The Shangri-Las
Four teenagers from Queens, The Shangri-Las turned adolescent heartbreak into gothic pop theater, pairing Mary Weiss's aching lead vocal with producer Shadow Morton's motorcycle-revving melodrama. 'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' and the chart-topping 'Leader of the Pack' made 1964 their breakout year before the group quietly dissolved by the late 1960s. Their streetwise rebellion and dramatic sound would later echo through punk and new wave.
the sound in question
1964
Leader of the PackThe Shangri-Las
we haven’t charted The Shangri-Las yet
this stretch of the river isn’t mapped. we trace the watershed one artist at a time — and we’re always heading further upstream.