The Shangri-Las at Spectropop The Shangri-Las "The Shangri-Las were another of the great 60's girl groups. They gained recognition not only for the content of their songs but also for their visual appearance. Twenty-two year old producer George "Shadow" Morton -- so named for his habit of disappearing for several days at a time -- recruited two sets of sisters out of Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York to be the Shangri-Las. Mary Weiss and her sister Betty joined with twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser to form the group. While the girls were still high school students the charismatic Morton conceived the idea of having them record Remember [Walkin' In The Sand]. He made a demo tape and took it to Kama Sutra Productions and Artie Ripp. Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich were added to help with the actual production of the song [Greenwich had attended the same high school as Morton], the sound of seagulls screaching in the background was added, and it was leased to Red Bird Records. The song entered the charts in September, 1964 and peaked at the number 5 position.

The Shangri-Las were on their way..." >>>presented by Tom Simon Shangri-Las "Late entrants in the early 60s school of 'girl groups', the Shangri-Las comprised two pairs of sisters, Mary-Ann (b. c .1948) and Margie Ganser (b. c .1947, d. August 1996) and Betty (b. c .1948) and Mary Weiss (b. c .1947). During 1963 they were discovered by George 'Shadow' Morton and recorded two singles under the name Bon Bons before signing to the newly formed Red Bird label. Relaunched as the Shangri-Las, they secured a worldwide hit with 'Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)', a delightful arrangement complete with the sound of crashing waves and crying seagulls.

It was the sound-effect of a reving motorbike engine which opened their distinctive follow-up, 'Leader Of The Pack', which was even more successful and a prime candidate for the 'death disc' genre with its narrative of teenage love cut short because of a motorcycle accident..." >>>presented by Yahoo Music The Shangri-Las Bio "Along with the Shirelles and the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las were the greatest girl group; if judged solely on the basis of attitude, they were the greatest of them all. They combined an innocent adolescent charm with more than a hint of darkness, singing about dead bikers, teenage runaways, and doomed love affairs as well as ebullient high-school crushes. These could be delivered with either infectious, hand-clapping harmonies or melodramatic, almost operatic recitatives that were contrived but utterly effective. Tying it all together in the studio was Shadow Morton, a mad genius of a producer that may have been second in eccentric imagination only to Phil Spector in the mid-'60s..." >>>presented by All Music Guide Shangri-Las "The Shangri-Las were the most broadly appealing of all the '60s girl groups.

What they sang about had a lot to do with it. The "hip" look combined with a measure of innocence also helped convince the kids of the sincerity of the Shangri-Las message. The group consisted of four sisters Mary (lead) and Liz (Betty) Weiss, and identical twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser. All were 15 and 16 when they began singing at Andrew Jackson High School In the Cambria Heights section of Queens, New York Influenced by Little Anthony and the Imperials and the Four Seasons, they began playing school shows, talent shows and teen hops. The girls came to the attention of Artie Ripp, who arranged the groups first record deals with Smash, where they recorded "Simon Says" and and with Spokane for Wishing Well..." >>>presented by History of Rock The Shangri-Las Photo Gallery The Shangri-Las photo gallery features photographs of the group, both posed shots and live in concert photos. Shangri-Las enthusiasts are sure to like these photos of Mary and the others as presented through the links here at Spectropop.

>>>presented by Girl Groups Fan Club Shangri-Las '"Is she really going out with him?" "Well, there she is, letï¿½fs ask her!" Ask her they did, and rock has never been the same since. The Shangri-las, sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, and twins Mary Ann and Marge Ganser, were high school friends in Queens, New York. The girls loved the new music that was emerging in the early 60s, and in the typical fashion, they put together a group and started performing around the New York area at dances and parties. The Shangra-las as they were called first found themselves on vinyl in late 1963 with "Simon Says," on Smash records.

Some people believe a group called the Bon Bons ("Come On Baby") who recorded in early 1964, were actually the Shangri-las in disguise, but this has never been confirmed..." >>>presented by Girl Group Chronicles The Shangri-Las - Best Of The Shangri-Las Listen to Real Audio and LiquidAudio samples of all the great songs by the Shangri-Las here: 1 Remember (Walkin' In The Sand); 2 Leader Of The Pack; 3 What Is Love?; 4 Give Him A Great Big Kiss; 5 Maybe; 6 Out In The Streets; 7 Give Us Your Blessings; 8 Heaven Only Knows; 9 Never Again; 10 What's A Girl Supposed To Do?; 11 Dum Dum Ditty, The; 12 Right Now And Not Later; 13 Train From Kansas City, The; 14 I Can Never Go Home Anymore; 15 Long Live Our Love; 16 Sophisticated Boom Boom; 17 He Cried; 18 Dressed In Black; 19 Past, Present And Future; 20 Paradise; 21 Love

 You More Than Yesterday; 22 Sweet Sounds Of Summer, The; 23 I'll Never Learn; 24 Take The Time; 25 Footsteps On The Roof >>>presented by Yahoo Music Listen to the Red Bird Story Listen to Real Audio and LiquidAudio samples of all the great songs by the Shangri-Las here: The definitive 4 disc box set collection of recordings from the Red Bird and Blue Cat labels.

Released by Charly Records in 1991. 1 Bossa Nova Baby - Tippie And The Clovers; 2 My Heart Said (The Bossa Nova) - Tippie And The Clovers; 3 Big Bad World - Cathy Saint; 4 Mr.

