Jo Jo Gunne – Run Run Run

I was reading an article by Dave about Jay Ferguson and he mentioned this band. I thought the band’s name sounded familiar. When I heard it I remembered this song on A.M. radio as a kid.

They formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they left the band Spirit. They were known for their hits like I Got A Line On You, Nature’s Way, and the song “Taurus” which Spirit claims resembles Stairway To Heaven a little too much.

In the early seventies, David Geffen tried to get someone to sign Jackson Browne. He was turned down by almost all of the record companies. What is that old saying? “If the Mountain won’t go to Mohammed, then Mohammed must come to the Mountain.” So Geffen made his own record company to sign Jackson Browne. He called this record company Asylum.

His first signing was, of course, Jackson Browne. His second signing was Jo Jo Gunne. After Jo Jo Gunne came The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill, Bob Dylan (for two albums), Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, and Warren Zevon. That is a hell of a roster.  The band included Jay Ferguson (vocals, keyboards) and Mark Andes (bass), the original lineup of Jo Jo Gunne included Matt Andes (guitar) and William “Curly” Smith (drums).

Jo Jo Gunne debut album

This song peaked at #27 on the Billboard 100, #30 in Canada, and #6 in the UK in 1972. The song was on their self-titled debut album. They released 5 albums altogether and the last one was in 2005 called Big Chain.

Despite the initial success of this song… Jo Jo Gunne did not achieve lasting mainstream popularity and they are often considered a one-hit wonder. Jay Ferguson went on to have hits on his own hit, Thunder Island peaked at #9 in America in 1978, and Shakedown Cruise #31 in 1979.

Run Run Run

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

You’d better ride on baby,You was born outside of the lawRunRun

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Oh load up your mama,W’ll ride on out to the lineRunRun

RunOhRun

Doo doo dooDoo doo doo dooRun Run RunRun Run Run

Oh welcome to the party,We’re all just papers in the windRunRun

…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

28 thoughts on “Jo Jo Gunne – Run Run Run”

  1. That’s an old fave of mine, romps along beautifully with all the riffs and hooks. I think an album track called Shake That Fat got played on a Rock Show after the song was a hit, but they really did disappear from UK airwaves pretty much forever, even Run Run Run doesnt get played these days, sadly. It could do with a movie placement to bring it back from obscurity….!

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    1. That is so true…it’s a perfect song to use in a movie…one that the general public now hasn’t heard but a lot of people have.

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  3. thanks for the shout out! Yep, somehow it’s still a band that’s more familiar to me by name than by hearing this song, but it’s not bad at all. I didn’t know they were signed to Asylum so soon! Shows how much confidence Geffen had in them then.

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    1. Yea I remembered the ooh’s from the intro…I knew I knew that song…it’s a cool song and I’m not sure why it’s not played as much now.

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  5. I think I would have bought one of their albums if they had more than one hit. I really liked this one; like I often say, if I was into buying singles, I would have bought this one.

    I didn’t start hearing “Thunder Island” until I started listening to the Yacht Rock stations on TuneIn, iHeart, and Sirius/XM. I think it was that odd time in the late ’70’s when I didn’t listen to much radio.

    I listened to “Taurus” to see how similar it was to “Stairway To Heaven,” and came away with the impression that “Taurus” sounded a lot like Johnny Rivers’s “Summer Rain.”

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    1. You know…it does sound a little like Summer Rain!
      I do like this one…I remember it but that is it…I didn’t know the name of the band or song until Dave mentioned it…it was one of those “Oh Yea” moments I have at your site a lot.

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  7. Romps along pretty well; as others say, nice hooks in all the right places. Bob Dylan’s lyrical skills didn’t rub off on Jo Jo though, if they were stablemates at the same time.

    Still it is made to boogie to, not to sit and listen to in moody contemplation. Nothing wrong with that at all.

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    1. Yea Shakespeare needn’t worry but yes it is fun. Hmmm…first time I ever used needn’t in my life. I hope it’s correct.

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  9. “Run Run Run” by Jo Jo Gunne – it rhymes, so no wonder it became a hit!

    On a more serious note, it’s a pleasant melodic rock song. It was entirely new to me. So was “Thunder Island,” another decent song.

    From the distance (and perhaps with bad vision/bad glasses), Jay Ferguson has a bit of a resemblance to George Harrison.

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  10. I swear within the first few notes it starting tickling the ol’ brain… I must have heard this riding around in Mom’s VW Squareback when I was but a small kid. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of the band, but that song certainly sounded familiar!

    Music was so much more musical back then! I miss REAL vocal harmonies, hardly anyone does that anymore!

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    1. That was me also when I heard it. It took a while to register but it did.
      I know man….the early seventies was awesome…no fake computer stuff.

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