Walk Away Renée: Rolling Stone's #220 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2004)

Walk Away Renée

Single: Left Banke

Album: Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina

B-side: I Haven't Got the Nerve

Released: July 1966

Genre: Baroque pop

Songwriters: Michael Brown, Bob Calilli, Tony Sansone

"Walk Away Renée" by the Left Banke is widely considered the quintessence of the baroque pop genre. The track was released as a single in July 1966, spent 13 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100, and peaked at No. 5. On their 2004 list, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Walk Away Renée" the 222nd of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

...one of the best and most definitive 

examples of ‘60s Baroque pop.

Allmusic biography

The Left Banke formed in New York in 1965. The teenage prodigy Michael Brown served as keyboardist and principal composer. The lineup featured soaring, near-falsetto lead vocals of Steve Martin Caro, accompanied by bassist Tom Finn, drummer George Cameron, and guitarist Jeff Winfield.

At just 16, Brown wrote “Just Walk Away Renée” after meeting Renée Fladen, the girlfriend of the band’s bassist. Described as a tall, free-spirited blonde, she became the song’s muse, which Brown completed about a month after their introduction.

Fladen happened to be in the control room during an early attempt to record the harpsichord part. Brown later recalled that her presence made him too nervous to perform, forcing him to abandon the session and return later, when he recorded the part without difficulty.

The use of a woman’s name in the title was inspired by The Beatles’ song “Michelle.” The refrain “Just walk away, Renée” is often misheard as “Don’t walk away, Renée,” but the lyric reflects the narrator’s resignation that her feelings will never be returned, and he is better off moving on.

The song reappeared on national charts through later cover versions by Four Tops in 1967. While the original recording did not chart in the UK, this version reached No. 3 there.