The LEFT BANKE: Band History |  

I still stop and listen when Walk Away Renee comes on the radio. I’m 76 years old and this song takes me back in time ❤

Pretty ballerina is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

I’m one of the ones who requested The Left Banke …this was magnificent..

i attended a memorial for Michael Brown shortly after he passed. Alan Merril and George Cameron sang Walk Away Rene with Michael Brown's twin sons playing the violin parts ..beautiful

Left Banke played my high school in 1968 with the Tokens and Lesley Gore when our school won the Clark’s Gum Wrapper contest :)

Can't get enough of Pretty Ballerina. What a great song!

Wonderful. Thankyou so much. I was born in 1947, so grew up with all the great music of the 60's. The Left Bank grabbed me. "Pretty Ballerina" still brings me to tears. Such an undervalued group.

I love Pretty Ballerina!

Hi there Matt! As a 20 year old Left Banke obsessive (and self-described music historian), I want to commend you wholeheartedly for your brilliant, well-crafted and insightful overview of this great band's career. It's funny that they're so well remembered, yet really on the strength of two tracks - despite a catalogue filled with so many gems (albeit complete commercial failure!) I really appreciate the time you must have taken to find all of these rare images as well (some I've never seen previously!). Their story is certainly a bittersweet one, like many of their songs. I agree totally with your thoughts on 'Left Banke Too' - which for some reason, even among their ardent fans, seems to be swept under the rug as subpar or unnecessary. I think that considering Michael Brown was the effective 'leader' and songwriting spearhead of the band, that Tom, Steve and George overwhelmingly exceeded expectations on their own with the quality of the songwriting and playing (and production from Paul Leka, who was riding high with 'Green Tambourine' and the like!). I also appreciate you mentioning Montage - I'm sure you were already aware of the track 'Men Are Building Sand' featuring on the 'Storm' CD as well in a Bert Sommer-led version pre-dating Montage's conception - to me this is a far superior arrangement, and while there will be ceaseless debate about whether that was really the 'Left Banke,' his vocals are hauntingly out of this world and I think it's one of the best tracks recorded under the Left Banke title. I love 'Ivy Ivy', but perhaps it wasn't very commercial and certainly marked the beginning of the end for chart success! Also, just in case you didn't know, the complete first album's tracks on the 'There's Gonna Be A Storm' CD are all brand new remixes from the multitracks by Rhino's legendary Bill Inglot - great sound quality, highly improved on the originals to my ears, though some songs lose a bit of that 'bite' which the original dodgy mixes have - the originals being inferior perhaps, but very of their time - in an enjoyable way! The original mixes are used on the 2011 reissues from Sundazed however. Finally, in a funny twist besides my own self-discovered love of the Left Banke, my dad was actually lab partners in his high school chemistry class with 'Ricky Brand' (as he remembers him) - he always recalls that Rick could easily nab members of the opposite sex being an aspiring guitarist, and usually missed class to go out on dates. This left Dad in the awkward position of doing all of the work and giving Rick half the credit, which he obliged for quite some time - but at some point called it off, replacing Rick with a female friend of his own...! That was the last my dad heard of him until he was in college and heard from a mutual friend that Rick was now part of the Left Banke, who were then currently local one-off hitmakers...! From my own research, I found that Rick is now a practicing psychologist, still based in the New York metro area - and of course, sadly, the last living member of any iteration of the band. My apologies for leaving such a long comment, but I hope some of this info may be of interest to you, and my sincere thanks again for some fantastic wisdom and entertainment, Matt! Long live the Left Banke!!

A very nice piece. And thanks for the kind words about the "Storm" CD. Tom Finn was very involved with it and that he was pleased with it meant the world to us.

Now that you've covered this favorite band of mine, perhaps you can tackle another of my favorite bands: the Beau Brummels. I love their "Triangle" and their "Bradley's Barn" albums, among others.

I have Left Banke’s “There’s Gonna Be A Storm” CD, and it is one you can play all the way through with very few (if any) sub-standard tracks.

I always loved the pathos this band could evoque with the baroque, 1966 was really an interesting time for avant garde music before rock got self aware and became formulized by marketing types

Somewhere , I have the original newspaper ad "Left Bank is looking for a new guitarist".... (I collect old newspapers)

"She May Call You Up Tonight" is perfect power pop.

