Artist · chart history
The Left Banke
Band New York United States Active 1965–1969
The Left Banke formed in 1965 in New York, United States and was active until 1969. The Left Banke has 6 chart appearances on 5 radio countdowns from 3 stations on RockLists, spanning 2001–2020. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Walk Away Renee”, which appears on 5 lists with a best position of #150. The station that charted The Left Banke most often is WXPN (Philadelphia, PA), with 4 appearances.
The Left Banke formed in New York City in 1965 and gave the decade two of its loveliest, saddest singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". Michael Brown, Steve Martin Caro, Tom Finn and George Cameron were among the names in the group, with Tom Feher and Bert Sommer also passing through the ranks.
Their trick was to dress up a pop band in chamber-music finery: swooning string arrangements that had people calling it "Bach-rock" and "baroque pop", with vocal blends borrowed from the Beatles, the Zombies and the rest of the British Invasion. "Walk Away Renée" is heartbreak played out with a string section, and "Pretty Ballerina" sounds like a music box that wandered into a rock and roll record. Smash Records released the album named for both songs in 1967.
It didn't last; the band was finished by 1969. But "Walk Away Renée" later turned up on a 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, which is not bad for a group remembered for two hits.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Left Banke on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk Away Renee | 5 | #150 | – | – | |
| 2 | Pretty Ballerina | 1 | #1199 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 470 | Walk Away Renee | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time |
| 2020 | 1199 | Pretty Ballerina | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time |
| 2014 | 556 | Walk Away Renee | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) |
| 2007 | 549 | Walk Away Renee | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time |
| 2004 | 805 | Walk Away Renee | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) |
| 2001 | 150 | Walk Away Renee | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time |
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