Michael Brown (a.k.a Michael Lookofsky) who composed the classic “Walk Away Renee” at the age of 16, passed away on March 19th. He was 65.
Brown was the principal songwriter and keyboard player for The Left Banke. Although he would never match the success of “Walk Away Renee”, they did have one other notable hit called “Pretty Ballerina”. Baroque pop became a short-lived craze and Brown was at the center of it.
After leaving The Left Banke, Brown was a member of several other groups like Montage, Stories (which would have a big hit with “Brother Louie” after he left the band) and The Beckies.
After the mid-1970’s, Brown more or less disappeared from the music scene although he would make a handful of appearances when The Left Banke reunited circa 2012-2013.
