Mary Weiss, lead singer and central figure of the Shangri-Las, was one of the truly legendary girl groups of the early 1960s with hits such as 'Leader of the Pack', 'Great Big Kiss', and 'Remember (Walking in the Sand)'. It's one. ” and “Heaven Only Knows” have died. Her death was confirmed Diversity It was written by Miriam Linna of Norton Records, who released Weiss' only solo album in 2007. Her cause of death was not stated. Weiss was 75 years old.
“Mary was an icon and a hero to our generation and to young men and women of all generations,” Linna said.
Along with Ronettes, Shangri-La is a group that represents the typical girl group era. Weiss was at the center of their sound and look, with her poignant, young, yearning voice and long blonde hair blasting from her transistor and car radio, making her the object of her numerous crushes in that era.
With killer pop songs written by George “Shadow” Morton, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry and produced by Morton, their heyday was short-lived, spanning 1964 and 1965, but their influence was indelible. They pioneered teen death epic with “Leader of the Pack,” which spawned countless imitations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and their songs were imbued with a subtle yet powerful sexuality. Weiss' bandmates are questioning her push for the “Great Big Kiss.” “Is he tall?” they ask. “You have to look up.” she answers.
While the entire girl group sound was overthrown by the British Invasion and the '60s rock movement, the Shangri-Las cast a long shadow. Within just a few years, one of punk rock's most influential groups, the New York Dolls, was on the cover. Sing “Great Big Kiss” and praise Shangri-La. A few years later, Blondie, whose lead singer Deborah Harry based much of her look and sound on the girl group, released her first album (with Greenwich as a backing vocalist).
Growing up in Queens, Weiss and her younger sister, Betty Weiss, attended the same high school as future bandmates, twins Margie Ganser and Mary-Ann Ganser. The four began performing at local nightclubs in 1963, where they caught the attention of producer Artie Ripp. He arranged the group's first recording contract with Kama Sutra, which led to their first recording, “Simon Says”, in December 1963. Later, Phil Spector's associate “Shadow” Morton tapped the girls to perform and record their song “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” which proved to be a boon for the group when Red Bird Records hired Morton.
“Remember (Walking in the Sand),” his first release with the group, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1964 and established the group (later covered by Aerosmith). Later that year, the group reached number one with “Leader of the Pack,” which featured a dramatic vocal introduction and a roaring motorcycle revving sound effect.
Superstardom followed quickly. The group performed with the Beatles, toured with the Rolling Stones, and appeared on several television shows of the era, such as “Hullabaloo” and “Shindig!” The group followed it up with “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” and then skyrocketed in 1965 with “Out in the Streets.”
The image of New York teenage girls as a tough yet vulnerable group was real. “With the exception of the Ronettes and Shangri-La, who had a tougher and tougher attitude, girl groups overall had a very sweet image,” Greenwich said in an undated interview with the website Spectropop. “By today’s standards, they were as naive as the days were long. At the time, they seemed to have street toughness, but they also had a lot of vulnerabilities. Mary Weiss [had] She has the sweetest long straight hair, an angelic face, and a nasal voice. attitude – The best of both worlds.”
But Shangri Las itself was only a teenager. Weiss was only 15 years old when “Remember” was released. And he suffered from lineup instability. All the members except Weiss left at once. After releasing a few more singles, they broke up in 1968.
The group turned down several offers to reunite, but reformed in 1976 under the auspices of Sire Records, led by veteran of the era Seymour Stein, but were dissatisfied with the album they recorded, which has yet to be released. They reunited occasionally over the years, and Norton Records released Weiss' only solo album, “Dangerous Game”, in 2007, and she toured in support of it.
But she remained a reclusive figure and often spoke about the difficulties facing a teenage girl in the brutally sexist world of the 1960s music industry. Many of these challenges are detailed (by others) in the 2023 oral history “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?,” which brilliantly organizes and definitively explains the era in the voices of women who lived through it, including Weiss. there is.