids and tell me I'm WRONG !! lol...he's a DEAD RINGER for him...
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
@GUIDOBRAT I agree with you Steve does look a little like Dino Danelli
davidlangzelli 1 month ago
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@GUIDOBRAT I agree with you Steve does look a little like Dino Danelli.
davidlangzelli 1 month ago
@davidlangzelli yeah...I just realized it..lol...I was looking at the vid and then it dawned on me...trivial point, really..the music is the IMPORTANT thing obviously....love this song:)
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
The band comes from NYC (my home area)..Michael Brown (the keyboardist wrote "Renee" & "Pretty Ballerina" (my fave)...the lead singer was from Spain actually....CLASSIC
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
Aww, Paul McCartney's lil bro. So cute.
peacelovebeatles 1 month ago
One of my all time favorites! Nice to see the Left Banke perform. Thanks for the song and video.
jsbach15 1 month ago
@vmon8791 - WTF did you just write. I don't think I could be stoned enough to even begin to understand such tripe.
MsThebeMoon 1 month ago
HAHA Keywestjj...made me look!
Teresaolliz 1 month ago
best gangsta rap ever made.
fatalityhawk 1 month ago
mooi,lieve,schat,walk,away,waar,no,adres,takes,a,long,walk,je,mag,grapjes,uithalen,leuke,als,met,ik,doe,wietbeer,on,socks,nu,zeer,dirty,he,s,a,dirty,dancer,now,enrique
mollysangelique 1 month ago
These dudes mite be lip-syching.
stk6mkt 1 month ago
The group might be the Left Banke but the cute singer "dresses to the right" ;-)
keywestjj 2 months ago
The 60s a hit EVERY DAY, we thought it would never end.
A musical renaissance never seen before or ever again.
pigurine 2 months ago
@pigurine Actually I must disagree with you, because a lot of the songs that became popular in the 1950s and 60s were copied from popular pieces of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, but there were some songs that were original and forever will be in my own heart, but to say it was the only decade with pure hits...I would not say that.
vmon8791 1 month ago
@vmon8791 That is not what I meant, it was original, unique, impossible
to repeat. Why? Well the Beatles for example along with the enormous
surge of talent that followed. Anti war themes , drugs, love, It was not
the only decade that had hits, but to compare what music the 60s produced
against any other is ludcrious. Every one has there own taste, but the sheer
volume of original groups, songs, creativity, leaves the other decades in the
dust.
pigurine 1 month ago 12
@pigurine Again I must disagree although I like music from the 60s I must say that as you wrote; In the 1960s you had TV and Radio, even in 3rd world countries they had that technology thus the music became global, yet the music that was written in the 1910s through the 30s did not have that possibility, to rate a group a song just because they sang about drugs, sex and anti-war themes does not make them great, yet I respect your perspective.
vmon8791 1 month ago
@pigurine well said.
englishsandy 3 weeks ago
@pigurine A large portion of the Beatles early work was not original, if I have misunderstood what you're saying I apologise, I cannot see the post you are replying to.
ericcantona99 2 weeks ago
@ericcantona99 That is true, they were shaping their sound. What set them apart
was their unbeleivable musical talent that kept growing and expanding in to new
and undiscovered levels. They turned rock and roll from a craft into a art form.
To quote a musical critic, "the greatest composers since Schubert"
pigurine 2 weeks ago
... Yea the one and only Funny man at about age 18... like WOW!!!-:)
time4action101 4 days ago
One of the best songs ever and nice looking band.
MsJan1974 2 months ago 2
@MsJan1974 I agree with you. Great song and nice looking guys too.
abqneely 1 month ago in playlist Music
How many girls were named after this song?
Freyja1133 2 months ago
Whatever that guitarist is on, I want some.
