Betty
Weiss (1946)
Mary Weiss (1948)
Mary Ann Ganser
(1948 - 1970)
Marge Ganser (1948 -
1996)
The Weiss sisters,
Mary and Betty, and
the Ganser twins, Mary
Ann and Marge, became
friends in a Queens,
NY, elementary school
and eventually formed
a singing group that
performed at local
high schools and
such.
They
first signed a record
deal in 1963 with Kama
Sutra, but their first
record went
nowhere. They
did, however, come up
with a name for their
group - the
Shangri-Las -- named
after a Queens
restaurant.
Next
-- in a coup for the
Shangri-Las -- came a
deal in 1964 to record
“Remember (Walking in
the Sand),” a George
Morton
composition.
George
Morton was associated
with Red Bird Records
(which, at that time,
was the hot indie
label), as were his
good friends,
established “girl
group” songwriters,
Ellie Greenwich and
Jeff Barry.
Kama
Sutra (which still had
an active contract
with the Shangri-Las)
and Red Bird shared
production of the
record, which was an
instant success,
rising as high as #5
on the Billboard Hot
200 chart:
It was Morton --
teaming up with
Greenwich and Barry --
who came up with the
Shangri-Las’ next
song, a little
something called:
Leader
of the Pack
(with visuals of
Marlon Brando
in "The Wild Ones")
“Leader
of the Pack” was a
monster hit and
became the group’s
signature
song. So great
was its success that
it spawned a parody
(shades of “Weird”
Al Yankovic) by The
Detergents,
that
cracked the Top 20:
Leader
of the Laundromat
With
two giant hits, The
Shangi-las hit the
road for endless
touring (in the US
and the UK):
with
the likes of The
Beatles:
and
the Rolling Stones:
and
appearing on
nationally-broadcast
TV shows: Hulabaloo,
Shindig, American
Bandstand,
etc.
They only came off
the road to record,
like this Top 20
hit, which,
uncharacteristically,
doesn’t have a dark
and melodramatic
lyric in it:
Give
Him A Great
Big Kiss
Betty
temporarily left the
group in 1964, just
before the UK tour,
so the Shangri-Las
performed as a trio
as
in this 1965 video
of their
next-released song
(a dirge about a
depressed boyfriend
whose heart belongs
to life in the
streets):
Out
In The Streets
Betty
returned to
the group in
mid-1965, so
they were a
quartet again,
but then, in
the beginning
of 1966, the
twins started
taking turns
stepping away,
so The
Shangri-Las
were a trio
once more.
Actually,
the group only had
one more hit in
them --
another
mournful one that
put them back in
the Top 10:
I
Can Never Go Home
Anymore
Unfortunately,
in that era of
music and
performers, most
groups were
considered
disposable and
replaceable.
It was pure
Darwinism.
If your records
didn’t sell, your
record company
“forgot”
you. The
tour dates would
get cheesier, and
sooner, not later,
you would get
discouraged enough
to just
quit.
And that’s what
happened to the
Shangri-Las.
Although Morton
switched them to
Mercury Records,
by 1967 it was
over. Their
whole career
lasted just 3
years.
And,
just as tragedy
coursed through
the veins of their
songs, so it did
in the life of the
Ganser
twins. Mary
Ann died of a drug
overdose in 1970
at the age of 22,
and sister Marge
died of breast
cancer in 1996.
Coda #1:
There were a few
NYC-area live
appearances in the
1979-1980 time
period for the
surviving trio,
but nothing came
of it.
Coda #2:
An attempt to tour
in the late 80’s
was jettisoned due
to a lawsuit from
the guy who had
bought the
"Shangri-Las'"
name.
Coda #3:
In 2007, lead
singer Mary Weiss
was contacted by
contemporary
musicians Billy
Miller and Miriam
Linna to record a
solo album,
“Dangerous
Game.”
Mary's voice had
deepened, but the
unique quality
remained:
Dangerous
Game
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