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(#14) Mary Weiss Fired Back When Trump Used The Shangri-Las' Music On The Campaign Trail
When Donald Trump was campaigning for president, he would often play the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" as part of his rally playlist. But he never got permission to do so, and Mary Weiss was outraged. She took to Facebook to express her fury:
"I do not want anyone to think that I would in any way shape or form endorse this man. A letter will be sent, but if you hear one of our songs at any of his engagements, please note I did not and never would authorize it... Actually I throw up in my mouth a little knowing that this is being done! Of all the people... I will never endorse hatred of any groups of people and would never give my permission to use this song."
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(#8) They Let Off Steam By Breaking China And Setting Off Fireworks
Mary Weiss remembers going to a party at Dusty Springfield's place while the Shangri-Las were on tour promoting "Leader of the Pack." The singer had a unique way of dealing with frustration: she would go out and buy boxes of china with the sole purpose of hurling it all against a wall. Springfield showed Weiss how it was done, and soon all the Shangri-Las were breaking plates at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre:
"They had these long corridors that echoed and we would stand at one end and throw plates to the other. We would let off a lot of steam that way... That was how I met Marvin Gaye. He was trying to get out of his dressing room. He stuck his head out and all of these plates went flying past his head."
The girls were known to set off fireworks as well, and play pranks on their fellow musicians – like changing the sign on Marvin Gaye's dressing room door to read "Marvin's Gaye."
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(#6) They Specialized In Songs About Death, Love, And More Death
The Shangri-Las' first hit single, "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)," is a fairly sweet and straightforward song of lost love. But it is by no means indicative of much of The Shangri-Las' catalog, which is full of wonderfully crazy, melodramatic odes to teenage hormones.
The group's best-known song is the 1964 number-one hit "Leader of the Pack." The lyrics tell the story of dreamy, motorcycle-riding Jimmy, and Betty, the narrator who loves him. Her parents force her to stop seeing him and, distraught, he crashes his motorcycle and dies – mid-song ("Look out! Look out!" Betty shouts as he crashes and burns).
This is a common theme in Shangri-Las tunes. In "Give Us Your Blessings," a young couple dies in a car accident. In "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," a mother who has disowned her teenage daughter dies of a broken heart. The Shangri-Las tapped into a uniquely morbid vein of teen angst in their music, and it made them famous.
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(#4) They Performed With James Brown And The Rolling Stones When They Were Still In High School
Imagine being a teenager, dealing with the frustrations of school and parents and social life. Now imagine, in the throes of all of this, you open for acts like James Brown and the Rolling Stones.
That's just what the Shangri-Las did in the mid '60s. But they seemed to take it all in stride – even when they had an awkward first meeting with Brown. When he saw them, the famed R&B singer burst out laughing. He had assumed from their music that they were black, and had in fact hired them for an intended all-black revue.
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(#12) They Broke Up After Just A Few Years
The Shangri-Las were only active between 1964 and 1969. After that, the group went their separate ways, although they did briefly try to reunite in 1977.
Betty Weiss stepped down from the band shortly after they hit it big, and gave birth to a daughter in 1964. She retired from music, and currently lives on Long Island.
Mary Ann Ganser died of mysterious causes at age 22; sources vary on whether she overdosed on barbiturates or fell ill. Her twin sister Marge Ganser worked for a telephone company post-Shangri-Las, and died of breast cancer at age 48.
Mary Weiss went into a self-imposed exile after the onslaught of fame in her teens, becoming an interior designer and eventually reentering the musical world.
Why did the Shangri-Las break up? There's no one reason. Red Bird Records shuttered, the girls were growing up, and the music industry was changing. Weiss has also alluded to legal issues contributing to the Shangri-Las' demise.
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(#2) They Signed Their First Record Contract While They Were Minors
The industry came knocking early for the young Shangri-Las. Betty Weiss was 17, Mary Weiss was 15, and Marge and Mary Ann Ganser were 16 when their parents signed them with Red Bird Records in 1964.
The meeting came about thanks to a producer named George "Shadow" Morton. He had been looking for a new group, and when he heard about the girls singing in Queens, he went to check them out. Morton was so impressed that he convinced them to come and record a new song of his, "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)." Red Bird executives liked the girls' sound enough to bring them on board.
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About This Tool
Shangri-La is an American pop girl group in the 1960s. There are 4 members in total, they are actually two pairs of sisters. They first started school performances and talent shows in high school, which attracted the attention of Artie Ripp. The first record was named Simon Says. Initially, the girls did not have a name when they performed. When they signed the first deal, they began to call themselves Shangri-La after a restaurant in New York.
There are many wild stories on their way to success. The random tool generated 14 wild stories about the Shangri-Las, who inspired punk. Please check more stories here.
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