Heartbreak - Cathy Saint; 5 Everybody Come Clap Your Hands - Moody And The Deltas; 6 He Ain't No Angel - Leola And The Lovejoys; 7 I Won't Be Me Anymore - Vic Donna; 8 Go Now - Bessie Banks; 9 It Sounds Like My Baby - Bessie Banks; 10 Boy From New York City, The - Ad Libs; 11 Searchin' - Alvin Robinson; 12 Something You Got - Alvin Robinson; 13 Chapel Of Love - Dixie Cups; 14 I Want To Love Him So Bad - Jelly Beans; 15 I Know He Loves Me - Chi Chi McCauley; 16 Top Down Time - Rock Always; 17 Keep It Up - Soul Brothers; 18 I Got A Dream - Soul Brothers; 19 People Say - Dixie Cups; 20 How Can I Get Over You - Alvin Robinson; 21 I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You - Alvin Robinson; 22 Remember (Walking In The Sand) - Shangri-Las; 23 Goodnight Baby - Butterflies; 24 Down Home

 Girl - Alvin Robinson; 25 Let The Good Times Roll - Alvin Robinson; 1 Bottom Of My Soul - Alvin Robinson; 2 Fever - Alvin Robinson; 3 Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget - Jelly Beans; 4 Baby Be Mine - Jelly Beans; 5 Ask Anybody - Ad Libs; 6 He Ain't No Angel - Ad Libs; 7 Welcome To My Heart - The Bouquets; 8 Having A Party - Ronnie Mitchell; 9 Bad As They Come - Sam Hawkins; 10 Hold On Baby - Sam Hawkins; 11 Dum Dum Ditty, The - The Goodies; 12 Sophisticated Boom Boom - The Goodies; 13 Standing By - Dee Dee Warwick; 14 Don't Think My Baby's Coming Back - Dee Dee Warwick; 15 Leader Of The Pack - Shangri-Las; 16 What Is Love - Shangri-Las; 17 Take Me For A Little While - Evie Sands; 18 Run Home To Your Mama - Evie Sands; 19 I Know It's Alright - Evie Sands; 20 Amy - Barry Mann; 21 Gee, Baby

 Gee - The Butterflies; 22 I Wonder - The Butterflies; 23 Little Bell - Dixie Cups; 24 Another Boy Like Mine - Dixie Cups; 25 Give Him A Great Big Kiss - Shangri-Las; 1 Twist And Shout - Shangri-Las; 2 Maybe - Shangri Las; 3 Shout - Shangri-las; 4 I Can't Let Go - Evie Sands; 5 New York Is A Lonely Town - Tradewinds; 6 I'm Just A Down Home Girl - Ad Libs; 7 Iko, Iko - Dixie Cups; 8 Gee, Baby Gee - Dixie Cups; 9 I Hurt On The Other Side - Sidney Barnes; 10 I'm Gonna Get You Yet - Dixie Cups; 11 Out In The Streets - Shangri-Las; 12 Our Love Can Still Be Saved - Jeff Barry; 13 I'll Still Love You - Jeff Barry; 14 Give Us Your Blessings - Shangri-Las; 15 Heaven Only Knows - Shangri-Las; 16 Gee The Moon Is Shining Bright - Dix

ie Cups; 17 You Don't Know - Ellie Greenwich; 18 Baby - Ellie Greenwich; 19 Right Now And Not Later - Shangri-Las; 20 Train From Kansas City, The - Shangri-Las; 21 If There's Anything Else You Want (Let Me Know) - Roddie Joy; 22 Fugitive From Love - Linda Jones; 23 You Hit Me Like T.

N. T.

- Linda Jones; 24 I'm So Glad - Sidney Barnes; 25 I Hear You Say (I Love You Baby) - Andy Kim; 1 Hey Little Girl - Jimmie Cross; 2 I Can Never Go Home Anymore - Shangri-Las; 3 Sophisticated Boom Boom - Shangri-Las; 4 Long Live Our Love - Shangri-Las; 5 He Cried - Shangri-Las; 6 Dressed In Black - Shangri-Las; 7 It Will Only Make Me Love You More - Ral Donner; 8 He Will Break Your Heart - Kane & Abel; 9 Past Present And Future - Shangri-Las; 10 Paradise - Shangri-Las; 11 Love You More Than Yesterday - Shangri-Las; 12 Mary Weiss Speaks; 13 Let The Music - Didi Noel; 14 It Was A Lie - Booby Moore & The Fourmosts; 15 Dressed In Black - Shadow Morton; 16 Chapel Of Love - Jelly Beans; 17 Here She Comes - Jelly Beans; 18 Ain't Love A Funny Thing - Jelly

 Beans; 19 Whisper Sweet Things - Jelly Beans; 20 Goodnight Baby - Jelly Beans; 21 Do Wah Diddy - Jelly Beans; >>>presented by Yahoo Music Various Artists - The Best Of Red Bird/Blue Cat Records Listen to Real Audio and LiquidAudio samples of all the great songs by the Shangri-Las here: A fabulous collection of recordings from the Red Bird and Blue Cat labels, including remixes of many of the Dixie Cups' well known recordings.

Tracks: Chapel Of Love (The Dixie Cups); I Wanna Love Him So Bad (The Jelly Beans); People Say (The Dixie Cups); Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) (The Shangri-Las); Good Night Baby (The Butterflys); Baby Be Mine (The Jelly Beans); Leader Of The Pack (The Shangri-Las); You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me (The Dixie Cups); Give Him A Great Big Kiss (The Shangri-Las); The Boy From New York City (The Ad Libs); Little Bell (The Dixie Cups); New York's A Lonely Town (The Trade Winds); Iko Iko (The Dixie Cups); He Ain't No Angel (The Ad Libs); I Can Never Go Home Anymore (The Shangri-Las) >>>presented by Yahoo Music The Shangri-Las on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music. Biography Along with the Shirelles and the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las were among the greatest girl groups; if judged solely on the basis of attitude, they were the greatest of them all.

