when i was about 12 years old my aunt had this record and i just loved it and asked her if i could have it...49 years later and i still have the record..awesome tune..
I am a grown ass man who will be 39 this summer and I LOVED this song when I was a kid, lol. Still holds up great, though I don't remember it being quite so busy with all the sound effects!
The part where the lead singer sings her first sentence "i met him at the candy store" with the bass drum thump underneath her vocal is possibly the most perfect moment in the history of Pop music. It`s so beautiful it actually makes me cry.
I wonder if they sped-up her voice just a little? They did prefer to make female singers sound like little girls back then. Mary could sing well though - and with such feeling. On her early hits, Madonna had hers sped-up to sound like Cyndi Lauper, which is why Madonna could never reproduce that Minnie Mouse sound on 'live' recordings.
RICHARD SANDS things were a lot different back then not like today where you can get a piece of candy whenever you want. Even if you spent a penny on it that was a big deal. A lot of people made maybe $2,000 a year.. some less. So it was very different even adults wanted candy back then.
RIP the three members of The Shangri-Las Mary Ann Ganser (February 4, 1948 - March 14, 1970), aged 22 Marguerite “Marge” Ganser (February 4, 1948 - July 28, 1996), aged 48 Mary Weiss (December 28, 1948 - January 19, 2024), aged 75 You will be remembered as legends.
I was born in the ‘80s. Growing up in the Chicago area with baby boomer parents, my dad constantly had Oldies 104.3 on. I was familiar with all the hits of the ‘50s-‘60s before I was even 10 years old. “Leader of the Pack” was always my absolute favorite and I’d get so excited when that intro came on. Later I would buy the Shang’s material on CD and fell in love with many more of their songs. I hope younger people are continuing to discover this group. RIP Mary Weiss. One of the original “bad girls” with an unmistakable voice.
Why aren't they in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Seriously, their songs were like mini-operas, full of drama and heartbreak, and that lead singer had quite a powerful voice to be so young. Remember (Walking in the Sand), Leader of the Pack, Give Him a Great Big Kiss, Out in the Streets, I Can Never Go Home Anymore ... teen angst at its best.
María de la O No. Actually, most of the girl bands in 60’s like The Crystals, The Supremes, The Shangri-Las were all well received and critically acclaimed. They are being respected in all the way possible especially by critics and artists.
Agree, Shangrilas were superb....Pop art came of age in the 60's - check out what the original Andy Warhol Campells soup can painting is worth. There is pop, then there is great pop - see above. Music critics all have big egos, they have to project themselves as serious intellects in the know, so they shy away from anything lighthearted. Yet lighthearted is where most humans like to spend most of their time.
The guy on the motorcycle is Robert Goulet. A very big singing star on live stage in the 1960s. The motorcycle is a 50cc Honda. The whole thing is supposed to be funny.
Yeah, that was my immediate first thought, too. That motorbike is *_tiny!_* I stopped the video and went straight to the comments to see if there was an explanation or something, and yeah, it was apparently intended to be funny. Which is weird for a song about a fatal crash, but whatever...
My grandma used to play this in the car when I was a kid. One of my favorite songs. 2 years ago she passed and this song brings me to tears remembering her
This song has such a happy tune to it. If you actually listened to it you'd hear that it's actually dark af. Nothing like someone driving reckless on a rainy night due to having their heart broken, then she blamed herself for his death that's so dark.
This was a popular rock and roll subgenre during the 50s and 60s and a bit into the 70s called teenage tragedy songs, also known as splatter platters. Lots of really dark themes about death and depression, but some really iconic songs came out of it.
This was one of the BEST girl groups of its time. It was 1964-65; we were in full-blown adolescence, and we could totally relate to Mary & the girls' music. LOVED THEM!!
Those heartbeat drums, that echoing piano, the way the voices wind through each other on the funeral outro. "Leader of the Pack" is a beautifully ridiculous mini masterpiece of pop music - a gothic teenage melodrama for the ages.
I dedicate this to one of the oldest bikers I know. He always took care of others. Riding a stupid bicycle miles to a job when they took his Harley. Helping so many people along the way. You meet this kinda person once in a lifetime. My God, Mad Dog, you will always be, the "Earl" to me, my leader of the pack.
