The Left Banke

The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroque" string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as "Bach-rock", "baroque rock" or "baroque pop". The band's vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies and other British Invasion groups.In 2004, Rolling Stone placed "Walk Away Renée" at number 220 in its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".The Left Banke was formed in 1965 and consisted of keyboard player/songwriter Michael Brown, drummer/singer George Cameron, bass guitarist/singer Tom Finn, singer Steve Martin (later known as Steve Martin Caro), and drummer Lisa (then known as Warren) David-Schierhorst.The band formed among the world of session musicians in midtown Manhattan. Brown's father, Harry Lookofsky, was a well-known session violinist, and he owned and operated a recording studio on 48th Street called World United. In 1965 George Cameron's band the Morticians was recording there, 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, but these did not take shape until Lookofsky's son Michael Brown, 16 at the time, worked out arrangements for them on the studio's piano.Lookofsky realized that their music had commercial potential, and getting behind his son's songwriting talent he acted as producer, manager and publisher for the newly formed band. After some initial recording sessions, David-Schierhorst was ousted, with Cameron switching to drums and Jeff Winfield on guitar.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.