They combined an innocent adolescent charm with more than a hint of darkness, singing about dead bikers, teenage runaways, and doomed love affairs as well as ebullient high-school crushes. These could be delivered with either infectious, handclapping harmonies or melodramatic, almost operatic recitatives that were contrived but utterly effective. Tying it all together in the studio was Shadow Morton, a mad genius of a producer who may have been second in eccentric imagination only to Phil Spector in the mid-'60s. Originally the Shangri-Las were comprised of two pairs of sisters from Queens, NY (identical twins Marge and Mary Anne Ganser and siblings Mary and Betty Weiss). They had already recorded a couple of obscure singles when they were hired by George "Shadow" Morton to demo a song he had recently written, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)." The haunting ballad, with its doomy "Moonlight Sonata"-like piano riffs, wailing lead vocal, and thunderous background harmonies, seguing into an a cappella chorus backed by nothing except handclaps and seagull cries, made the Top Five in late 1964.

It also began their association with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's Red Bird label, which would handle the group for the bulk of their career. The quality of Morton's work with the Shangri-Las on Red Bird (with assistance from Jeff Barry and Artie Butler) was remarkable considering that he had virtually no prior experience in the music business. The group's material, so over-the-top emotionally that it sometimes bordered on camp, was lightened by the first-class production, which embroidered the tracks with punchy brass, weeping strings, and plenty of imaginative sound effects. Nowhere was this more apparent than on "Leader of the Pack," with its periodic motorcycle roars and crescendo of crashing glass. The death-rock classic became the Shangri-Las' signature tune, reaching number one. Several smaller hits followed in 1965 and 1966, many of them excellent. "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" proved they could handle more conventionally, bubbly girl group fare well; "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," a runaway tale that took their patented pathos to the extreme, would be their third and final Top Ten hit.

These all show up on oldies collections, but lots of listeners remain unaware of the other fine singles in their catalog, like the moody "Out in the Streets," the dense orchestral swamp of "He Cried" (which cuts Jay & the Americans' original, "She Cried," to pieces), and another teen death tale, "Give Us Your Blessings." Some of their best songs, in fact, were B-sides; "Dressed in Black," yet another teen death drama, had a marvelously hushed and damned atmosphere, and "Paradise" was co-written by a young Harry Nilsson. Their most unusual single of all was "Past, Present and Future," which didn't feature a single sung note, presenting a somber spoken monologue and occasional spoken background chants over a classical piano track reminiscent of "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." It was too unconventional to rise above the middle of the charts, especially given that the narrative could quite possibly be construed as the recollections of an assault/rape victim. Unlike some girl groups, the Shangri-Las were dynamic on-stage performers, choreographing their dance steps to their lyrics and wearing skin-tight leather pants and boots that were quite daring for the time.

Their real lives, however, were not without elements of drama themselves. Their constant personnel changes baffle historians; sometimes they are pictured as a trio, and sometimes one of the members in the photos is clearly not one of the Weiss or Ganser sisters. Worse, the Red Bird label ran into serious organizational difficulties in the mid-'60s, and wound down its operations in 1966. The group moved to Mercury for a couple of dispirited singles, but had split by the end of the 1960s. Shadow Morton went on to an interesting, erratic career that included involvement with Janis Ian, the New York Dolls, and Mott the Hoople. Mary Anne Ganser died in 1970; the cause has been a source of mystery but it was due to either encephalitis, complications from a barbiturate overdose, or as the result of a seizures. Her sister Marge died in 1996 of breast cancer. Even today, the Shangri-Las' history remains somewhat murky and mysterious; the original members have rarely reunited for oldies shows or talked to the press.

The situation was exacerbated by frustratingly substandard reissues of their Red Bird work, which made it impossible to collect all of their fine sides without buying numerous packages, many of which boasted shockingly shoddy sound quality. Happily, the situation was rectified in the mid-'90s with excellent, comprehensive compilations of the Red Bird material in both the U.K. and U.S. ~ Richie Unterberger Top Albums The Shangri-Las | New Music And Songs | The Shangri-Las About The Shangri-Las Along with the Shirelles and the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las were among the greatest girl groups; if judged solely on the basis of attitude, they were the greatest of them all. They combined an innocent adolescent charm with more than a hint of darkness, singing about dead bikers, teenage runaways, and doomed love affairs as well as ebullient high-school crushes. These could be delivered with either infectious, handclapping harmonies or melodramatic, almost operatic recitatives that were contrived but utterly effective.

Tying it all together in the studio was Shadow Morton, a mad genius of a producer who may have been second in eccentric imagination only to Phil Spector in the mid-'60s. Originally the Shangri-Las were comprised of two pairs of sisters from Queens, NY (identical twins Marge and Mary Anne Ganser and siblings Mary and Betty Weiss). They had already recorded a couple of obscure singles when they were hired by George "Shadow" Morton to demo a song he had recently written, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)." The haunting ballad, with its doomy "Moonlight Sonata"-like piano riffs, wailing lead vocal, and thunderous background harmonies, seguing into an a cappella chorus backed by nothing except handclaps and seagull cries, made the Top Five in late 1964. It also began their association with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's Red Bird label, which would handle the group for the bulk of their career. The quality of Morton's work with the Shangri-Las on Red Bird (with assistance from Jeff Barry and Artie Butler) was remarkable considering that he had virtually no prior experience in the music business.

The group's material, so over-the-top emotionally that it sometimes bordered on camp, was lightened by the first-class production, which embroidered the tracks with punchy brass, weeping strings, and plenty of imaginative sound effects. Nowhere was this more apparent than on "Leader of the Pack," with its periodic motorcycle roars and crescendo of crashing glass. The death-rock classic became the Shangri-Las' signature tune, reaching number one. Several smaller hits followed in 1965 and 1966, many of them excellent. "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" proved they could handle more conventionally, bubbly girl group fare well; "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," a runaway tale that took their patented pathos to the extreme, would be their third and final Top Ten hit.

