Tag: Runaway

Max Picks …songs from 1961

1961

Gary US Bonds song Quarter To Three was a huge hit this year. Bonds’ real name is Gary Anderson. His label boss, Frank Guida, changed it to “U.S. Bonds” for his first single, New Orleans, as a play on the posters asking Americans to “buy U.S. savings bonds.” Pretty clever, but too many people, including many DJs, got it wrong and thought it was the name of a group. His next single, “Quarter To Three,” was initially issued as U.S. Bonds but soon changed to Gary U.S. Bonds, along with his subsequent releases.

Now let’s check in with Del Shannon. He released what is now an iconic song named Runaway. This song was written by Del Shannon and Max Crook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56qRqHfSRQ

I want to throw some country in this also with a song that has been remembered along with the artist who did the vocals. Patsy Cline sings I Fall To Pieces. The song was written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard.

The Big E makes a wonderful appearance in this post. This was a pure rock and roll song and that was a seldom occurence for Elvis Presley at this point.

Now for the Big O to close this year out. Roy Orbison does Running Scared with his operatic voice. Hearing Orbison’s voice still gives me the chills. was recorded in RCA Studio B in Nashville with the session pros known as “The A-team.” This was the last song that he sang live before his death in 1988.

…

Bonnie Raitt – Runaway

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)