A couple of weeks ago we looked at Bonnie Raitt in the late 80s…Here she is in the 70s putting a new bluesy twist on Runaway. It was her breakthrough in the Singles Charts. It would be 12 more years before she broke through big with the album Nick of Time.
Del Shannon and his keyboard player, Max Crook, wrote with this while they were playing a club in their hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan. Crook played a keyboard called a “Musitron” on Del’s version of the song.
The Raitt version of Runaway peaked at #57 in the Billboard 100 and #79 in Canada. It was on the Sweet Forgivness album released in 1977 which peaked at #25 in the Billboard Album Charts.
Runaway
As I walk along I wonder what went wrong
With our love, a love that was so strong
And as I still walk on I think of the things
We’ve done together while our hearts were young
I’m a walking in the rain, to the bone I feel the pain
Wishing you were here by me to end this misery
And I wonder, I w-w-wonder, why, you ran away
And I wonder if you will stay, my little runaway, my runaway
I’m a walking in the rain, to the bone I feel the pain
Wishing you were here by me to end this misery
And I wonder, I w-w-wonder baby yeah, you know why, you ran away
And I wonder if you will stay, my little runaway, my little runaway
Come back baby
(Run, run, runaway)
You left me standing in the rain
(Run, run, runaway)
Come back baby
(Run, run, runaway)
Standing in the rain
(Run, run, runaway)
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My husband turned me onto this one. At the time I wasn’t too crazy about it. I like it better now, but I much prefer Del Shannon’s version. I love some of Raitt’s stuff. This one is just a little lack luster, to me.
I love the Del Shannon version…that is the definite version…I found this one a couple of years ago and it’s different.
Bonnie’s been a pretty consistent artist over the years. I don’t know her early stuff very well. Any particular album you’d recommend from the early years?
I’m with you…I know “Nick of Time” on but I only know select early songs. I do like her take on this one. She worked earlier with Lowell George for a bit.
Not bad I guess, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her take on it before. She made it her own, but I think the original still sounds ‘right’ to me.
She adds a blues touch to it…it is appealing and her first break through… but yea the original is a different ballgame .
She has her own awesome style but, I do prefer the original.
Yea I know what you mean but it’s apples and oranges really…she put a different spin on it and made a different style of song of it. I do prefer the original.
I’m a huge fan of Bonnie Raitt and dig this cover. I also like the original by Del Shannon, a true classic!
I only heard this for the first time a few years ago…it knocked me out. She made it her own song…changed the dynamic of it. Of course I love the original also.
She’s just a great artist. I also thought her cover of the INXS tune “Need You Tonight” was pretty cool.
I need to check that out.
I thought Del Shannon’s home town was Coopersville? She and her crew a damned fine job with this song.
I just double checked and Wiki said he was born in Grand Rapids. I never knew.
She did a great job on this…she changed it for her.
Bonnie was flawless here, but I didn’t like those “hiccups” they put into the song. The other strings should have kept it smooth.
I agree…it disrupted the flow of the song.