These all show up on oldies collections, but lots of listeners remain unaware of the other fine singles in their catalog, like the moody "Out in the Streets," the dense orchestral swamp of "He Cried" (which cuts Jay & the Americans' original, "She Cried," to pieces), and another teen death tale, "Give Us Your Blessings." Some of their best songs, in fact, were B-sides; "Dressed in Black," yet another teen death drama, had a marvelously hushed and damned atmosphere, and "Paradise" was co-written by a young Harry Nilsson. Their most unusual single of all was "Past, Present and Future," which didn't feature a single sung note, presenting a somber spoken monologue and occasional spoken background chants over a classical piano track reminiscent of "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." It was too unconventional to rise above the middle of the charts, especially given that the narrative could quite possibly be construed as the recollections of an assault/rape victim. Unlike some girl groups, the Shangri-Las were dynamic on-stage performers, choreographing their dance steps to their lyrics and wearing skin-tight leather pants and boots that were quite daring for the time.

Their real lives, however, were not without elements of drama themselves. Their constant personnel changes baffle historians; sometimes they are pictured as a trio, and sometimes one of the members in the photos is clearly not one of the Weiss or Ganser sisters. Worse, the Red Bird label ran into serious organizational difficulties in the mid-'60s, and wound down its operations in 1966. The group moved to Mercury for a couple of dispirited singles, but had split by the end of the 1960s. Shadow Morton went on to an interesting, erratic career that included involvement with Janis Ian, the New York Dolls, and Mott the Hoople. Mary Anne Ganser died in 1970; the cause has been a source of mystery but it was due to either encephalitis, complications from a barbiturate overdose, or as the result of a seizures. Her sister Marge died in 1996 of breast cancer. Even today, the Shangri-Las' history remains somewhat murky and mysterious; the original members have rarely reunited for oldies shows or talked to the press.

The situation was exacerbated by frustratingly substandard reissues of their Red Bird work, which made it impossible to collect all of their fine sides without buying numerous packages, many of which boasted shockingly shoddy sound quality. Happily, the situation was rectified in the mid-'90s with excellent, comprehensive compilations of the Red Bird material in both the U.K. and U.S. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi Hear more of The Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las Leader Of The Pack - '65 - Golden Hits Rock and roll's original bad girls. In 1964, George "Shadow" Morton was trying to break into the music business, and told his friends, Brill Building songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, that he had a ton of great songs. When they called his bluff, he rounded up four high school students from Queens, New York - sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, and identical twins Margie and Mary Ann Ganser - and had them cut a demo for Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller's Red Bird Records.

His first production, "Remember (Walking In The Sand)," was a hit, and the group's next single, "Leader Of The Pack," topped the charts. The secret to Morton's success was the subgenre he created: supercompressed two-minute girl-loses-boy-and-somebody-dies mini-operas, with conversational asides, melodramatic spoken passages, and bizarrely loud sound effects. But perhaps the most amazing part is how musical they are: unforgettable melodies, refreshingly spare arrangements, complete instrumentation shifts between sections ("Remember"'s chorus is nearly acapella, with light touches of piano, handclaps, and lots of seagulls) - surpassing even the best contemporaneous pop acts. Lead singer Mary Weiss's voice is too shrill for the raw emoting she does, but even that only fuels the teens-lost-in-an-adult-world aesthetic. The lyrics are maudlin to the point of being laughable, but in September 1964 trivial lyrics were expected in even the best pop songs - that month the Beatles charted "I Feel Fine" while the Beach Boys hit with "Dance, Dance, Dance" - making "Remember" seem profound by comparison.

A few more hits followed in the same style, but Morton soon shifted his focus to Janis Ian and Vanilla Fudge , and the group quickly faded. Other than some unreleased 1977 sessions and a one-off 1989 reunion performance, the group hasn't worked together since breaking up circa 1967, and both Gansers have passed away: Mary Ann from encephalitis in 1970, and Margie from cancer in 1996 - avoid the imposter Shangri-Las currently on the oldies circuit. The group's original LPs are hard to find, but if you find The Complete Collection you're all set: it's got the two pre-Morton sides, the final two non-hit singles, and everything in between. And check out this fan page and Mary Weiss's home page . (DBW) Personnel: Mary Weiss, Betty Weiss, Margie Ganser, Mary Ann Ganser, vocals.

Usually only three of them turned up at any one function, with the fourth's absence ascribed to "bad habits." In early 1964, the Shangri-Las cut a two-sided single that wasn't released until after they became successful. Both tunes are standard girl group rockers - the A-side "Wishing Well" isn't half-bad, with a terrific lead vocal from Betty and a rockin' early 60s guitar solo; the flip "Hate To Say I Told You So" is less interesting - and both open with spoken vocals, soon to be a trademark. (DBW) Leader Of The Pack (1965) The first two singles are here, "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)" and the title track, and they're the high point not just of the group's career, but of the girl-group era.

On the other hand, Morton has no fresh ideas when it comes to more standard girl-group numbers, and too often he just cranks out pat arrangements with cut-rate sound quality - "Bull Dog" sounds like it was recorded in a junior high cafeteria - and those make up the bulk of the album (the primitive "Give Him A Great Big Kiss," the 12/8 "Maybe"). (He does add some bizarre whooshing in the middle of " Twist And Shout ," but it doesn't help.) The second half of the album is cover tunes overdubbed with fake crowd noises - perhaps to excuse the shabbiness of the sound - including an amusing version of the Isley Brothers ' "Shout," where Mary sounds like a remarkably self-possessed seven-year-old. Greenwich and Barry have co-writes on "Leader," but most of the original tunes are Morton's. The hits are essential; the album cuts are anything but. (DBW) '65! (1965) More effort but less inspiration went into this followup.

