Michael Brown (born Michael David Lookofsky, April 25, 1949 – March 19, 2015) was an American keyboardist and songwriter, most notable for his work with

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 " ba ...

. He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York, the son of

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and arranger

Harry Lookofsky Harry Lookofsky (1 October 1913 – 8 June 1998) was an American jazz violinist. He was also the father of keyboardist-songwriter Michael Brown, who most notably was a founding member of The Left Banke and Stories. History Harry Lookofsky w ...

The Left Banke

Brown was the principal songwriter for the 1960s baroque-pop group

, writing their two biggest hits, "

Walk Away Renee Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

" and "

Pretty Ballerina "Pretty Ballerina" is a song written by pianist Michael Brown that was released as a single by his band the Left Banke in December 1966. It peaked at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 4 on the Canadian '' RPM'' chart. The ...

". He also was a

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...

ist and clavinet player for the band. "Walk Away Renee" was also a top 20 hit for the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the F ...

, having reached No. 15 on the soul singles chart, and No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Internal band tensions saw Brown leave the Left Banke in late 1967, prior to the completion of their second record. Brown, along with

Bert Sommer Bert Sommer (February 7, 1949 – July 23, 1990) was an American folk singer and songwriter. He appeared in the musical ''Hair'' and at the Woodstock Festival, and released several albums as a singer-songwriter. Life and career Sommer was born ...

, co-wrote the minor mid-1968 hit "And Suddenly", initially for Brown's version of the new Left Banke, with Sommer also slated as lead singer. The song went on to be recorded by

The Cherry People The Cherry People were a psychedelic pop and later hard rock music group from Washington, D.C., United States. Their track " And Suddenly" reached no.45 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts in 1969. History The English Setters changed its name to ...

, peaking at #45 single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The flip side of the Left Banke version of the single was "Ivy, Ivy" written by Tom Feher. In 1969, Brown became involved in the band Montage (again collaborating with Sommer and Feher in songwriting), as well as producing the band's self-titled album. He briefly returned to the Left Banke, producing the single "Myrah" in 1969 and Left Banke vocalist

Steve Martin Caro Carmelo Esteban "Steve" Martin Caro (October 12, 1948 – January 14, 2020), originally known as Steve Martin, was an American rock musician. He is best known as the original lead singer of the 1960s baroque pop band The Left Banke. The son o ...

's solo single "Two By Two".

Later career

In 1971 Brown and vocalist Ian Lloyd formed Stories. They were introduced by their fathers, Peter Buonconsiglio and Harry Lookofsky, who had worked together as session

ists. A self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

– "I'm Coming Home" (No. 42, 1972) – followed. The band recorded a second album ''About Us'' in (1973). Brown left the band prior to the recording of

Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

's " Brother Louie", which became a No. 1 hit for Stories. Subsequently, he became involved with

The Beckies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

. Brown briefly reunited with the Left Banke at a New York performance in June 2013.

Death

On March 19, 2015, Brown died at age 65 of heart failure in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from po ...

. He is survived by his wife Yvonne and sons Skylar and Adrian.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Michael 1949 births 2015 deaths Singer-songwriters from New York (state) American keyboardists American male singer-songwriters 20th-century American singers Baroque pop musicians 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers

The Left Banke

Later career

Death

References

Further reading

External links