"Is that Jimmy's ring you're wearing?" "is he picking you up after school today" they're talking about him in the present tense, did they not know he had died? Did he die during the song?
the song is the singer telling her friends what happened and at the start, they ask if it's jimmy's ring and she says yes, and then if he is picking her up and she says no
I can't believe the girls were able to keep a straight face when they shot this video. If this was a live performance then EVERYONE, performers and production crew, should be commended. A great song no matter how you look at it.
This is among the first songs i remember as a kid. It was so dramatic! The female leader has a fabulous voice and i love the dialogue between her and the other girls. It is one of the great songs of pop music. A true classic
At the age of 7 or 8 my grandma had this brown container where she kept all her cassettes tapes. And this one among others stuck with me. Including her fav singer Patsy Cline. ❤️ I love you Arlene Zuniga with all my heart. I miss you dearly every day. ❤️ Now at the age of 27 all I need is her 💔 Rip Beautiful Soul.
It appears most of you don't know where this scene comes from. It was on Steve Allen's' "I've Got A Secret" Show. Robert Goulet was a guest. That's why he is playing the role of Jimmy/The Leader of The Pack. He was about 31 years old here. Watch the RU-vid video The Shangri-Las and Robert Goulet on "I've Got a Secret"
My grandma used to play this in the car and sing it to me at 6 years old, im now 14 and it randomly poped into my head Its crazy how memories can just do that this song will always be a reminder of my grandma and also a reminder that even some bikers can be sensitive!!😂
I ❤️ this song! In the '80s so many songs from the '60s were popular again. This reminds me of those times. When music is timeless it never goes out of style.
One of the greatest groups from my teenage years. The Shangri-Las had a slew of hits when, i was young. They were way ahead of their time, with their lyrics. Those were the best years of my life. The music was amazing.
Lyrics: My folks were always putting him down They said he came from the wrong side of town They told me he was bad But I knew he was sad That's why I fell for... One day my dad said find someone new I had to tell my Jim we were through He stood there and asked me why But all I could do was cry I'm sorry I hurt you... He sort of smiled and kissed me goodbye The tears were beginning to show And as he left me on that rainy night I begged him to go slow But whether he heard, I'll never know. I felt so helpless what could I do? Remembering all the things we'd been through At school they all stop and stare I can't hide the tears, but I don't care I'll never forget you... The leader of the pack, now he's gone The leader of the pack, now he's gone The leader of the pack, now he's gone Copyright: Writer(s): Ellie Greenwich, George Francis Morton, Jeff Barry
she said the greatest compliment she had ever been paid came when she ran into Joey Ramone at the New York punk club CBGB, and he told her, “Without the Shangri-Las, there would have been no Ramones.”
Debbie Elicksen my sister did too. I am alot younger than her, but I guess everytime her boyfriend who had a motorcycle and her broke up she played it over and over 😉. They married straight out of high school but divorced a few years later.
My mama had this and other classics on cassette and played it in our car(Yes I DID just age myself) taking me to and from kindergarten and all of the time because I begged to listen constantly because both I love music(and am a musician now as an adult) and it was just so beautifully composed and sung. ALWAYS has a special place in my heart!💜💜💜
Those were hip stitch box pleated skirts...had a blue one & a black one. They were NOT wash & wear. I would wash mine & hang it up with clothes pins holding the pleats in place until it dried & then laboriously iron the pleat creases. We truly did suffer for fashion.
I had a boyfriend who had a motorbike a the time this came out, and I sued to play this over and over.... just loved it, it brings so many memories back to me still xxxx
They are so young and singing about such big heartbreaks. Surely, it must of been a wild ride in my grandparents time. I appreciate the fact this song exists, and felt similar as a millennial. I hope my elders were the leaders of the pack.
damn I really wish they would have done REAL LIVE versions of these old songs, love when I find one of these old greats that was actually done live, still a great song thanks for the upload.
I remember this song from a class-wide project on the 60’s way back in 5th grade. It randomly popped in my head today out of nowhere and I couldnt get it out until I listened to it again.
This awesome all-girl group, IMO, didn't get enough recognition. They were one of the first, if not thee first, pioneers of a successful all-female group. RIP Mary Weiss 🙏🙌💙
her sister was actually the original betty her name is betty weiss and the lead in this video is her younger sister mary ann. betty left them to be a trio for some time
Unbelievable Mary Weiss is only 16 at the time, what a beautiful voice added to Spectors Wall of Sound, The Shangri-las became the US's number 1 Pop Group and hit the Nr1 on the U.S. Billboards with "The Leader of the Pack"