MattMonk 2 months ago
I've said this before; Steve Martin Caro's voice is perfect for this ballad of lost love. It is so soulful.
scubawrestler 2 months ago
This is a beautiful love song,something RAP can't do, don't see any young talent and style like it today
69ssrszl1 2 months ago 2
Tom Finn's response upon learning that Tony Sansone actually wrote the lyrics to Walk Away Renee: "Tony, Thanks for dispelling the myth about Mike writing the song for Renee. Hey I’m the guy who was supposed to be her boyfriend. Another myth. We hung out but it wasn’t like she was my girlfriend. People like the story of Mike being lovesick. If he was lovesick, I never saw it. Yeah! He dug her, a lot of people did, she was very pretty..... Thanks, Tom Finn – Of The Left Banke"
ann2kin 2 months ago
I just read that rolling stone name this like the 220th best song of all time. hahahahahahahahaHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kingofallwhites 2 months ago
I went to "Spider Gates Cemetery" in Leicester, Massachusetts in 1988, with a girl named Rene, and wonder if she still remembers..? Dan O'Niallain
oldiesbutgoodies67 2 months ago
Love the suits and ties and the way they dressed back then. Just respectful and classy. What the heck happened??? LOL
59catmando 3 months ago
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@59catmando
"Love the suits and ties and the way they dressed back then. Just respectful and classy."
Very British.
NearAbbeyRoad 3 months ago
I love Levi Stubbs' voice,, but the Tops weren't great on this cover,, the Left Banke still did it best,,,, imho
MaddieJalynShow 3 months ago 2
@druther530 Yes, I agree. You can't top the Tops, of course, but as you say, the rueful quaility of longing and loss has never been duplicated in another song....
snihplod24 3 months ago
Awesome song and band, loved it then and now!
rareone2369 3 months ago
Four Tops may got more music to it, but it can never catch the spirit of this version.
This is truly a classic.
kustot 3 months ago 2
Leonard Bernstien said that Walk Away Renee was what rock was meant to be.
theoxley 3 months ago 10
@theoxley What he meant is rock he can tolerate (as a classical music lover) because it has classical melodic elements. But this is NOT what rock was meant to be. Rock n roll is supposed to be gritty and rompy blues-based music. This song is 1960s pop, not rock & roll.
slevisman 3 weeks ago
@slevisman
I remember in the 60's this style was called baroque rock.
theoxley 3 weeks ago
@theoxley Precisely.
slevisman 3 weeks ago
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I think you have to have lived through this time to like this song. It really brings me back to that time.
Srdfilms 3 months ago
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Srdfilms 3 months ago
Better version is The Four Tops
tlpendar 3 months ago
haha this song has my name in it :3 made my day
nannerprime99 3 months ago
Ehh, I feel like I should like this, but it's just a bit too... uninteresting. There's better Baroque music out there, there's better Pop music out there. Hell, there's even better Baroque Pop music out there. These guys kind of seem like pale imitations. On the other hand, I love the music of Michael Brown's (the keyboardist/songwriter) father, Harry Lookofsky. It's criminal how overlooked he is in the Jazz spectrum
mark10579 3 months ago
@mark10579: Pale imitation? This was the song that STARTED baroque rock & roll. BTW: Harry Lookofsky managed the group for the short time they were together. And I love his work with Blue Mitchell. Whether you can appreciate "Walk Away Renee" or not - it remains a milestone moment in the evolution of pop music.
TubeNumber1USA 3 months ago 2
@TubeNumber1USA That's fair. I really did want to like this song, it just wasn't "doing it" for me
mark10579 3 months ago
@mark10579: For teens from Chicago to New York - "Renee" had a sound similar to the bands at our school dances. It really spoke to us.
Other Chicago to NYC regional sounds: Things I'd Like To Say (New Colony 6), It's Cold Outside (The Choir), Younger Girl (The Critters), Sugar On Sunday (Tommy James & The Shondells), Kind of a Drag (The Buckinghams), A Thing Of The Past (The Tweeds), Dark Side (Shadows Of Knight), Sugar & Spice (Cryan Shames), I Can't Find The Time To Tell You (Orpheus).
TubeNumber1USA 3 months ago
If you don't like this, you suck. lol
tpowell453 3 months ago
I have always loved this, thanks for the memories Lilibit90
Delila310 3 months ago
back to highschool
guido1365 3 months ago
Wow. I was a little stunned to see this vid start with vintage footage of the Twin Towers...
grandcarriage1 3 months ago
I'm trying to figure out what year this came out...1970? I was just 5 years old, but I actually remember this because Rene was my best friend's name at that time.
TypesALot 3 months ago
@TypesALot 1965 , before even the beatles were doing this style.. amazing they don't get more credit
HackerGuitarist 3 months ago
@TypesALot came out in 1966...
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
@GUIDOBRAT - Thanks so much! It probably got a lot of airplay in 1970 when I really remembered it! Great song!!
