Resolution declaring the fourth week of November annually as The Shangri-Las Week in the City of New York, celebrating the 60th anniversary of “Leader of the Pack” in 2024, and recognizing The Shangri-Las’ indelible impact on the music of the 1960s and ever since

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Res. No. 163 ..Title Resolution declaring the fourth week of November annually as The Shangri-Las Week in the City of New York, celebrating the 60th anniversary of "Leader of the Pack" in 2024, and recognizing The Shangri-Las' indelible impact on the music of the 1960s and ever since ..Body By Council Members Williams and Louis Whereas, Mary Weiss and her older sister Elizabeth (Betty) teamed up with twins Marguerite (Marge) and Mary Ann Ganser to form The Shangri-Las, which they named after a local Queens restaurant; and Whereas, The Shangri-Las from Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, Queens, took up the "girl group" mantle with their Billboard Hot 100 Number (No.) 1 hit "Leader of the Pack" in the week ending November 28, 1964, knocking The Supremes' "Baby Love" out of the No.1 spot; and Whereas, The four teenagers had gotten their start listening to a cappella groups of young men on Queens street corners and then began their own harmonizing at the local playground and at dances; and Whereas, Mary Weiss became The Shangri-Las' lead vocalist on their biggest hits when she was just 15 and was the only consistent member of the group, as the other three cycled in and out; and Whereas, The Shangri-Las had six Top 40 singles between 1964 and 1966, starting in the summer of 1964 with "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)," which was written by George "Shadow" Morton, who was working with Brill Building hitmakers Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and which included a performance by an unknown teenaged Billy Joel on piano; and Whereas, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" got The Shangri-Las a contract with Red Bird, the record label of the prolific team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; and Whereas, "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave audiences its memorably wrenching "oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no" lyric; and Whereas, According to Billboard, the song's "mix of pounding piano chords, tempo switches, histrionically belted and tensely sung-spoken vocals, despairing lyrics and evocative sound effects proved a perfect introduction to the teenage mini-operas that would ultimately became [The Shangri-Las'] signature"; and Whereas, Later that same year, "Leader of the Pack" came along to tell the story of the tragic crash of the motorcycle-riding bad boy Jimmy, loved in the song by lead singer Mary Weiss, who was torn between her parents and her boyfriend and who "deliver[ed] one of the unforgettable vocal performances of '60s pop," with a "rawness and unguardedness to her wailing vocal" unmatched by her peers, according to Billboard; and Whereas, Early in the song, Mary Weiss sang songwriter Morton's now-famous lines, "My folks were always putting him down/They say 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 the leader of the pack"; and Whereas, According to Morton, "I was asking [Mary] to be an actress, not just a singer" in the tale of heartbreak, as she talks back and forth with her back-up singers, who help her set the stage for the drama; and Whereas, Billboard explains the musical brilliance of the song, backed up by motorcycle engine sounds, noting that "the song's sonics are heightened to near-operatic levels: drum thumps approximate loudly echoing heartbeats on the chorus, reverb-soaked, minor-key piano gives the feeling of an impending thunderstorm on the bridge, and the group is elevated to an angelic choir on the heavenly outro, singing the fallen Leader home"; and Whereas, The Shangri-Las were known for their edgier-than-typical songs, full of teen angst and sometimes suggestive lyrics, including in "Leader of the Pack," which was originally banned in England; and Whereas, Later hits for The Shangri-Las included "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" at No. 6, once described by Amy Winehouse as "the saddest song in the world," and the tuneful "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" at No. 18, with the catchy line "you best believe I'm in love L-U-V"; and Whereas, Often dressed in leather pants or jumpsuits and boots, The Shangri-Las brought a new tougher look to the girl groups of the 1960s, who were known for their formal gowns, once referred to as "old people's clothes," by a young Mary Weiss, who later explained that she just "didn't like chiffon dresses and high heels"; and Whereas, The Shangri-Las influenced vocalists from the Ramones to Debbie Harry to Amy Winehouse, and their songs were covered by vocalists from Marianne Faithfull to Aerosmith to Twisted Sister to Blondie to The Carpenters to Bette Midler to Alvin and the Chipmunks; and Whereas, At the peak of their career, The Shangri-Las were invited to perform at the 1965 World's Fair in Queens; and Whereas, The pioneering Shangri-Las stopped recording in 1968, amidst contractual legal problems, after a short, but brilliant, career that included performing in the United States on television and with James Brown and others as well as in the United Kingdom on television and with The Animals, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones; and Whereas, Mary Weiss, who left the music industry for decades and then released a well-reviewed solo album in 2007, entitled Dangerous Game, said in an interview at that time that she loved being in the studio again, noting "That's my home" and "I just want to rock 'n' roll"; and Whereas, The Ganser twins died in 1970 and 1996 and Mary Weiss recently died on January 19, 2024; and Whereas, Betty Weiss Nelson is the sole surviving member of the groundbreaking girl group, a term that Mary Weiss never liked because she felt that "women were considered products" in a music industry that gave them no power; and Whereas, The Shangri-Las, four teenagers from Queens, put girl groups from New York City on the map in 1964 and remarkably influenced generations of musicians who followed; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares the fourth week of November annually as The Shangri-Las Week in the City of New York, celebrates the 60th anniversary of "Leader of the Pack" in 2024, and recognizes The Shangri-Las' indelible impact on the music of the 1960s and ever since. RHP LS #15820 Res. #0194-2024 12/30/2025 12:15 PM 2

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