The Leader of the Pack was performed live in St Pete at Big Mooses Teen Nightclub
on Gandy Blvd/Park Blvd. I was in the military at MacDill AFB at the time.
Shangra-Las were barely older than we were.

Big Moose had 3 teen clubs and would bring in 3 acts per night...they would rotate clubs during their break.
Big Moose was one heck of a business man. Those were the days. No drugs No Booze. Just having a good time.

The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack (1964) Stereo HQ Audio

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Apr 8, 2016

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BeepSleepMusic
17.1K subscribers"Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the girl group The Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a popular cultural example of a 'teenage tragedy song'. The tune of "Leader of the Pack" is credited to pop impresario George

"Shadow" Morton together with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. According to Morton, he wrote the song for the Goodies (also known as the Bunnies), but instead it was needed as a follow-up to the Shangri-Las hit "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". He said he did not know that he was supposed to have a second idea ready to follow up "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"

until Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (Red Bird Records co-owners with George Goldner) asked him, "Hey, what do you want to do for the second record?" Morton said he "got a bottle of champagne, two cigars" and "went into the shower, sat down, drank the champagne, smoked the cigars, and wrote the song on a shirt cardboard with my kids crayons." Morton claimed he

credited Barry and Greenwich as co-writers for business reasons; however his recollection has been questioned by Ellie Greenwich. The song is about a girl named Betty, asked by friends to confirm that she is dating Jimmy, the leader of a motorcycle gang. After singing of love at first sight ("I met him at the candy store/He turned around and smiled at me/You get

the picture?/That's when I fell for the Leader of the Pack"), Betty's heart turns to despair as she bemoans her parents' disapproval. The parents claim Jimmy hails from "the wrong side of town" and ask Betty to tell Jimmy goodbye and find someone new. Betty does as she is asked, and Jimmy speeds off on his motorcycle. Moments later, he crashes on a rain-

slickened surface and dies; Betty's pleas for Jimmy to slow down are in vain. In July 1964, Morton recorded the vocals for "Leader of the Pack" with the Shangri-Las at the Ultrasonic Sound studio on the second floor of a Manhattan hotel. The song was produced by George "Shadow" Morton. These vocals were dubbed over the instrumental parts, which had been previously

recorded at the Ultrasonic Recording Studios in Hempstead, New York. Billy Joel, then a young session musician, said on November 16, 2010 during an interview with Howard Stern that he played piano on one of the demos for "Leader of the Pack," but he was not sure if any of his parts made the final recording. In fact, the piano part was played by Roger Rossi, a staff

musician for Ultrasonic Recording Studios at the time. Rossi said, "I remember the date like it was yesterday, there were no written charts, so unfortunately, some musicians kept making mistakes. As I recall, it took 63 recording takes before Shadow Morton was satisfied." Rossi added, "By the end of the session, in take 62, I also messed up and Morton laughingly yelled

out, 'Ohhhh, noooo. Not you, too!'" According to legend, to add the authentic sound of a motorcycle engine, one was driven through the lobby of the hotel and up to the floor of the recording studio. No one was arrested, but a ticket was issued. However, in an interview four decades later, Shangri-Las lead singer Mary Weiss said the motorcycle sound was taken from

an effects record. The Zombies' drummer Hugh Grundy recalls revving up a motorcycle backstage when the Shangri-Las performed on a U.S. tour. "Leader of the Pack" was released as a single on the Leiber and Stoller label Red Bird Records, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964. In the United Kingdom, the single was refused airplay

by the BBC, probably due to its death theme, although some have speculated that it was considered likely to encourage violence between mods and rockers. It charted three times on the UK Singles Chart: number 11 in 1965; number 3 in 1972[8] (by which time the BBC ban had been lifted); and once again at number 7 in 1976, when its sales figures as a reissue on two

different labels (Charly and Contempo) were combined to arrive at its chart position. The record also reached number 1 in Australia. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 447. In the 2010 revision of the list, it was moved to number 454 as new entries were added. The song is featured in a Broadway musical

based on the songs of Ellie Greenwich, Leader of the Pack, which opened in 1985. In 1990, the song was featured in the soundtrack of the Martin Scorsese film, Goodfellas.

 

The Shangri-Las - Shout

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Mar 4, 2007

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Dazza B
2.21K subscribersThe Shangri-Las singing 'Shout' on the Lloyd Thaxton Show. This video is from February 1965. Mary would have been 16. Betty, who isn't featured in this performance, temporarily left the group because of "personal commitments". Both Mary and Betty are still alive but, unfortunately, the twins, Margie and Mary-Ann, have since passed away. The twins' faces are obscured because it is a low quality VHS dub from a timecoded master tape, and the timecode has been smudged. Sorry! Sorry it's a poor quality kinescope.

 

Shangri-La's- 'Give Him a Great Big Kiss'

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Jan 25, 2008

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ferstday
715 subscribersLive on TV, 1965.

 

John283T

I also want to say I love the facial expressions Mary makes in this performance. I love the way she looks up to say he's tall, and the expression she uses to tell the girls that he's not all that bad. Let's face it, I like everything about Mary Weiss.

 

Timmybear

another one of the rare four-girl performances by the Shangs. So many only have three of them presen

 

The Shangri-Las - RIght Now And Not Later ( Colourised)

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Apr 19, 2020

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Seedy Jeezus
5.23K subscribers* Dont forget to click like, and subscribe to hear of when new clips are uploaded. Right Now and Not Later was the opening track of the album "Shangri-Las - 65! ". Written by R. Moseley, R. Bateman and K. Hollon. For more info on what Mary Weiss ( lead singer of the Shangri-Las) is doing now, head to


www.maryweiss.com.

 

The Shangri-Las - Rare Studio Chatter, Outtakes and Unreleased Song

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Mar 25, 2016

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Dazza B
2.21K subscribersThe Shangri-Las in the studio with Brooks Arthur, Shadow Morton, Jeff Barry and Artie Butler. Features an unreleased track as well as studio chatter from 'Remember (Walking In the Sand)' and 'Leader of the Pack' sessions which also feature Betty on lead vocals.

 

The Shangri-las - Out In the Streets * HQ True STEREO *

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Sep 23, 2018

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Dazza B
2.21K subscribersUnreleased true stereo mix of the Shangri-las magnum opus, Out In the Streets

 

Frank Barcellona

Ironic how the twins vanish seconds before the end of the song, leaving Mary the last one standing....life imitates art..

glenn h Friedman

tragic too

 

The Shangri-Las "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" My Extended Version!

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Dec 15, 2011

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mosogotam
119K subscribersNo copyright infringement intended. If felt, comment below and I will remove this video. The ULTRA-Dramatic Shangri-Las with my extended version of their Pinacle of Pain..."I Can Never Go Home Anymore" Brill Building!!!!!!!!