Mary Weiss, the lead vocalist of the 1960s pop ensemble The Shangri-Las, has passed away at the age of 75, as reported by the BBC.
Norton Records, the singer’s record label, disclosed this information. The Shangri-Las, originally formed in the Queensborough of New York, consisted of two pairs of sisters.
Their notable hits included “Remember” and their most recognized song, “Leader of the Pack.” The group comprised Mary and Elizabeth “Betty” Weiss, along with twins Marguerite and Mary Ann Ganser, all of whom attended the same school in New York.
They made their first recording in 1963 with “Simon Says,” and a year later, they recorded “Leader of the Pack.” The latter, a narrative about a young girl enamoured with a boy “from the wrong side of town” who meets a tragic end in a motorcycle crash, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
The group disbanded in 1968, and Weiss later expressed disagreement with the perception that they were “tough.”
In an interview, she stated, “If you look at the old tapes, I don’t think that word would even come up. Maybe it was the boots.”
After a prolonged absence from the music industry, Weiss returned in 2007 with a solo album titled “Dangerous Game.”
