“Runaway” by Del Shannon was recorded during a one-day session and released as a single in January of 1961. It reached the #1 position on the Billboard (US) chart in April of that year. It immediately became a rock ‘n’ roll classic. I suppose you could say it was a “runaway hit.”
Some songs become personal favorites because they have particular meaning. I associate them with specific events or circumstances in life. Others are just great songs, period. “Runaway” by Del Shannon is an example of the latter. In 1961, “Runaway” had what I thought was a unique sound, as compared to what else was popular at the time.
Del Shannon‘s voice was incredible. His range could go from a brooding growl to a piercing falsetto and back again in an instant. The song itself had such a catchy melody it was hard to resist. Lyrically, “Runaway” portrayed the requisite teen angst of breakup common at the time, which (at the age of 12) wasn’t a factor for me.
But I think what really hit me about “Runaway” was that instrumental bridge. It was provided by Max Crook, a keyboardist, playing his own invention, the musitron. It was an early version of a synthesizer, and had a totally unique sound in its day.
“Runaway” by Del Shannon is more than just an oldie but goodie. It’s a legitimate baby boomer rock ‘n’ roll classic. It was re-recorded and re-released by Del Shannon himself twice – first in 1967, as “Runaway ’67,” and again in 1986, with new lyrics, to be the opening theme for the television series Crime Story (1986 – 1988). “Runaway” has also been covered by The Ventures, as an instrumental, by Bonnie Raitt and by The Traveling Wilburys, with Jeff Lynne re-creating Max Crook’s musitron solo note-for-note. In 2009, “Runaway” by Del Shannon was used in an episode of the TV series Heroes (ep. 21, season 3).
Until recently, I had only ever heard “Runaway” in its original mono version. I was totally overjoyed to find an actual stereo release on a CD called Radio Gold, where it’s listed as an “alternate stereo take.” The sound had been digitally re-mastered, and sounded better than ever. Much of Del Shannon’s back catalog has since been re-issued and may still be available.
Del Shannon, having suffered bouts of alcoholism and depression, committed suicide on February 8, 1990. The music world lost one of its greats.
Recommended Del Shannon:
1. 25 All-Time Greatest Hits (Sample/Purchase)
2. Runaway With Del Shannon (Sample/Purchase/Download)
3. Complete Career Anthology (Purchase)
“Only The Lonely” by Roy Orbison is one of those songs that grabbed me and never let go. It was another of those songs I first heard during those couple of weeks I was home sick from seventh grade. It has always been one of my all-time favorites.
From the first strains of that famous “dum dum dum dum dee doo wah” intro, it struck a chord that would set the criteria by which I’d judge what I considered good pop music for years to come. Add in Roy Orbison’s incredible vocal range and the emotion it both portrays and elicits, and “Only The Lonely” becomes an instant rock ‘n’ roll classic.
Now, I have to say that perhaps, beyond the greatness of the song itself, “Only The Lonely” may have affected me on another level. The particular night I first heard it, I was alone in the house. My parents and younger brother had gone out to a Cub Scout meeting of some sort. It was the first time in my young life that I’d been left alone at all, and here it was at night. They weren’t going to be gone long, of course. But when you’re twelve years old, at night, in a big, old three-bedroom house, it can be a little disconcerting.
Although the lyrics of the song are really about a guy who’s lonely in his love life, that night I was feeling lonely myself, and the song just seemed to be talking to me. It comforted me, and made me feel like I wasn’t really alone after all.
There’s a bit of a chuckle tucked away in this, too. I heard Roy Orbison before I’d ever heard Elvis Presley. The first time I did hear The King, my first thought was that he was a Roy Orbison sound alike! That probably sounds odd, since Elvis was all over the place in those days, but that’s how it worked out.
“Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)” – the full title – was Roy Orbison’s first hit for the Monument Records label. Roy passed away on December 6, 1988.
Enjoy Roy Orbison:
- 1. The Essential Orbison (Purchase/Download)
- 2. Roy Orbison: 16 Biggest Hits (Purchase/Download)
- 3. Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night (Purchase/Download)
- 4. Roy Orbison: The Soul Of Rock & Roll (Purchase/Download)
Recommended Reading:
Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity (Sound Matters)
The song, “Walk, Don’t Run” by The Ventures holds a special place in my heart. There are a number of reasons for that.
It was among the first few rock ‘n’ roll songs I’d ever heard, and was the first rock instrumental to hit my eardrums. I was only about twelve years old at the time, so I guess I was pretty impressionable. Two guitars, bass and drums coupled with a catchy melody just grabbed me.
I guess it’s a bit funny actually, because at the time I was home sick with measles AND mumps. I was listening to an old Motorola transistor radio with about a one-and-a-half-inch speaker. Considering the technology of today, you might wonder how impressive that could have been. But that was where high tech was in 1960 – portable radios the size of a cigarette pack. I feel like saying something clever about iPod right here, but I won’t.
“Walk, Don’t Run” had a huge effect on my musical tastes from then on, and The Ventures themselves became probably my favorite recording artists for many years to come. I bought every album they released throughout the 1960′s. Their instrumental interpretations of pop and rock hits of the time were always interesting, if not downright impressive.
One of the reasons I liked them so much is simply that they translated popular music into a universally appealing format. Songs without lyrics have no language barriers, so people all over the world can enjoy them. There’s also a certain appeal in hearing great melodies without some of the achingly sad, or often plain silly “moon, spoon, June” lyrics that were common back then.
“Walk, Don’t Run” by The Ventures has become a staple of Oldies But Goodies re-issues and compilations over the years, and can be found on some really nice CD’s today.
Examples:
- 1. Walk, Don’t Run – The Very Best of the Ventures (Purchase/Download)
- 2. The Ventures Play Telstar…/Ventures In Space (Purchase/Download)
- 3. Teen Beat: 30 Great Rockin’ Instrumentals Vol. 1 (Learn More…)
I love those Oldies Instrumentals!
OK, my story goes way back, and I won’t bore you with it in detail. You’re busy enough as it is.
Born 1948 and grew up listening to all my parents’ and grandparents’ music. Opera, classical, country & western, Grand Ol’ Opry (my grandparents were weird). Mom and Dad loved the standards, from the crooners like Sinatra and Como to the orchestras like Lawrence Welk, Billy Vaughn and even Montovani and the 101 Strings. Yeesh…
Yet I developed a liking for it all. I was also a fan of TV and movies, and always listened to the soundtrack music. All of this was before I was 12 years old.
In 1960, I was home from school for two weeks with a double-whammy of the measles and mumps. My mom gave me a transistor radio (remember those?), and the first thing I heard while tuning in stations was “Walk, Don’t Run” by The Ventures. I was hooked.
It’s a long story, and (fair warning) I’ll probably tell most of it here eventually. Let’s just say my musical tastes are eclectic to say the least.
Those instrumentals, though… From soothing to stirring, from driving to relaxing, I love them all!