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The Left Banke were a late 1960's band from New York with a unique sound. Critics labeled them "baroque-pop" due to the classical influences in their music. Besides three songs that hit the Billboard charts, "Walk Away Renee," "Pretty Ballerina," and "Desiree," the group left behind a legacy of music that influenced notable musicans ranging from Leonard Bernstein to Alice Cooper.

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Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina Left Banke Too Various Sessions

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»History Of The Left Banke - George Cameron's Story 1985

We were pretty tight, all of us, in those days, and it worked pretty well. We just loved playing, that’s what started the whole trip. The four of us got along so well that we started working together. Mike’s father liked it, so he believed we should record since they had their own studio. We were soon jamming that place twenty-four hours a day. We fell behind after the first album, we were on the road so much. When we had to finish the second album the whole thing was rushed. Mercury even gave us a schlock producer. Mike didn’t want to go on the road, he just wanted to stay home and produce. After a while we accepted it, and got a really good piano player and it was really fine. Then it became a battle of songwriters, ‘cause all of us wrote, the four of us. Mike wanted to be guaranteed a certain number of songs and that was another bummer on everybody’s head. Everything we did in the beginning was a group effort. It started out something to do to have fun, then it became a hassle we didn’t even like writing. The business end loused up a lot of it. Even with the hassle and the hassles were really a bummer it was great. We learned alot and working together we were fine. I’m not bitter about any of it. Even bad times served their purposes.