Mary Weiss

Mary Weiss was the lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, four New York City Catholic schoolgirl friends that included her older sister Betty and a couple of classmates, twins Mary Ann and Margie Ganser. Mary was only 15 when the newly-formed group was discovered by Red Bird Records producer/songwriter George "Shadow" Morton in 1964. Although the Shangri-Las began the year being photographed in chiffon dresses and high heels, Morton soon cultivated a biker-chick/bad girl image for them, with the group usually appearing live clad in tight pants and black leather vests. Their songs featured melodramatic music and lyrics dealing with such themes as love lost, death, and general teenage angst, and often included sound effects, such as seagulls along the beach in 1964's "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", their first hit, and roaring motorcycles, as can be heard in their signature song from that same year, the biker epic "Leader of the Pack." Incidentally, both tracks featured a