#1 for weeks of April 24th, and May 1, 8, and 15th, 1961.
The second classic song from this year, in fact it's even better than the previous song. Del Shannon's "Runaway" may sound dated to the turn of the 1960's but therein lies its charm. It is a prime example of perfectly crafted post 1959 rock and roll.
Part of the charm of "Runaway" lies in Del Shannon's vocal performance. There are a boatload of vocal hooks in this song from his near-falsetto "Wah-wah-wonder" vocal in the chorus to his alternating in dynamics from the more pleading verses to the rough and touch chorus.
Musically, each instrument blends together into one delicious rock and roll stew. There's the meaty saxophones which provide a nice backdrop, the hearty and often frantic piano part, and then for some spice, there's a very unique organ part which almost sounds like a clarinet. Now that's one tasty stew!
Del Shannon's career was similar to many early 1960's rockers such as Roy Orbison in that he did not have as much commercial success in the second half of the 1960's. However, if you want to be pleasantly surprised, check out Del's "I Think I Love You", recorded late in 1967 for his foray into psychedelia. It almost sounds like a late 1960's Neil Young song, both vocally, lyrically, and musically!
Unfortunately, we lost Del in 1990 via a self-inflicted gunshot wound after years of depression. Del had apparently been asked prior to this to take the late Roy Orbison's place in the Traveling Wilburys. Both musicians were enjoying renewed popularity in the second half of the 1980's yet both ended up gone too soon. One could only imagine what might have been...
Final Verdict - A classic early 1960's rock song which I always enjoy hearing whenever it comes on. If you haven't heard it yet, you're missing out!
Coming Up Next - "Mother-in-Law" by Ernie K-Doe.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock and I wa-wa-wa-wa-wonder what the next song will sound like.
No comments:
Post a Comment