"Walk Away Renee" is one of the sounds of the 1960s. I was a teenager back then and loved the song plus bands like The Association, Mamas & Papas, Lovin' Spoonful, Beach Boys. Listening to the music of the time, on a small medium wave (AM) transistor radio, from a "Pirate Radio" ship anchored in the Irish sea (UK) was part of my history and always will be. Thanks for the series.

loved that song Walk Away Renee

Grew up listening to these guys. They created some timeless music. My first love's name was Renee back in "65 so you can guess which song of theirs bring back the most heartfelt memories. Man, those were the days my friends

I had no idea Michael McKeon was actually self-satirizing in Spinal Tap when he said their first band, the New Originals, had to change their name. I always thought that was a New Yardbirds/Zeppelin reference. I also now know where his Baroque Pop chops come from on the lovely “Cups and Cakes,” by the Thamesmen. Currently residing in the where-are-they-now file.

Walk Away- a mesmerizing song & one of my top ten favorites.

What great memories, my friends and I hung out with the Banke, my girlfriend and her sister knew them well. We went to just about every gig and loved it. Thanks Dusty for introducjng me.

A history of the zombies would be awesome love groups like this that broke up way too soon

Way back when I had a tryout with Left Banke. I hauled my silvertone twin twelve and my mosrite to the Kaleidoscope on sunset Blvd. I wonder which left banke I was auditioning for. Needless to say I didn’t get the gig. Nice guys though.

Thank you for putting this bio together on The Left Banke!! I got to see them when I was 10 years old. My mother took my sister and I to concerts when we were growing up. She being 4 years older, Mom would let her take some of her friends along. I was just a tag-a-long but what great benefits! The concert I saw them at was on February 1, 1967 at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. They were there along with The Electric Prunes, Keith, and was headlined by The Beach Boys. You showed some concert posters and one was of that line up and brought back great memories. The Left Banke were very accessible after the concert. My sister got their autographs. Love what you do. I watch every one you post. Keep up the great work my friend!!

‘There’s Gonna Be a Storm’ sends a shiver up and down my spine every time - those shimmering strings are incredible.

This channel just keeps getting better and better

Lots of memories seeing "Electric Prunes" in that photo and "Strawberry Alarm Clock" on a concert poster. I had a few 45 RPM records released under the Buddha label. The one I recalled instantly was "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers. Some great music memories. Thanks, Matt!.

Back in the days where garage bands were a dime a dozen, here today gone tomorrow. The Left Banke left their mark in the music industry and with the records buying public with quite a few well-crafted songs and one of the best debut record albums by a garage band. I never get tired of hearing any tracks off that album. I love the melodic sounds and lyrics to "Sing Little Bird Sing" The Left Banke 2 written by Tom Feher. I recall hearing rumors that Steven Tyler was associated with The Left Banke but could not confirm that. Excellent homework on The Left Banke. Matt. 👍

Hallelujah! One of my favorite groups of my youth. I loved “Walk Away Rene’”from the first chord played. I’m always glad to hear the song whenever it comes on, where ever I happen to be. I’m an amateur musician and music producer and I tried my hand at recording my cover of this great song. It was horrible. My goal in writing and recording music is to come up with something beautiful like Walk Away Rene; it’s not likely, but I hope the members of that group are proud of their contributions to rock. I also loved “Pretty Ballerina” and “Sing Little Bird”. Thank you for expanding my knowledge of this group. I had always wondered what happened to them.

Thanks for this one! One of the greatest should-have-been-bands to come out of the 60's.

Cool beans, man. I was 16 when "Rene" hit the airwaves. It was a great record and from a group I'd forgotten all about. This was a somewhat esoteric, but nonetheless particularly compelling review, and an exemplary addition to your pop history oeuvre. Keep up the good work, man, I'm diggin' what you're cookin.'

Tom Scholz said he took the line from the Left Bank's gem Walk Away Renee for his great song More Than A Feeling. "Till I see Marianne walking away"

I could not hit play fast enough. Definitely a band music fans should check out! I like sharing their work with friends.

One of my favourites bands ever. The “storm” cd comiplation is probably one of my ten most played albums ever

You jumped over the Stories' other crown jewel, "I'm Coming Home", which includes one of the best choruses Michael Brown has ever written. Simply tears me apart. Made it to a respectable #42 in 1972 as a regional hit.

