Pop songwriter and former member of the Left Banke, Michael Brown, has died; he was 65. Brown will rightfully be remembered as the 16 year old (!!) who co-wrote the Left Banke's big hits, "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina." The story is, Brown wrote the songs after he developed a crush on his bandmate's date, Renee! God damn, it doesn't get much more teenaged teenager than THAT! Renee notwithstanding, Brown was a classically trained pianist which, unlike most other shaggy-headed teens at the time, gave him a reach well beyond his contemporaries' struggle to rewrite Chuck Berry songs. Brown also liked his harpsichord—which led the press to label the Left Banke's music Baroque Pop. The term has stuck and became something of a sub-genre. Of course, the Left Banke weren't alone in their use of classical elements, instruments and arrangements, as there was a lot of "proper" music threading into teen music via the Beatles, Bee Gees, and even the Troggs, but Brown's writing always felt a little more mature and his arrangements more expansive. You'd be hard pressed to find ANY band with better melodies than the Left Banke; even a fuzz lead track like their "Lazy Day" has a glowing sheen. Oh, and I'm sure it helped to have a vocalist with the vocal range of an angel. Everyone who heard the Left Banke was to be affected by their music. Since its release, their first album has earned them heavy pop-culture relevance; prior to the Zombies' Zombie Heaven box set, the Left Banke WERE the big '60s pop group to know.

In 1968, after the Left Banke split, Brown wrote and produced an album for the band Montage, and then formed Stories; Stories were a pop-rock group, but he'd left before they hit with "Brother Louie." He was also in the Beckies, a power-pop band who made a dreamy and smart album for Sire. Since the early '80s, other than an occasional live show with the current lineup of the Left Banke, and a 1994 album, On This Moment, Brown had kept a low profile.