Runaway

I hated that fuckin’ song, circa 1964 if my memory serves me well. Sung by 1-hit-wonder Del Shannon, the recording was thin, tinny, bright and badly produced. “I’m a-walk-in’ in the rain/To the Ball, an-an I feel a pain/Wishin’ you were here by me/To end this misery [i.e. the song]/ An’ I wonder/I [egregiously forced falsetto] why, why , why wonder/ [more vomitous falsetto] WHY WHY WHY she ran away/And I wonder, where she will stay/ My little runaway . . . “

Quick, tell me who Del Shannon was. Name me 2 songs by him. The track had nifty electric organ chops, but, again, the recording was as harsh as a First Responder’s vehicle’s siren. My local radio station had a daily phone-in vote for Best Song and I voted against this every day.

1 day I won.