The Shangri-Las

Two pairs of New York sisters (including identical twins Margie and Mary Ann Ganser), The Shangri-Las formed in 1964 and created a series of brilliantly theatrical singles masterminded by madcap producer Shadow Morton.

The girls first started singing at high school, and at the time of their first hit were officially still studying. Remember (Walkin' In The Sand), a teenage heartbreaker, made the Top 5 and sold a million - as did the even more melodramatic Leader Of The Pack, a sure-fire Number One in the USA and a Top 20 hit in Britain on three separate occasions! 

The Shangri-Las' career had started in earnest when they met producer George 'Shadow' Morton, who cut a demo with the girls and took it along to the Red Bird record company offices. He was given the go-ahead to re-record the song - Remember (Walkin' In The Sand). Morton layered the production Spector-style and dubbed on seagulls and wave sounds to build the atmosphere. Morton went even further for Leader Of The Pack - dubbing onto the track the sound of a motorcycle revving up and eventually crashing in a screech of torn metal.

The other key ingredient in The Shangri-Las' success was the quality of songs they used. The girls were fortunate enough to be on a label founded by two of pop's greatest writers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller - authors of Elvis's Jailhouse Rock and hits for The Drifters, The Coasters and many more - and George Goldner, label boss and producer of hits for Little Anthony & The Imperials and Frankie Lymon.

The quality and imagination remained consistently high during the next two years, but only I Can Never Go Home Anymore reinstated The Shangri-Las to the Top 10.