Is there any truth to the story that Steve Martin-Caro asked Motowns Berry Gordy to have Levi Stubbs sing the 1968 cover of “Walk Away Renee” over Marvin Gaye?
According to “Walk Away Renee” co-writer Tony Sansone, the 4 Tops were already in the studio recording covers of recent hit songs when Motown made the inquiry about the song. There is nothing to suggest that this request ever took place, nor did Steve Martin-Caro ever own the publishing rights to “Walk Away Renee.” Harry Lookofsky with his partners Trio Music, along with Ally Music owned the publishing rights to “Walk Away Renee” at the time and those companies still own the publishing rights to this day.
