The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York as the Bon Bons in 1963. It consisted of two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) and Elizabeth “Liz/Betty” Weiss, and identical twins Marguerite “Marge” and Mary Ann Ganser. In April of 1964, since the girls were still minors, their parents signed for them with Red Bird Records; Mary was 15, Betty was 17, and the Ganser twins were 16. That same year, they had their first hit, “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” (US #5, UK #14), after being hired by the producer George “Shadow” Morton. Their songs for Morton featured lavish production with heavy orchestration and sound effects; their biggest hit, the renowned death disc “Leader of the Pack” (US #1, UK #11), climaxes with the sounds of roaring motorcycles and breaking glass. The band continued to have a string of US hit records, mainly on depressing themes such as death, loneliness, and abandonment. Songs included “Past, Present and Future”, “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” and “Long Live Our Love”. In 1966, the Shangri-Las’ subsequent two releases on Red Bird failed to make the top 50. That same year the band left Red Bird and Morton after the label folded. At the beginning of 1967, Marge decided to leave the group. Despite signing to Mercury Records that year, the group had no further hits. In 1968, they disbanded. Mary Ann died of a drug overdose in 1970. Marge succumbed to breast cancer on July 28, 1996 at age 48. The group experienced a small revival in the UK when “Leader Of The Pack” was re-issued twice, reaching #3 in 1972 and #7 in 1976. The Shangri-La’s 1966 hit “Past, Present & Future” was effectively covered in 2004 by ex ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her 2004 album, “My Colouring Book”. Since the 1980’s, the group has had to deal with a group calling themselves The Shangri Las, but having nothing to do with the original group. The group was put together by Dick Fox. Discography Standard albums * 1964: Leader of the Pack (US #109)| * 1965: Shangri-Las-65! Compilations * 1966: Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las| * 1975: The Shangri-Las Sing| * 1996: The Best of the Shangri-Las Singles * 1964: “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” (US #5, UK #14)| * 1964: “Leader of the Pack” (US #1, UK #11)| * 1965: “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” (US #18)| * 1965: “Give Us Your Blessings” (US #29)| * 1965: “I Can Never Go Home Anymore” (US #6)| * 1965: “Maybe” (US #91)| * 1965: “Out in the Streets” (US #53)| * 1965: “Right Now and Not Later” (US #99)| * 1966: “He Cried” (US #65)| * 1966: “Long Live Our Love” (US #33)| * 1966: “Past, Present and Future” (US #59)| * 1966: “Take the Time”| * 1967: “Sweet Sounds of Summer” References * “Shangri-Las 77!”, footnote 4, by Phil X Milstein, Spectropop Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-Las Categories: Girl groups | American musical groups |
|
 | ||||||||