TypesALot 1 month ago
@TypesALot No problem..I remember distinctly only because they were a local band from my native NYC area...I was 13 when it came out...just so beautiful a song..and you're RIGHT..by 1970 it had ENORMOUS airplay..I remember Cousin Brucie playing it on WABC AM (out of New York ALL the time !) Thanks :)
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
what happened to the last refrain??? "Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall/still finds a way to haunt me/tho they're so small" Remember the words like yesterday--such a sap am I.....
TheBizzyBlonde 3 months ago
@TheBizzyBlonde ...Your not a 'sap' and thanks for the lyrics .... i never was able to get those down...-:)
time2act1001 3 months ago
Super song. Great stuff is right!! Life was fun!!
emm6008 3 months ago
Great stuff! Man, life WAS fun back then...well what I remember! haha
jbarry54 3 months ago
awesome!!! another hot band from the 60s, and another smash hit.
damanfrom808 3 months ago
What great days those were!
ShanghaiJill 3 months ago
This was a full blown gangster rap song from the get go! Look at the white shirt and tie the lead singer has on. Clearly mocking the white way of life! And trade! We've got to see trade as opportunity. Not as a competitive scary thing but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All this under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that..........
blabblab1212 3 months ago
Are you people nuts? This has nothing to do with rap
occur1313 3 months ago 2
This was the first rap song, of course. The strings were ironic, the harmonies an intentional laugh at white, middle-class sensibilities. Even the name "Renee" is an allusion to black street walker famous in Milwaukee at the time.
vcx9dfne 4 months ago
@vcx9dfne Wikipedia sez,: "The song is one of a number Brown wrote about Renee Fladen-Kamm, then-girlfriend of The Left Banke's bassist Tom Finn and object of The Left Banke's keyboardist Michael Brown's affection. 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.""
acmefilmco 4 months ago
@vcx9dfne How did you get the insane idea this is rap?!! Rap is talking, not singing, and Bert Sommer sings, not talks. And this song has nothing to do with a streetwalker. It's about the then-girlfriend of bassist Tom Finn, as acmefilmco points out.
kaldemvor 3 months ago 12
@kaldemvor : Fact --Rene walked away because she fell in love with my brother Woody,married ,had a beautiful child, moved to Cambridge,MA--- then two SF---She currently lives in Berkely,CA
61dbk 2 months ago
@61dbk Bingo! Woody and Renee were "married from '67-74...she's an opera singer and teacher in berkeley, ca..... have one son and a grandson"
ann2kin 2 months ago
@ann2kin Boink! You got it right. Do you know them?
61dbk 2 months ago
@kaldemvor He was saying that this song has everything that hip hop will never have.
WorldChallenge 2 months ago
@WorldChallenge If that's the case, he sure has a crazy way of saying so.
kaldemvor 2 months ago
Comment removed
ShanghaiJill 3 months ago
Oh the memories...
nitanewsreader 4 months ago
Rap sucks
dogcplayers 4 months ago 4
I have this on orignal 45. I am American and have a French spouse, much younger than I. Wow, did this song blow him away. He was not born until '67. Greetings from Paris via the USA, and thanks for posting.
CuteCatFaith 4 months ago
poppy cock sh*t
misskrisssable 4 months ago
Rap...Where the C is silent.....
grrwalker 4 months ago 2
Yo soy namero 533,334.
Yo gano!
harponercam 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
im a sperm cell and i like this
MrKissfan3 4 months ago 22
@MrKissfan3 OK.... I give up. What does your comment mean? lol
chisaoboy 2 months ago
@MrKissfan3 So sorry to hear of your condition. If I can help, let me know. Oh, by the way, I like it a lot. I was sixteen when I first heard it in 1966.
slkaiser69 2 months ago
Paul McCartney look-alike !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We all looked like that . Iam 61 yrs.old i have Long Gray Hair !!!!
johnhharley48 4 months ago 2
@johnhharley48
Not me. I had a "princeton": short all over and a little extra bit in front, like TinTin's.
[So hard to score acid when everyone thinks you're a narc. But the narcs are the guys have long hair and rainbow mushrooms on their van.]
Now get a hair cut, hippie. And i don't care which one.
I love this song. Like "Ruby Tuesday," I thought maybe it was about something. As VCX9DFNE points out, it is: Renée, famous black street walker who worked the House of the Foaming Pabst.
artsavant 4 months ago
Music today,appears to be more diverse and generational,covering huge ,"divides" such as regional,cultural,economic,political, and social.