All the tunes are originals, and the production's more sophisticated: even the 12/8 ballads "You Cheated, You Lied" and "The Boy" (with trademark spoken middle) have precise rhythm arrangements plus softening touches like organ. "The Dum Dum Ditty" is a careful imitation of Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound, with booming drums, hovering strings, and lyrics about a "rebel"; "Right Now And Not Later" similarly copies Motown's vibes, honking sax and eighth-note bass, topping it off with Supremes -style backing "oohs." Greenwich and Barry co-wrote many of the tunes, including the hit single "Give Us Your Blessings," another star-crossed-teen lament that opens with a thunderclap and mournful "run run run" refain, and gets darker from there; the out-of-time gong near the end is one of the most insane things I've ever heard. Also deeply strange is Morton's jazzy "Sophisticated Boom Boom," with the guitar and piano unable to stay in sync, and graced with high-pitched scat howling from Mary.

But again, most of the disc is sadly routine ("Heaven Only Knows," standard girl-group pablum), and even some of the sound effects are predictable ("The Train From Kansas City" starts with... a train). The album was later beefed up with the addition of their last Top Ten hit, "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," which features all of Morton's trademarks and a small, well-used string section - it's the most Shangri-Lacious song ever. (DBW) Golden Hits (1966) Released on Mercury after Lieber and Stoller had sold Red Bird, this contains the hits from the previous albums plus two non-LP minor hits: the forced, cheery "Long Live Our Love," and Morton's approach taken to its extreme on "Past, Present And Future" with no singing at all, just heartbroken spoken recitation atop a piano waltz copped from Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." Preposterous yet moving; Pete Townshend called it one of the decade's ten best singles. Unfortunately, the label didn't include the classic A-side "He Cried," with a funereal, thumping bass drum and sorrowful orchestra.

The rating reflects only the new material - if this were the group's only album it would rate four stars easy. (DBW) Two final singles missed the charts in 1967 - "The Sweet Sounds Of Summer"/"I'll Never Learn" and "Take The Time"/"Footsteps On The Roof." "Sweet Sounds" has the same cheesy organ and "psychedelic" guitar Morton overused with the Vanilla Fudge, and it didn't work any better for the 'Las; "I'll Never Learn" relies on a small string section, but isn't nearly as artful as "Past, Present And Future." The jingoistic "Take The Time" is pleasant enough, basically a rewrite of "Love You More Than Yesterday"; "Footsteps" is another pale imitation of Motown circa 1965, though it does feature a spoken middle. (DBW) In 1977, the group reformed briefly, playing one show at CBGB's and recording for Sire, but nothing from the sessions was ever released.

(DBW) Dangerous Game (Mary Weiss: 2007) Forty years after the last Shangri-Las recording, Mary Weiss recorded her first solo album, backed by the Reigning Sound. (DBW) Remember (Walking in the Sand) - The Shangri-Las | Song Info | AllMusic Remember (Walking in the Sand) google+ Song Review by Richie Unterberger Although "Leader of the Pack" is the song everyone associates with the Shangri-Las first, it was not their first hit. It was preceded by "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," which made number five in the fall of 1964 and was in its own right just as memorable and eccentric a production as "Leader in the Pack." Like "Leader in the Pack," it was co-produced by George "Shadow" Morton, perhaps the most enigmatic figure to be involved in the whole Brill Building scene. Morton also wrote the song, which he claimed, most likely fancifully, to have completed in a mere 20 minutes on the way to the session.

Even in the crowded mid-'60s Brill Building/girl group cluster of singles, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" stood out immediately for its eerie, unique atmosphere. The track started out with two doom-struck descending notes that sounded as if they were being played on a piano that had cobwebs growing over it. The melody, carried by that piano, was more like a morbid classical sonata than a rock tune. The sadness was amplified by a lead vocal that sounded as if it was choking back tears and swelling, tense background harmonies. Yet after the verse faded away to a dead stop, the chorus was totally different, like a flashback to the happy times of the romance -- a summer one, from the sounds of it. The background Shangri-Las take up a hand-clapping rhythm and chant "remember" as the lead gently reminisces over tender moments before cranking the angst meter on the final line to lead back into the piano-dominated verse. Sound effects of seagull cries on the chorus, which is repeated at the end and fades out, add to the you-are-there ambience of an unforgettably melodramatic hit.

Appears On The Shangri-Las | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger Along with the Shirelles and the Ronettes , the Shangri-Las were among the greatest girl groups; if judged solely on the basis of attitude, they were the greatest of them all. They combined an innocent adolescent charm with more than a hint of darkness, singing about dead bikers, teenage runaways, and doomed love affairs as well as ebullient high-school crushes. These could be delivered with either infectious, handclapping harmonies or melodramatic, almost operatic recitatives that were contrived but utterly effective. Tying it all together in the studio was Shadow Morton , a mad genius of a producer who may have been second in eccentric imagination only to Phil Spector in the mid-'60s. Originally the Shangri-Las were comprised of two pairs of sisters from Queens, NY (identical twins Marge and Mary Anne Ganser and siblings Mary and Betty Weiss ).

They had already recorded a couple of obscure singles when they were hired by George "Shadow" Morton to demo a song he had recently written, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)." The haunting ballad, with its doomy "Moonlight Sonata"-like piano riffs, wailing lead vocal, and thunderous background harmonies, seguing into an a cappella chorus backed by nothing except handclaps and seagull cries, made the Top Five in late 1964. It also began their association with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 's Red Bird label, which would handle the group for the bulk of their career. The quality of Morton 's work with the Shangri-Las on Red Bird (with assistance from Jeff Barry and Artie Butler ) was remarkable considering that he had virtually no prior experience in the music business. The group's material, so over-the-top emotionally that it sometimes bordered on camp, was lightened by the first-class production, which embroidered the tracks with punchy brass, weeping strings, and plenty of imaginative sound effects. Nowhere was this more apparent than on "Leader of the Pack," with its periodic motorcycle roars and crescendo of crashing glass.