I don't know of a better record than Pretty Ballerina. Not saying it's "the best of all time" or anything. Just that it's perfect, and it's never ceased to move me when I hear it.

Another excellent job Matt. Again even at 66 I'm still learning things that I didn't know. I'm not trying to sound big-headed but I mean that's all I really know is music especially 60s and '70s so I'm really loving this what you're doing here. I have someone in mind that I think would really be interesting for you to discuss, he also was a friend of mine. I'll tell you more in an email. Again Matt I'm really enjoying this.

Thank you so much for your devotion to this amazing band. I have to be one of their biggest fans, wearing out their first album twice, ending up with three copies I have still. It is one of the truly special albums of the era, right up there with the Beatles’ best. I went to a Beach Boys concert because they were second on the bill. They played with a string quintet, much harder to do in an 18,000 seat arena back then. I was transfixed by the beauty of their composition.

Glad you highlighted 'Lazy Day' and 'Evening Gown', what fine tracks those are. Excellent presentation as always.

Matt, always wondered if Renee was an actual person, much like "Sloopy Girl". Seems Renee had a pretty positive and productive influence. I must mention The Four Tops here as their cover is pretty outstanding. Amazing what a little "Motown" sound can do. Both records are now classic time machines. ps: Like the round ice cube.

Great work Pop Goes the 60's. Great details on a band with such a convoluted career.

As a die-hard Left Banker - thanks so much for this!! I’m thrilled to learn “Strangers On A Train” is being re-released with bonus tracks!

Another interesting episode, Matt. The history of the Left Banke has many twists and turns so you must have had to do a fair bit of research to put a coherent profile together. Great job! Although I knew (and loved) "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" I was unaware of their other material until I came across a "tribute" CD. Although the covers (mostly by indie bands) were inconsistent, I was impressed by the depth of material. I unloaded the tribute disk once I got the real thing: THERE'S GONNA BE A STORM on the Mercury label. There are at least another dozen excellent songs in their oeuvre including "She May Call You Up Tonight" (excellently covered by Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet on their UNDER THE COVERS series), "Barterers And Their Wives", "There's Gonna Be A Storm" and, of course, the shimmering "Desiree". A takeaway of this (and other episodes) might be that merely having talent and some hits were not enough to make it really big in pop/rock. Good management, label support, a strong touring presence and, especially, a lot of luck, were also part of the equation! There were millions of bands that never got heard outside of their hometowns and thousands of bands, like the Left Banke, with limited success. This puts into perspective the achievements of The Association, Turtles, Lovin' Spoonful, Rascals, etc. The Beatles, Byrds, Kinks, Beach Boys, Stones, Who, etc. were on a whole other level in that era. You're getting dozens of band requests so I won't add to your 'to do' list other than to say, keep up the amazing work, Matt! Much appreciated.

I met the original Left Banke through my girlfriend's sister. She was a kind of groupie but was close to the band members. They did shows in New Jersey outdoors and asked help to set up which i did several times. Thanks for this vid,. They had a hard time playing live versions of their songs and were quite pissed about that. Overall it was a great experience. My girfriend's sister moved on to the Hollies. All this happened in '67 , I was 20. Thanks for the memories. PS the Banke liked to play pachinko in NYC.

Excellent review of the Left Banke and as one of the Baby Boom generation we would hear these great songs like Walk Away Renee and Pretty Ballerina on the radio but have no idea of how these songs came about. I'm a big fan of the use of the harpsichord on pop records which seems to have lasted from only about 1965 - 1972 (Left Banke and the Rolling Stones (Dandelion) in the earlier period and finally the Partridge Family and Jackson Five in the later period).

Such a great job Matt. You do such phenomenal research. The Left Banke was one of my favs growing up in Chicago. Played them all of the time. Pretty Ballerina and Walk Away Renee 45’s were playing often as was their album. Thank you again for such a thorough and well presented job on some of our favorite 60’s bands.

Great job on putting this together . You did your homework on this . Musically if you were to define the 60’s then Walk Away Renee was one of the songs that you would listen to. I never knew much about this band but now I know everything about them . Once again thanks for the great video ❤

Great stuff. Bert Sommer had an interesting career both as a performer and songwriter. Nice to see him get a little love.

