Girl Group Chronicles: Shangri-las

"Is she really going out with him?" "Well, there she is, let’s 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 the Cambria Heights neighbourhood of Queens, New York. The girls loved the new music that was emerging in the 50s 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 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 in an interview on the Norton Records website, Mary set the record straight. The group never recorded under a pseudonym.

Before leaving Spokane Records the group recorded "Wishing Well," and "Hate To Say I Told You So." The Shangri-las world would forever change when they met George Morton at a deejay's apartment. He asked them to move to Red Bird Records, where he had bet Jeff Barry he could make a hit record. The girls agreed, and Shadow, as he became known, produced a long demo of "Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)." Once the song was cut back to a more radio-friendly length, it reached the Billboard Top 5.

The girls became a big hit on several tours following their smash, but things really took off when Morton/Greenwich/Barry wrote "Leader Of The Pack." The song instantly embroiled the group in controversy. Many radio stations banned the song from playlists due to its graphic death sequence. Nevertheless, the single hit number 1 on Billboard, in late 1964, removing the Supremes’ "Baby Love," from the top spot.

What really captivated audiences was the group's wild sound: Mary’s cries as a motorcycle revs its engine, and the girls in the background with the hypnotic, "no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Red Bird immediately released "Give Him A Great Big Kiss," a delightful piece of pop which took a noticeable departure from the Shangs early recordings. Although it eventually reached number 18 on the charts, it was hindered by a competing single released at the very same time, "Maybe." The later was a "live" recording promoted by Richard Goldner, who owned the rights to "Maybe," and stood to profit from its release. "Maybe," also charted, but only for a few weeks, topping off at number 91.

"Out In The Streets," the story of a boy who has to change his image and leave his friends to be with his girl, was next up. It reached number 53, but remains Mary's favourite Shangri-las' song. "Give Us Your Blessing," a song where a girl and her guy run away to elope, but miss a detour, and bite the big one faired a little better, but "Right Now And Not Later," which had a cool Motown sound to it, only peaked in at number 99.

The Shangs’ touring grew quite hectic despite their chart misfortunes. Dances, music revues, and a Dick Clark Caravan tour had the girls doing several shows every day. The strain grew to be too much, and Marge, Mary Ann and Betty all left the group for varying amounts of time. Publicity stills and television performance vary between diferent combinations of the trio and the full quartet.

"I Can Never Go Home Anymore," broke out in many markets around America, and eventually hit number 6 on the charts. It was the most eerie sounding record since "Leader Of The Pack," and almost as big a hit. But the Shangri-las were not seeing any of the profits they were making. After a series of chart records, and almost constant touring, the girls thought they had a healthy financial situation, but were mostly having fun along the way, and not concerned that they hadn’t received any fiscal news from Red Bird or their management.

"Long Live Our Love," and "He Cried," reached number 33, and 65 respectively, but the Shangri-las time at Red Bird was growing to a close. The mob had infiltrated the label through Goldner, and his share of the company was now controlled by an outside force. Greenwich and Barry were close to divorce, and Leiber and Stoller decided to avoid trouble with the law by removing themselves from the company’s operations. The catalogue became heavily based on re-releases, but one more glorious Shangri-las outing grace the charts. "Past, Present And Future," appropriated from "Moon Light Sonata," limped to number 59 on the best sellers list, but the label was broke and couldn’t promote it any further.

Morton brought the girls to the Mercury label in 1967 for a pair of non-charting singles, including "Take The Time," a commentary of the Vietnam War. Mary Ann passed away in 1971 of encephalitis, while Marge succumbed to breast cancer in 1994. Before her death, however, Mary, Betty and Marge made one glorious return to the stage, headlining an oldies concert and bringing the house down. An encore found them riding out on motorcycles to sing "Leader Of The Pack."

The Shangri-las’ catalogue remained in disarray for many years, suffering dozens of poor-quality compilation. Mercury finally created The Best Of The Shangri-las in 1995, a compilation with superior sound-quality and all their biggest hits, significant B-sides, and album tracks.

Although groups calling themselves the Shangri-las continue to perform, none of the members were in the original group. Mary Weiss is in the process of recording new material, however. For the latest updates, and a lengthy interview with Mary, visit Norton Records' website.

The Shangri-las: Leaders of the Pack!