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.
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