Thank you, very much, my friend! An excellent video-lesson about this great and underrated band. I confess that always I listen a Left Banke song, I feel like they were always doing their best to bring us an unforgettable moment. And, in my opinion, they did it. From the "Too" album, a special track for me is "Nice To See You", with its psychedelic guitar introduction, the wind instruments sound (in that baroque style) and the wonderful vocal harmony. From the last album ("Voices calling"/"Stranges On A Train"), recorded in the seventies but only released in 1986, I like specially two of its tracks: "I Can Fly" and "Lorraine". Thanks so much, my friend Matt!

Another great Michael Brown project from the early 70s, were the Beckies. They only made one album, but the songs were very much in the Left Banke style. Great video!

I remember a documentary from 1966 on contemporary music of the time where Leonard Bernstein played a recording of the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina" as an example of fine composition. The Left Banke and Michael Brown in particular are definitely worth an investigation as I felt their contributions were trivialized, probably because of what the British were sending our way at the time.

Thanks Matt! You are 🐐 of 60s podcasts!

I was so glad that you mentioned the Steve Tyler/Aerosmith connection to the Left Banke. I read about it in Steve Tyler’s autobiography so I was really hoping you would mention it, and you did!

I love The Left Banke, so talented and so unique, they should have got the financial reward and the recognition that they so deserved. I am astounded at their lack of chart success. I was listening seriously to music from a very young age thanks to my teenage Aunts and my Mother ande was exposed to The Beatles in 1964 at age 4, and have loved music since. I was born in the UK and never knew or heard anything from The Left Banke. Only via the internet through a page citing groups relevant to The Zombies (Odessey and Oracle) which has always been one of my favourite albums was i directed to The Left Banke, got to say that i was so impressed by them. Amazingly talented magical band.

Thanks for another wonderful piece on a very special (if somewhat neglected) group. I was fortunate to have seen a couple of the reunion shows this century. Tom Finn and George Cameron were there, and the group was augmented by some terrific local players. Most prominent was Mike Fornatale who did a wonderful job recreating Steve Martin’s lead vocals. Michael Brown made a couple of unannounced appearances, and I kept missing him. Also, Steve Martin appeared with George Cameron after he and Tom Finn split. There was lots of drama, but it was a miracle that we got to witness these shows. Sadly, they’re all gone now. Thanks, again, for doing what you do. Nobody does it better.

I saw the reformed Left Banke at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. George and Tom signed my album jacket and ticket stub and were very nice to talk with. They are now framed.

Matt, you have an amazing album collection by the Left Banke! You are so deep into this music that we're hearing the unrecognized talent of these guys!

Steve Martin's voice defined their vocal sound. He was excellent. Beautiful, genius songs until suddenly the songs and the vocals became ordinary.

Enjoyed the video. Have always liked the Left Banke. Walk Away Renee is one of the greatest songs ever done. Always puts a smile on my face. Pretty Ballerina is a wonderful song as well. Thanks for doing the video. Always a learning experience!

Thanks a bunch for this one Matt I remember hearing Walk Away Renee when I was 14 and really liking it.The Rhino album hadn't come out yet and the only other track that I heard was Pretty Ballerina, which I also liked. I couldn't figure out why these guys weren't huge. Now I know. More importantly the music that has become available shows how good they were. I agree that they had a good rock sound and that gave them an edge that some of the folk rockers lacked. This was a group I was hoping you would get to. Cheers.

I named my daughter's middle name, "Renee" after West Banke's song. You're a veritable scholar of this music, sir, with an appreciation beyond your young years. A+

Lovely sounds from this band! Thanks for another highly informative band history.

Thanks Matt. You always hit it out of the park with your insightful videos. I woke up with Desiree in my head today and went to have a listen and here I am. Their music is haunting, well written and recorded which makes it timeless. I got shivers, then tears listening to these great songs today. BIG thanks.

Thank you for The Left Banke history. I found out today that ALL 5 of the original members are now gone. Feeling sad and nostalgic..., so good to have this video to watch now🌟❤

What a tragic story that had played out in so many bands of the mid-sixties. When the first song goes viral it is hard to follow up with a next hit. They did their best to hang in there, but they just got buried under their own sucess.