The death-rock classic became the Shangri-Las ' signature tune, reaching number one. Several smaller hits followed in 1965 and 1966, many of them excellent. "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" proved they could handle more conventionally, bubbly girl group fare well; "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," a runaway tale that took their patented pathos to the extreme, would be their third and final Top Ten hit. These all show up on oldies collections, but lots of listeners remain unaware of the other fine singles in their catalog, like the moody "Out in the Streets," the dense orchestral swamp of "He Cried" (which cuts Jay & the Americans ' original, "She Cried," to pieces), and another teen death tale, "Give Us Your Blessings." Some of their best songs, in fact, were B-sides; "Dressed in Black," yet another teen death drama, had a marvelously hushed and damned atmosphere, and "Paradise" was co-written by a young Harry Nilsson .

Their most unusual single of all was "Past, Present and Future," which didn't feature a single sung note, presenting a somber spoken monologue and occasional spoken background chants over a classical piano track reminiscent of "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." It was too unconventional to rise above the middle of the charts, especially given that the narrative could quite possibly be construed as the recollections of an assault/rape victim. Unlike some girl groups, the Shangri-Las were dynamic on-stage performers, choreographing their dance steps to their lyrics and wearing skin-tight leather pants and boots that were quite daring for the time. Their real lives, however, were not without elements of drama themselves. Their constant personnel changes baffle historians; sometimes they are pictured as a trio, and sometimes one of the members in the photos is clearly not one of the Weiss or Ganser sisters. Worse, the Red Bird label ran into serious organizational difficulties in the mid-'60s, and wound down its operations in 1966. The group moved to Mercury for a couple of dispirited singles, but had split by the end of the 1960s.

Shadow Morton went on to an interesting, erratic career that included involvement with Janis Ian , the New York Dolls , and Mott the Hoople . Mary Anne Ganser died in 1970; the cause has been a source of mystery but it was due to either encephalitis, complications from a barbiturate overdose, or as the result of a seizures. Her sister Marge died in 1996 of breast cancer. Even today, the Shangri-Las ' history remains somewhat murky and mysterious; the original members have rarely reunited for oldies shows or talked to the press. The situation was exacerbated by frustratingly substandard reissues of their Red Bird work, which made it impossible to collect all of their fine sides without buying numerous packages, many of which boasted shockingly shoddy sound quality. Happily, the situation was rectified in the mid-'90s with excellent, comprehensive compilations of the Red Bird material in both the U.K. and U.S.

The Shangri-Las · 2017 Tour Dates and Concert Tickets | Thrillcall Track Artist for New Show Alerts The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain perhaps best known for their hits "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)". Early car... The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain perhaps best known for their hits "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)". Early career The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, New York, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City, in 1963.

It consisted of two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) (born 28 December 1948) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss (born 1946), and identical twins Marguerite "Marge" Ganser (4 February 1948–28 July 1996) and Mary Ann Ganser (4 February 1948–14 March 1970). They began playing school shows, talent shows, and teen hops, coming to the attention of Artie Ripp, who arranged the group's first record deal with Kama Sutra. Their first recording in December 1963 was "Simon Says", later issued on the Smash label, on which Betty Weiss sang lead. They also recorded "Wishing Well" / "Hate To Say I Told You So", which became their first release in early 1964 when leased to the small Spokane label. Initially, the girls performed without a name. But when they signed their first deal, they began calling themselves the Shangri-Las, after a Queens, New York restaurant.

Some discographies list The Beatle-ettes and The Bon Bons, who both issued singles in 1964, as early versions of The Shangri-Las. However, they are different groups. Mary Weiss was the main lead singer; Betty, however, took lead on "Maybe" (the LP version), "Shout", "Twist and Shout", and a number of B-sides and album tracks. Mary Ann Ganser took lead on most of "I'm Blue", which is a cover of the Ikettes biggest hit at the time, and was included on their 1965 album Shangri-Las 65!. Success at Red Bird Records In April 1964, when the girls were still minors, their parents signed with Red Bird Records; Mary was 15, Betty was 17, and the Ganser twins 16. Having been hired by record producer George "Shadow" Morton, they had their first success with the summer hit, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (U.S. #5, UK #14).

Billy Joel, a then-unknown working as a session musician, played on the demo of "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)". The demo was nearly seven minutes long, too long for Top 40 radio. Morton had hired the group to perform on the demo, but Red Bird released a re-recorded version. Morton faded the new version out around 2:16. The recordings for Morton featured lavish production with heavy orchestration and sound effects, and their next and biggest hit, "Leader of the Pack" (U.S. #1, UK #11), climaxes with roaring motorcycles and breaking glass. UK re-issues peaked at #3 in 1972 and #7 in 1976. The song epitomized the "death disc"; other examples include Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her", Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve", J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers's "Last Kiss," Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel,", Dickey Lee's "Laurie (Strange Things Happen"), Twinkle's "Terry" and Jody Reynolds' "Endless Sleep".

After the sudden success of "Remember (Walking In The Sand)", all the girls were called upon to make personal appearances which required them to leave high school. Mary, however, stayed on for classes at a high school for young professionals in Manhattan. By the end of 1964 the group was an established act. They performed with the Beatles, a Fall 1964 tour with the Rolling Stones, R&B artists such as The Drifters and James Brown (who, according to Mary Weiss, was surprised to discover the girls were white), and Cashbox magazine listed them as best new R&B group. The group was also a fixture on the Murray The K shows at the Brooklyn Fox from 1964-66. They also promoted Revlon cosmetics. In March 1965 they toured the UK with Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Herman's Hermits, Del Shannon, and others. The Shangri-Las appeared as a quartet to promote "Remember" starting with their stint on the 1964 Labor Day Murray The K show in September. Shortly before the Shangri-Las went to the UK for the aforementioned promotional tour in Oct.