Back then,most music was just, FUN !
patascortitas 4 months ago
Paul McCartney look-alike.
flbntz 4 months ago
These guys were from NYC....
37terraplane 4 months ago
I remember this ..as a kid i loved to hear it ..and now when i hear it .. i drift back to my youth.. I wish there are songs like this now...just like my youth gone and never to return...so sad..
turkey61 4 months ago
Nice
nmdeal 5 months ago
my , brings back great memories... the best ever song... thanks for posting....
sylvia101ification 5 months ago 3
....... back again, as there really is no substitute for meaningful lyrics and harmony...-:)
time2act1001 5 months ago
interesting to see them 'perform'. I love how he's slapping the change in his pockets doubletime :> Fun ear candy and yes, he does look a bit like Sir Paul - something that probably helped him get laid over and over - thanks for posting
mdmphd 5 months ago
Thanks for all the "green thumbs up"...thankful that I got to see/hear these guys in concert in person. Not for a minute am I casting stones at anyone for her/his taste in music...just wish you and your loved ones could have been there...think you would have liked them. OMG!...briefly worked as a movie theater usher back then..."English Leather", "Canoe", "Bay Rum" men's cologne, and let's not forget the ladies Avon "Wishing". I forget...was Lincoln President?...Tunesmith
tunesmith09 5 months ago
singer sounds a bit like robert smith on the chorus. wild.
platypusrex256 5 months ago
It's almost 50 years since I first heard this record yet not a day goes by that I don't hear it played on the radio.
And it continues to bring back memories of those few wonderful years in the mid 60's in Britain where I lived although this is an American group. Truly a song for the ages but sadly just a one hit wonder for The Left Bank
gordonAfranks 5 months ago 2
@gordonAfranks well..their follow-up was "Pretty Ballerina" (which is even MORE beautiful than "Renee"--if that's even possible :) "Ballerina" came out in early '67--it never reached #1, but it's still considered a classic..I absolutely LOVE this band from my hometown area of NYC...
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
Steve Martin from Puerto Rico....moved to N.Y. City in 1964....Baroque Pop
The strings are next to God...
wjf1950 6 months ago
@wjf1950 I thought he was from Spain...:)
GUIDOBRAT 1 month ago
... I keep coming back and back to this lovely song... Thank You once again... Sincerely, Danny
time2act1001 6 months ago
Yup, not a British group, but obviously influenced by them.
brianjlevine 6 months ago
1960's The Brittish finally invaded america and won....lol... I still prefer the american groups of the era !
B4BoomersBlockBoy7 6 months ago
these guys are from new york ,not engand. they went on to form, stories, a much different type of band ,including the number one hit brother louie, they also had a near miss with the well done mammy blue...tommy
tommieparch 6 months ago
I thing this version is the best but the Four Tops is great as well, the best cover in recording history, in my opinion, either version you choose, you're getting a masterpiece.
rainstormz28 6 months ago
I watched it again; great song.
MrWhats999 6 months ago
Thanks for posting this beautiful music to remind us what we had many, many years ago!
SiebenbuergerSxn 6 months ago
He was fine, wasn't he? Oh, and the song is still very, very cool. Feels like just yesterday.
escrime11 6 months ago
I still have the 45 record of this song.I loved it as a teenager and years later,still loving it,gave my daughter Renee for her middle name. My grandaughter was born last month and her middle name is Renee.What a lovely name-What a lovely song!
TheHeartmindsoul 6 months ago
please tell me.....right at about 37-38...he sings ..my thoughts are not the same..
is that a skip?...the music is .jerky..or is that the original pattern. it sounds weird.
and to all you ladies out there,,,i looked just like the singer when i was his age back then. i have lost the great hair, same weight and, i still retain the same choir boy gleam in my eyes.
CHUCKLOVES1969 6 months ago
@CHUCKLOVES1969: The empty sidewalks of my block are not the same - you're not to blame.
TubeNumber1USA 3 months ago
@TubeNumber1USA ...so it 'is' a skip..and you filled-in the lyrics..thanks. even with those few words missing in there on here,,,it still is...a timeless little classic.