Thanks for this. (I think I was one of the "many" folks who requested it). I always considered Michael Brown and T. Finn as the thrust of the band, but when they hit with "Walk Away Renee" I was totally blown away. Bought the LP the same day, I'm sure. And you're right - their vocals were what really made the group. Really enjoyed this, great job.

Loved your History of the Left Banke. I am glad that I found your channel. The 60s to mid-70s, in my opinion, is the absolute best rock.

Thanks for doing this video, Matt... A very interesting view of this talented group.

Thank you Matt, this was fantastic. You're a very good presenter and do it without any hype but let the music speak for itself.

Finally got to see the Renee the song is based on, it takes a muse like her to inspire one of the most beautiful and sad songs ever. Another great job !!

Phenomenal job!! Thanks Matt

Thank you. This is my favorite music right now. I just got into this band the last year. Constantly listening to the first two albums. So inspiring!

I utterly love the Left Banke, ever since I was a teenager (some 20 years ago). I also love Montage, yes the vocalist definitely isn't as good but the soul is still there. So happy the algorithm got me introduced to your channel/this series, the 60s were utterly phenomenal. Thanks for the great video!

Fabulous presentation. Many thanks.

Noice job Pop Goes! Love the depth of the info here.

A favorite band of mine for my deep melancholy blues of my misspent youth. A real treat was your excellent and through journey thru their history. Thank you so much. Peace, Sam.....

Great band history Matt! I will definitely need to check out some more of this band’s music. Thanks again for making these great videos. This is so important since people will forget about some of these groups and could miss out of some great stuff! Great work!

What a wonderful and detailed historical video of this band, which I agree.........the vocal arrangements!

Thanks for this superb documentation of a group fondly remembered from my youth!

Matt, you do such an excellent and well-rounded features.... I know that no one to my knowledge presents what you do, and to the depth you present them in. Also, your narrative is so interesting!

I never knew how great these guys are. Thanks for bringing them to our attention, Matt. Great video as always!

Thank you for another great video Matt! I’ve heard about the Left Banke but I never knew much of there history before!

Beautiful video on The Left Banke. As a diehard fan, I love to see content, especially videos and just knowing that people are still interested in them. I loved how you included snippets of the tracks being played on your record player. Thank you for the in-depth and well-researched video!

Thanks so much for doing this! Their music stands the test of time. They captured a cultural moment in time.

That was great! Thanks so much for this band overview!!!

Well done. Thank you.

very good posting, thank you

Great video about one of my favourite bands

Fantastic job! I have collected most everything that you showed over the years, but I didn't know all the history and timeline. I'd love to hear you finish the Michael Brown story with a review of Stories and The Beckies. Thank you for doing this!

That first LB album is one of the most solid discs of the 60s; quality from start to finish.

Awesome!! Fantastic video!! PLAY LOUD!!

Tons of good information here. You do a great service to rock history.

Everything I ever wanted to know about The Left Banke-and didn't even know to ask! I've got the first album, LP and CD, and will be spinning it today! Great show, Matt! I love this channel! We have very similar musical taste!

Great work as usual!

Fantastic job!!! Thank you so much because I didn’t know anything about this band and your huge information made me start with their music listening…♥️♥️♥️and love Walk away Renee in any version…😘😘😘

Thanks for the history lesson. I have always enjoyed this band.

Thank You. I appreciate this information so much I was in 4th and 5th and 6th grade during their early work. What a great sound they had!

The 60s was a decade of bands. Not just on the radio, but everywhere. I was in high school in SF and in LA; there were more garage bands than you can shake a stick at. Many of my close friends started their own bands. In my sophomore year, a close friend invited me to see his garage band. They played so well, even wrote their own songs. Right then and there, I was convinced there is no future in my friends' bands. Think about this, even a band as talented as, for example, the Left Banke, they could only chart one or two songs in their life time. The music business is very, very tough.

That was absolutely fascinating and took me straight back to the 60s -- have subscribed to your channel - looking forward to seeing more videos x

When walk away rene came out, I heard it on the radio, I was in grade school, I loved it, and bought the single/45, my friends older sister had the album, and I heard it a few times, but didn't really like much of the other songs, I still have the 45, great song, but for me, that was it, but this is a great mini doc, learned a lot about the band, I just discovered this channel, great stuff, I watched part 1 of The Jefferson Airplane, one of my favorite bands, looking for part 2, I found part 3, but not part 2.