1964, Betty Weiss dropped out temporarily, leaving the group as a trio. She still is featured on the recording for "Leader Of The Pack" which was recorded prior to the release of "Remember". The remaining trio went on to tour the US and also appeared on many TV shows including Hullabaloo, Shindig!, Hollywood A-Go-Go, and Lloyd Thaxton. Many TV clips and photos of the group taken at this time (just Mary Weiss and the twins) circulated at the group's peak in popularity and beyond, which led many to recall the group being only a trio. Betty then rejoined the group in mid-1965 (her first return appearance with the Shangri-las was listed as a June 1965 Hollywood A-Go-Go Show episode hosted by Cousin Brucie in NYC), and the group appeared as a quartet once again until the start of 1966 when they permanently became a trio again (MaryAnn and Margie left at different times replacing each other until the demise of the group). The group alternated between touring with their own band and local bands.

Among the latter were the Sonics, as well as the Iguanas, featuring a young Iggy Pop. They also appeared as headliners on package tours such as Dick Clark's Caravan Of Stars and as stated previously, tours with R & B acts like the Orlons and Joe Tex. Later in their career, the Shangri-Las did lots of college dates with bands like The Young Rascals, The Animals, and Vanilla Fudge. Public image The Shangri-Las' 'tough girls' persona set them apart from other girl groups. Having grown up in a rough neighborhood of Queens, New York, they were less demure than their contemporaries. Rumors about supposed escapades have since become legend, for example the story that Mary Weiss attracted the attention of the FBI for transporting a firearm across state lines. In her defense, she said someone tried to break into her hotel room one night and for protection she bought a pistol. Whatever truth these stories may have, they were believed by fans in the 1960s, and they helped cement the group's bad-girl reputation. According to Weiss, that persona helped fend off advances from musicians on tours.

The Shangri-Las continued to chart with fairly successful U.S. hit records, specializing in adolescent themes such as alienation, loneliness, abandonment and death. Singles included "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", "Out in the Streets", "Give Us Your Blessings", the top ten hit "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", "Long Live Our Love" (a rare example of a song dedicated to the men at the time fighting overseas in Vietnam), "He Cried" and the spoken-word "Past, Present and Future", featuring music from Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". Noteworthy B-sides included "Heaven Only Knows", "The Train from Kansas City", "Dressed in Black" and "Paradise" (written by Harry Nilsson). Among titles in critics' favorites lists is "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", the story of a girl who leaves home for a boy; her pride keeps her from returning to her mother who "grew so lonely in the end/the angels picked her for their friend".

Lines from "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" include "When I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love, L-U-V", and "Well I hear he's bad." "Hmm, he's good-bad, but he's not evil." "Past, Present and Future" has been said to be about rape, something Weiss disagrees with. She has said it is about "teenage angst," heartbreak and "being hurt and angsty and not wanting anyone near you." Disintegration and retirement The group appeared on several TV shows and continued to tour the US, but in 1966 two of three releases on Red Bird failed to crack the U.S. top 50, although the group remained popular in England and Japan. Mary Ann Ganser left, but returned early in 1967 when Marge — the most outspoken member, sometimes considered the leader — left. Red Bird Records had folded. The group recorded more tracks with Shadow Morton producing (some of which remain unreleased) and signed with Mercury Records. However, Morton had begun working with Janis Ian and Vanilla Fudge, and Mercury had little enthusiasm for the group.

During their Mercury stint the Shangri-Las had no further hits, and in 1968 they disbanded, amid litigation. All the Shangri-Las withdrew from the spotlight. Morton said "The Shangri-Las vacated, they vanished". Reportedly, they were angry that they had received few royalties despite the millions of records they had sold. Mary Weiss moved to New York's Greenwich Village, then to San Francisco. Returning to Manhattan a few years later, and prevented from recording because of lawsuits, she worked as a secretary while taking college classes. She then went into the architectural industry, working in the accounting department of a New York architectural firm. She moved up to be the chief purchasing agent and later ran the commercial furniture dealership. In the late eighties she managed a furniture store and was an interior designer. By 2001 she was a furniture consultant to New York businesses. She married in 1974 but the marriage ended in 1988; she married again several years later, and her second husband now manages her music career.

Betty Weiss also married, and had a daughter (who was raised with the help of her brother George Weiss, who died in 1998), the only member of the group to have a child. She held several jobs, and now lives and works on Long Island. Mary Ann Ganser began having health problems in 1968. She died in Queens NY, on March 14, 1970, aged 22. The cause of her death has been variously reported as encephalitis, a seizure disorder, or barbiturates. Marge Ganser reportedly returned to school during the late '60's. By the early '70's, she married (becoming Marguerite Ganser Dorste), worked for NYNEX in Valley Stream, New York, and died of breast cancer on July 28, 1996 at 48. The group declined offers to perform throughout the 1970s, although they did a few live performances.

But following the successful re-issue of "Leader of the Pack" in the UK in 1976, which renewed interest in the group, Mary and Betty Weiss and Marge Ganser reunited. Contacting Seymour Stein of Sire Records, they spent summer 1977 in New York with producer Andy Paley. Paley said the sessions went well, but they weren't satisfied with all the material and declined to release the record. The tapes are now owned by the Warner Music Group. They did, however, give a live performance at CBGBs; Paley put together a band, including Lenny Kaye, and after two hours rehearsing the Shangri-Las returned to the stage for the first time in a decade. Although the Sire sessions came to naught, the group toyed with signing with another label but were put off by the insistence of record executives that they be a disco vocal group, the musical trend of the day. Mary said she envisioned the Shangri-Las like punk singer Patti Smith. The Shangri-Las split up. Since the 1980s a trio has called itself the Shangri Las, although unconnected with the original group.

