The Shangri-Las
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American pop girl group formed in 1963 in New York City and disbanded in 1968. Between 1964 and 1966, they charted with teen melodramas, and remain especially known for their hits "Leader of the Pack", "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", and "Give Him a Great Big Kiss". The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City, in 1963. They were two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) (born December 28, 1948) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss (born November 27, 1946), and identical twins Marguerite "Marge"/"Margie" Ganser (February 4, 1948 – July 28, 1996) and Mary Ann Ganser (February 4, 1948 – March 14, 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. Mary Weiss was the main lead singer; Betty, however, took lead on "Maybe" (the LP version), "Shout", "Twist and Shout", "Wishing Well", 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!.
External Links
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/242615-The-Shangri-Las
- http://www.theshangri-las.com/
- http://www.redbirdent.com/slas1.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangri-Las
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The Shangri-Las were an American pop band from the 1960s, consisting of Mary Weiss, Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss, Marguerite "Marge" Ganser, and Mary Ann Ganser. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit pop songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", and in particular, "Leader of the Pack" which went to #1 in the US in late 1964.