"Runaround Sue" is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

song (in a modified

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Maresca, and tells the story of a disloyal lover. The song ranked No. 351 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

". In 2002, Dion was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

for "Runaround Sue".

Dion version

Writing and recording

According to Dion, he started to put the song together at an informal party for a friend's birthday, where he started improvising lyrics and encouraged his friends to add doo-wop background harmonies to a clapping rhythm. He then took the idea to his friend, budding songwriter Ernie Maresca, and they developed the tune and lyrics together. Having recently split with the Belmonts, Dion then discovered another vocal group,

the Del-Satins The Del-Satins were an American vocal group, most active in the early 1960s, who recorded on their own but are best remembered for their harmonies on hit records for Dion and others. They have been described as having "few peers as practitioners ...

, and they rehearsed the song. The co-owner of

Laurie Records Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), T ...

(Gene Schwartz) liked the song, and it was recorded in summer 1961 at

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

in New York City. The lyrics are sung from the point of view of a man whose former girlfriend, named Sue, was extremely unfaithful. He warns all potential lovers to avoid her at all costs, as Sue "runs around" with every guy she meets and never settles down with any man in particular. He advises: "now people let me put you wise, Sue goes out with other guys" and suggests that potential suitors should "keep away from Runaround Sue". Dion stated in his autobiography ''The Wanderer'', that although his wife's name was Susan, "Runaround Sue" had nothing to do with her. Elsewhere he stated that the name Sue was of a girl he had admired from a distance, and that "her name fit the lyric line perfectly." However, during a 1990 interview with his wife on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'', they presented the story that the song ''was'' indeed about her. In the same autobiography, he stated that the inspiration for the song came from the song " Quarter to Three" by Gary U.S. Bonds, which had recently been released. The musicians included: * Teacho Wiltshire - piano * Buddy Lucas - saxophone *

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...

- guitar *

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

- rhythm guitar *

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

- bass * Panama Francis - drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Leif Garrett cover

"Runaround Sue" was covered by then 15-year-old

Leif Garrett Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his dru ...

in 1977. The song was the second of four releases from his debut album, all of which became U.S. chart hits. All four songs were covers of major hits from 1959 to 1963, including Dion's two biggest hits. Of the four, "Runaround Sue" was the most successful for Garrett. In early 1978, his version reached No. 13 on ''Billboard'' and No. 18 on '' Cash Box''. The song also reached No. 15 in Canada. On

WLS WLS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * WLS (AM), a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-FM, a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-TV, a television station in Chicago, Illinois, US * DWLS, a radio station in Metro Manila ...

in Chicago, "Runaround Sue" reached No. 1 for one week and was ranked at No. 42 for the year. Garrett was born during the chart run of Dion's original version of "Runaround Sue," in the fall of 1961. Garrett's cover of the song hit the charts the week of his 16th birthday.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions and samples

* An

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...

"I'm No Run Around", with the same melody but different lyrics, was released in 1961 by Ginger Davis and the Snaps. * Doug Sheldon's version reached No. 33 in the UK charts in 1961 (tailing behind " The Twist" at No. 32). *

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnig ...

covered the song on his 1962 album ''For Teen Twisters Only''. * In 1963,

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was indu ...

covered the song on his album '' Little Town Flirt''. * In 1963, Yugoslav group Bijele Strijele released the

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

cover of the song, entitled "Svi trče oko Sue". * In 1977, Australian group Ol' 55 covered the song on their album ''

Fiveslivejive ''Fiveslivejive'' is the second studio album to be released by Australian band Ol' 55. The album was recorded in one day at Festival Studios in Sydney on 17 June 1977. The album was released in September 1977 and peaked at number 81 on the Austr ...

''. * In 1980, English group

Racey Racey are a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as " Lay Your Love on Me" and " Some Girls". The ...

released a cover version which reached No. 13 on the UK charts. *

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in 1972, and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, they got their name from a paint can. The cl ...

covered the song in 1983 for the movie '' Eddie and the Cruisers''. * Gary Glitter covered the song on ''C'mon... C'mon: The Gary Glitter Party Album'' (1997). *

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...

sampled the song on his 2011 mixtape ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterran ...

''. *

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

covered the song on their 2014 album ''

Jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

''. *

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

recorded a Portuguese version called "Fim de Amor". * Houndmouth covered the song in their performance for

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non- ...

. * An answer song, entitled "Stay-At-Home Sue", was recorded by

Linda Laurie Linda Maxine Laurie was an American singer and songwriter, best known for the novelty record "Ambrose (Part 5)", which went to #52 on the ''Billboard'' chart while she was still a high school student in 1959. "Ambrose (Part 5)" While attending ...

. *

The Fratellis The Fratellis are a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, formed in 2005. The band consists of three unrelated members, who perform under pseudonyms: lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli, bassist Barry Fratelli, and drummer Mince Fratelli. Their ...

released a cover on the deluxe version of '' Half Drunk Under a Full Moon''.

References

External links

The Story behind Runaround Sue
* * {{Authority control 1961 songs 1961 singles 1977 singles Songs written by Ernie Maresca Songs written by Dion DiMucci Dion DiMucci songs Leif Garrett songs Racey songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Michael Lloyd Doo-wop songs Songs about heartache Songs about infidelity Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in New Zealand Laurie Records singles