The copy-cat act was put together by Dick Fox, who claimed to have bought the rights to the name, and resulted in legal action from both sides, largely due to a video tape of the new Shangri-Las claiming in public to be the original group. The original group performed for the last time at a reunion show hosted by Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 3, 1989. In March 2007 Norton Records released a solo album by Mary Weiss (backed by garage rockers, The Reigning Sound) called Dangerous Game. She performed in the United States, Spain and France. Influence The streetwise image of The Shangri-Las—initially a promotional device for "Leader of the Pack" — contrasted with other "girl groups" of the 1960s, and they were cited as an influence by 1970s punk rock-era acts such as the New York Dolls and Blondie, who twice covered "Out in the Streets", and Aerosmith, who covered "Remember (Walking in the Sand)".

The Go-Go's, since their early punk rock days in Los Angeles clubs, have been performing live "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". The line from "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"—"When I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love, L-U-V"—was used by the New York Dolls on their 1973 recording "Looking for a Kiss". It is also used by the English pop trio SOHO in the beginning of their song "Nuthin On My Mind" from their album, Goddess. The New York Dolls' guitarist Johnny Thunders included a cover of "...Great Big Kiss" on his first solo album So Alone. Ian Svenonius also used the line at the beginning of "Today I Met the Girl I'm Going to Marry" by his band Nation of Ulysses on the album 13-Point Program to Destroy America. More recently, Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) paid homage to that line in their song "Beautiful Sorta" off the album Cold Roses, but they changed it to "When I say L-U-V, you better believe me L-U-V.

Give me a beer!" In 2005, Julian Cope parodied the famous line in "Dying to Meet You" from his album Citizen Cain'd. He's heard to say "When I say I'm dead you best believe I'm dead, D-E-A-D" during the outro. In an outtake of "Careless" from their album Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, The Replacements opened with the line "When I say I'm in debt, you best believe I'm in debt, D-E-T!" In 1972, "Leader of the Pack" was performed by Bette Midler on her debut album The Divine Miss M. The opening from "Leader of the Pack"—"Is she really going out with him?"—was recycled both as the opening lines of 1976's "New Rose" by the Damned, the first British punk rock single, and of "Kill" by the parody punk group Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, as well as the title of the 1979 hit song by Joe Jackson.

Aerosmith released a more rock version featuring uncredited backing vocals by Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las as a single in 1980 and can found on both their Greatest Hits album and on their Night in the Ruts album. This charted on the Hot 100 at 67.d Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain cited The Shangri-Las as an early influence. In 1985, the band's guitarist William Reid stated: "We all love The Shangri-Las, and one day we're going to make Shangri-Las records." Twisted Sister covered, "Leader of the Pack" on their 1985 album, Come Out and Play, that went Gold. The Shangri-Las' "Past, Present and Future" was covered in 2004 by ex-ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her album, My Colouring Book. The Johnny Thunders / Patti Palladin album Copy Cats (1988) features a strong version of "He Cried". Australian artist Rowland S. Howard recorded "He Cried" as "She Cried".

Although most covers and remakes of The Shangri-Las material focus on the hit singles, some express the group's influence on them by recording songs from The Shangri-Las which were never released as singles by the group. Among these, the Los Angeles rock group Redd Kross covered "Heaven Only Knows," an album cut from The Shangri-Las second album Shangri-Las '65, and Superchunk, Belle and Sebastian, The Shop Assistants and Neko Case recorded versions of "The Train from Kansas City", which was a b-side, and an album cut from The Shangri-Las debut album, Leader of the Pack. British singer Amy Winehouse cited The Shangri-Las as an influence and occasionally integrated the hook lyrics from "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" into the bridge of her song "Back to Black" during live performances.

Faris Badwan of The Horrors has listed The Shangri-Las as an influence in The Horrors' sound and lyrics, and had added a reworked version of "He Cried" to "She Cried" into The Horrors' song, "Who Can Say," using the lines, "And when I told her I didn't love her anymore, she cried/and when I told her, her kisses were not like before, she cried/and when I told her another girl had caught my eye, she cried/and I kissed her, with a kiss that could only mean goodbye," in spoken-word with a drum beat similar to that The Shangri-Las used. The song is also originally, "She Cried" by Jay and the Americans, another (if slight) influence over The Horrors. Atlanta, Georgia band Black Lips called their 2007 album Good Bad Not Evil, after the line in "Give Him a Great Big Kiss". Sonic Youth referenced the "very, very close" lyric of "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" on the Kim Gordon/Kim Deal duet "Little Trouble Girl" in 1995.

Early punk band The Slits also reference the song in "Love Und Romance" on the 1979 album Cut. The Bat for Lashes song "What's a Girl to Do?" has been widely acknowledged as a Shangri Las pastiche. Kathleen Hanna of the electropunk group Le Tigre has mentioned that the "one girl calling another" motif and the opening sound of seagulls on the track "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" were inspired by The Shangri-Las. The Shangri-Las were imitated by groups like The Nu-Luvs, who had a hit with "So Soft, So Warm", which was originally recorded by The Shangri-Las as "Dressed In Black" and used as the b-side to Jay and the Americans' original, "He Cried". Others included the Pussycats and the Whyte Boots, who scored big with their single "Nightmare", originally intended for The Shangri-las, and written, produced and performed by Lori Burton and Pam Sawyer.

The Goodees had a hit in early 1969 with "Condition Red", a "Leader of the Pack" inspired tale about a girl who wants to be with her long haired, bearded boyfriend despite her parents' objections. The Detergents had hits with "Leader of the Laundromat" and "I Can Never Eat Home Any More", both of which parodied The Shangri-Las. Giddle Partridge and Boyd Rice recently covered "Past, Present, and Future". Alex Chilton often played it in concert. Brooklyn band Vivian Girls cite The Shangri-Las as one of their influences. Finnish rock band HIM is using "Dressed in Black" as an intro song for their current tour promoting their latest album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. Marianne Faithfull released a cover of "Past, Present and Future" on her 2011 album Horses and High Heels.

Question: Which Shangri La's single had the sound of seagulls in the background?
Answer: (Remember) Walking In The Sand