Run, Run, Run

Run Run Run must be one of the most popular song titles of all time. This one by the Who is my favorite of the sub-genre. 

The other day a friend posted a song on Facebook, something that he does frequently in spite of the fact that most people resolutely ignore such notices. I enjoy his choices, though, and I play about half of them. This one in particular was a cut called, “Run, Run, Run,” by a band named Jo Jo Gunne. I had never heard the song, although I had seen the band’s product. (My friend and I met while we were both working for a record selling chain of stores.) It was a good song; you could say that about it. It reminded me that there were two really great songs with the identical title in the mid-1960s.

First there was, “Run, Run, Run” by the Who, included on the LP A Quick One in 1966. That was the Who at the height of their powers, supercharged with energy and rage for having toured incessantly for well over a year while making almost no money. It’s a great song.

Then there was, “Run, Run, Run” by the Velvet Underground, included on their first LP in early 1967. This song also features high levels of energy and anger. I guess around that time we were all running either to or from some damn thing. The world was on edge. Whole cities and many universities were seething. Deaths in Vietnam spiked and stayed high starting in these years. Racial tension and opposition to the war-slash-draft were running high. Run! Run! Run! Yeah, we were running hot.

It seemed to me that there were probably a lot of songs named Run, Run, Run, and that hunch was correct, to an extent. A couple are very good, but none come up to the high standard set by the Who and the VU. All of the following songs are named "Run, Run, Run," that’s three runs. There were another bunch of songs named, “Run, Run,” but that’s different, isn’t it? There were one or two with a lot more “runs” in them, like, “Run, Run, Run, Run, Run,” but that’s just showing off. So, Run, Run, Runs, as follows:

“Run, Run, Run,” by the Supremes. (612,000 hits on YouTube) Did I say that the Who were first? Well, excuse me! The Supremes included this song on their 1964 LP, Where Did Our Love Go?

“Run, Run, Run,” The aforementioned Jo Jo Gunne song, from, I believe, the early 1970s.  

 “Run, Run, Run,” (28,000 hits) by the Third Rail. A 1967 semi-hit that I actually remembered after hearing it. This was a pop song in the typical cynical/ psychedelic style of the time. It was somewhat ambitious, but not particularly memorable.

“Run, Run, Run,” (550,000 hits) by Maki Osuki, with whom I am not familiar. She’s Japanese, and the song is in Japanese, described as “16 years later.” This song rocks hard, and it’s pretty good.

“Run, Run, Run,” (22,000,000 hits) by Celeste Buckingham. Definite winner of the hit-count-contest. Just awful.

“Run, Run, Run,” (400,000 hits) by Michelle Lewis. This song is very bland.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Chinese Man, as opposed to, “a Chinese man.” (1,700,000 hits) A typical sounding, undistinguished Rap song.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Phoenix, a French band. (Lyrics in English.) This is not a bad song. It’s got a smooth groove to it, and it is listenable.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Kelly Clarkson. (2,600,000 hits) A schmaltzy pop song. Pretty awful.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Tokio (sic) Hotel. (2,700,000 hits) Is this Emo music? It’s crap, whatever it is.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Jill Scott. (711,000 hits) Ms. Scott is an American black woman, and this is a great job on a decent song.

“Run, Run, Run,” by Fabrizio Cammarata. (9,600 hits) An Italian (?) pop singer, singing in English. It’s not a bad song, if you like them on the quiet and bland side.

That’s as far as I felt like diving into the pages of YouTube. There were probably more there. All you really needed to know were the Who, VU, the Supremes, and maybe Jill Scott. Maki Osuki? Sure, check her out too. Maybe the Third Rail, if you are a historian.