CHUCKLOVES1969 3 months ago
this is a renee song!!! and i'm39 still
MrBigback23 6 months ago
Their masterpiece.
russtyler 6 months ago
Beautiful sons, the oldies that begin with the latter T and W are great
WetPooooopie 6 months ago
The Left Banke are still around; they have reunited in part and are performing new shows. If you like their music, post on their Facebook page (The Official Left Bank Fan Page) and say so. There is a LOT more music of theirs to hear.
sahpngyi 6 months ago
Head and shoulders above most pop music of that time or any time
MacFeeley 6 months ago
Thank you very much for posting this.It gives me inner peace by bringing back some great memories.
13glasse 6 months ago
An era lost: I luv this ole time music!
ShellTrek 6 months ago
Beautiful string work.
Great song.
Peace.
Rock
rockinroller7 6 months ago
The Twin Towers in NYC are the first frames of this video. When I listen to the lyrics and think about what could not have been know in 1966 by those young musicians...I am beyond words to express what I feel. It is very powerful emotionally to me. Thank you for this very special post.
LasVegasJim 6 months ago
You what I find really amazing Julie B. 20 years from now people are going to refer to that C**P your 19 year old is listening to as classic material. Not you yourself of course but than again do your parents consider Hendrix and Zappa classic material?
andrewandzack 6 months ago
The original, and, as fine as it is, The Four Tops made this song their own. I firmly believe that.
merseymain 6 months ago
Cute kid....
wjf1950 7 months ago
All the anti-rap baby boomers commenting here seem to forget how much their parents hated the music they listened to. Ignorant, narrow-minded people spawned more ignorant narrowminded people. I feel fortunate to have broken the cycle, and I'm able to like both this and hip-hop. Opens up the possibility of so much more music in my life. I feel sad for these people, they've forced their minds shut to new opportunities and experiences. That's a shame.
pikachusurf 7 months ago
Comment removed
pikachusurf 7 months ago
@pikachusurf I give you a thumbs down on your comment. I listen to most styles of music from Funk to Metal and some of the new school stuff is pretty cool, like XXX or even the Ting Tings and Tokyo Police (I'm 45 btw) but and a very big BUT-one day you will wake up become 45 years old and will question the music of 2025 something. Just wait and see. Hip Hop died in 1997-98 in my opinion.
MrVeesworld 7 months ago
@MrVeesworld styles of music don't die. Interest in them dies within each person. there is always good music, there is always bad music. I'm wasting my life on music I like. I hope I can still do that in 2038, when I turn 45, and hopefully I'll still be contributing to music myself.
pikachusurf 7 months ago
@pikachusurf Excellent retort. I enjoy a good debate. I will go on record as to say this: Each form of entertainment has it's golden era - Hollywood circa 1939-59, rock n roll 1957-1969, hip hop 1985-1996, and so forth. I do believe you will be singing a different tune in 30 years though.
MrVeesworld 7 months ago
Also, I take umbrage to the fact that you spoke a negative generalization about youth of today but then immediately protested my use of a negative generalization about middle-aged people. We're both hypocrites, let's not kid ourselves around here, that's simple human nature.
pikachusurf 7 months ago
I"ve said this before, and will say it again and again. Steve Martin Caro's soulful voice is perfect for this song. It so perfectly reflects the pain of a lost first love. Thanks again for posting and keeping this up.
scubawrestler 7 months ago
I have NEVER seen any Left Banke footage. So thanks. When I got along with my parents (that was a long time ago now) we played a trivia game and it seemed to amaze them that I knew the words to this song (in order to complete the question). Depressing as it is. Again thanks.
UglySean 7 months ago
How the heck did this devolve into a tired and trite referendum on the legitimacy of rap as a musical form? Whether you believe rap sucks or not is immaterial. Just enjoy the wonderful baroque pop of the Left Banke. Also check out my favorite Left Banke song, "Pretty Ballerina," after this (which is also about Renee, the subject of this song and Michael Brown's crush in high school.)
pulykamell 7 months ago 24
I also agree with the comments about Rap. Especially the crass rap songs.
There's no mystery of love, no longing to win the girl like this song. It's forceful, selfish and narcissistic. Like a big pissing contest where guys compare the size of... Can you imagine thinking that way 24/7? What has the world come to?
