The Left Banke circa 1965
In 1965, during the British Invasion,
founding members George Cameron,
Steve Martin Caro, and Tom Finn
joined musical prodigy Michael Brown
and rolled onto the U.S. music scene as
a very creative and distinctive group known as The Left Banke.
Pioneers of the baroque-rock/baroque-pop sound, their vocal harmonies derived from
contemporaries such as the Beatles and the Zombies, combined with lustrous string
arrangements and harpsichord, bestowed them with their definitive sound.
While often best known for two U.S. hit singles, “Walk Away Renée” and “Pretty Ballerina,”
the Left Banke went on to create more albums over the decades. Founding members
George Cameron and Steve Martin Caro were still collaborating until George's death in 2018.
In 2004, "Walk Away Renee" was named #220 on Rolling Stone's Greatest Hits of All Time.
On September 4th 1966, "Walk Away Renee" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #69
October 23rd, 1966 it peaked at #5 and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100
"Pretty Ballerina" peaked at #15 in 1967
"Desiree" reached #98 in 1967
"Walk Away Renee" reached #3 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart
The Left Banke Legacy -
Yesterday & TODAY!
1965 — George Cameron's band the Morticans was recording at the World United recording studio and they were looking for new members. This attracted Tom Finn of the band the Magic Plants, who had previously worked at World United.
Finn brought along a new acquaintance, Steve Martin (Caro), a musician he had met by chance in front of the City Squire Hotel after a Rolling Stones concert. Cameron and Martin both had songs they wanted to record and Michael Brown, whose father owned and operated the recording studio, worked out arrangements for them on the studio's piano. The Left Banke was formed and consisted of keyboard player/songwriter Michael Brown, drummer/singer George Cameron, bass guitarist/singer Tom Finn, singer Steve Martin, and drummer Warren David-Schierhorst. After some initial recording sessions, David-Schierhorst was ousted and Cameron switched to drums while Jeff Winfield was introduced on guitar.
Their first live show was to an audience of about 1,000 at Our Lady of Solace church in the Bronx.
1966 — The recording “I’ve Got Something On My Mind” backed with “I Haven’t Got The Nerve” was sent to record labels, but the band had no takers. They tried again with “Walk Away Renee” and out of about 10 labels, Smash Records was the only label to show interest. The single was released later in the year and became an immediate hit.
1967 — The band’s second single, “Pretty Ballerina” charted and the band released the album entitled Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina. Rick Brand replaced Winfield on guitar.
Brown left the group before “Walk Away Renee” broke and he refused to tour. By this time “Walk Away Renee” became a hit, but the original band became inactive.
Brown’s father, Harry Lookofsky, a well-known session violinist and owner of World United recording studio, assembled a new version of the Left Banke for touring purposes which included Bert Sommer on lead vocals, Drummer Warren David (Spinal Tap) and Michael McKean (actor, Better Call Saul, Laverne & Shirley). However the chemistry was gone and the original group reunited and recorded more material, including the single "Desirée". Brown left the group permanently shortly thereafter and was replaced for touring purposes by Emmett Lake. Cameron, Finn and Martin continued to record and tour, with Tom Feher replacing Lake on keyboards and writing half of the band's new material.
1968 — The songs recorded by various incarnations of the group in 1967 and 1968 were assembled into a second LP, The Left Banke Too, which was released in November. This album featured backing vocals by a young Steven Tyler (who later became the lead singer of Aerosmith) on "My Friend Today" and "Dark is the Bark”.
1969 — The band continued playing live without Martin. Later that year, Brown and Martin reunited in the studio to record another single as the Left Banke, "Myrah" b/w
"Pedestal", which was their final single for
Smash Records.
1971 — Brown, Cameron, Finn and Martin reunited briefly to record two songs for the movie Hot Parts. The songs, "Love Songs in the Night" and "Two by Two", were released as a Steve Martin solo single on Buddah Records, despite featuring contributions from four founding members of the Left Banke.
1978 — Martin, Cameron and Finn reunited as The Left Banke to record new material. The single, "Queen of Paradise" (b/w "And One Day"), was released. The album was eventually issued by Relix Records.
1986 — The album Strangers on a Train was released in the USA and under the title Voices Calling in Europe.
1992 — Left Banke compilation titled There's Gonna Be a Storm: The Complete Recordings 1966–1969 was released.
2011 — Cameron and Finn reformed The Left Banke, tapping New York music veteran Mike Fornatale to sing Martin’s lead vocals. The reunited group also featured Paul Alves (lead guitar, backing vocals), Charly Cazalet (bass), Mickey Finn (keyboards), Rick Reil (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and second keyboardist/synth player Joe McGinty.
March 5 & 6, the reformed Left Banke appeared live at Joe’s Pub in New York City to sold-out audiences.
2012 — Brown joined the reunited Left Banke on stage at B.B. King's in New York City for a version of his "Pretty Ballerina." His performance was greeted with a standing ovation. Rick Brand, guitarist with the band in 1966-67 was also in attendance. Tom Finn sang a newly written song called "City Life" which showed a heavier rock version of the Left Banke with baroque string section intact.
2013 — Brown joined the reunited Left Banke on stage at Joe's Pub in NYC for his last live performance of Walk Away Renee
2015 — Martin officially rejoined the current touring version of The Left Banke. Two shows featured co-headliner Ian Lloyd of Stories and Sam Kogon as vocalist. The re-formed Cameron band played for the last time, once in Sellersville, PA and once in Natick, MA.
2018 — Martin and Cameron announced that they were planning a tour. Martin and Cameron were rehearsing with musician Sam Kogon.
It was Martin’s first time behind the microphone in over 15 years. Cameron passed five months later, before any performances could take place under this collaboration.
Shortly after Cameron’s passing, NYC musician Alan Merrill (“I Love Rock and Roll” writer and Arrows musician) confided to Cameron’s daughter that he, Cameron, and Martin had begun collaborating on new projects. Merrill had auditioned and joined The Left Banke in the late sixties just two weeks before the band permanently disbanded. Ultimately, Martin passed the following year 2019, followed by the passing of Merrill in early 2020. Finn, the
sole remaining founding member passed in
2021.
Today — The Left Banke still maintains a very robust cult following that spans many generations of music lovers all around the world. The heirs of Cameron, Finn, and Martin have joined together and are dedicated to preserving The Left Banke Legacy.