PinkLederhosen 7 months ago
Comment removed
PinkLederhosen 7 months ago
I agree with all the comments regarding the opinions of Rap music on this page. In plain English, Rap music can only be described as Scum of the Earth music performed by real scumbags. This wasn't a big hit here in the UK where I live, I was a teenager in the sixties, I loved this song very much & still do, I look back to those days & feel blessed to have lived in that decade of wonderful music
longboarder771 7 months ago
I'm 14, and not really into rap, becasue I heard this first
bob18thspartan 7 months ago
Comment removed
PinkLederhosen 7 months ago
i enjoy both the original and four tops versions of this beautiful song!
TheHigh94 7 months ago
Beautiful song, and such a lovely rendition...Very melancholy, the way it's suppose to be.....
Crosstownjournal 7 months ago
Thank you for making this video. It was one of the first singles I ever owned when I began buying records, and I never ever saw them perform it anywhere. What happened to contemporary music after 1981 is beyond me, it was never the same after that...perhaps even before.
MainelyLove 7 months ago
hey, look at the guitarist on your left @ 0:45...He looks like he's not strumming at all...Oh they're lipsynching!! But it looks dorky!!
TheCatwoman61 7 months ago
One of the all time great songs ! Where did Rene go , it seems they never found her.
cookingnotes 7 months ago
One of the all time great songs !
cookingnotes 7 months ago
I am a US Army Vietnam Vet 1967-68. I first heard this on AFVN. I still cry why when I hear it. I don't know why it is so beautiful after so many years. Well done.
LasVegasJim 7 months ago 4
@LasVegasJim I know what you mean....it's because it was a simpler time in some way...we saw a future, but the politicians took it all away....they have kill the American spirit. They have taken all the tax money and lived a life of luxury and never give a dam about the people they stool it from....they spat on us for a war we could have won had they let us...but it was not what they wanted...not we as a nation are paying the price. I got there just after you and it was even worst!
truesignabove 7 months ago
@truesignabove First of all, Welcome Home and thank you for your service. NEVER FORGET that we won the Vietnam War. YES! We have no permanent bases or military in RVN, they have never attacked the USA, we have free trade, you can tour the RVN, many Vietnamese have come to the USA as solid citizens, there were no "domino" counties to the Soviets, etc,. We won ONLY when we came home! I’m sorry to stray from my love of the music, but we’ve got to stop these endless wars and come home alive.
LasVegasJim 7 months ago
A truly exquisite, morose pop song. I loved it the moment I heard it, age 5.
robertschelly 7 months ago
I named my daughter after this song but they used to make fun of her in school because of it.
Thankfully Walk-Away just ignored them !
45rpmSINGLES 8 months ago 3
@45rpmSINGLES that's pretty funny.
showtuneful 8 months ago
this guy was 16 when he wrote these lirix
MrKissfan3 8 months ago
one of the most exquisetly gorgeous songs ever
hellokit99 8 months ago 3
This is an AMAZING song straight from heaven - all the more so coz it was writtten by one so young. I always thought the four tops was the original until I u-tubed it a while back. Although the tops version has far more power - who can compete with the vocals of Levi Stubbs - there is a real charm about this original and the 60's feel that it evokes. As the Mr Stubbs himself sang in another 4 tops cover "sentimental fool am I - to hear an old love song - and wanna cry"
musical361 8 months ago 2
In 1966 we were blessed with this classic hit and with another song called Suspicions by a group called the Sidekicks....I was 14 at the time...I thought both lead singers were girls...turns out they were boys whose voices were just changing ...how lucky we were that these songs were captured at that time and we have them to enjoy forever...thanks for posting this much copied classic it is truly a great song...
roanokebarry 8 months ago
@roanokebarry Did you mean "SUSPICION" by Terry Stafford in 1964?
robie0788 7 months ago
@robie0788 No.....just as I said Suspicions by the Sidekicks....bring it up on youtube you will see what I mean...
roanokebarry 7 months ago
@roanokebarry Gotcha it's a different song. Very nice.
robie0788 7 months ago
i wish i was born in this era
Bashedyourfacein 8 months ago
Those were the BEST days!
DaysOfPineAndRoses 8 months ago 2
this is beautiful people of today cant understand how much!
kitcat28 8 months ago 2
Summer '66 pop music was getting harder and harder....not that that was all bad, with great stuff like "Wild Thing", "Psychotic Reaction", etc. But "Walk Away Rene" seemed to come out of nowhere like an oasis, a softer more mellow style pointing the way for things to come!!
pdorn777 8 months ago