After working together for a bit, Mary Weiss ended up singing lead. In April of 1964, since the girls were still minors, their parents signed for them with Red Bird Records, with their name coming from the title of a mythical place of wonder. Mary was 15, Betty was 17, and the Ganser twins were 16. That same year, they had their first hit with "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". The song, a U.S. #5 and a U.K. #14, was created after producer George "Shadow" Morton hired the band.
Their songs with "Shadow" Morton featured lavish production with heavy orchestration and sound effects. Their biggest hit, the renowned death disc "Leader of the Pack", climaxes with the sounds of roaring motorcycles and breaking glass. A U.S. #1 and U.K. #11 hit, the tune still gets serious airplay to this day.
According to a Biography episode on various 60s 'Brill Building' songwriters, including retrospective interviews with Greenwich, Barry and Morton among others, Barry said that at the time he was suspicious of Morton's overt attention to Greenwich. Disbelieving Morton was really the songwriter he claimed to be, Barry challenged Morton to prove his legitimacy and bring in samples of his recent work (expecting never to hear again from an embarrassed Morton). Morton stated in his interview that, with an empty song portfolio at the time, he felt sufficiently challenged by Barry, whereupon he left the Brill Building and drove his automobile to a Long Island Beach.
Full of both inspiration and desperation, Morton spent the evening writing his first song, while sitting in the dark in his parked car. Entitled "Remember (Walking In The Sand)", Morton then 'rolled the dice' and recorded a demo of his song with a long-shot, unknown girl-group local club act that he admired, The Shangri-Las (according to Morton, with the then-unknown Billy Joel on piano in the demo recording), and offered the demo recording to Jerry Leiber, who was then setting up Red Bird Records. The recording "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" by the Shangri-Las reached #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. Considering the scope of this accomplishment, Morton was transformed overnight from a credential-less industry 'wannabe' into a teen recording songwriter and recording producer. According to Steve Kurutz at Allmusic, "Morton's production work, which included brilliant sound effects and inventive percussion, carried the Shangri-Las to girl-group history."
The band continued to have a string of American hit records, mainly on depressing themes such as death, loneliness, and abandonment. Songs included "Past, Present and Future", "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" and "Long Live Our Love".
In 1966, the Shangri-Las' subsequent two releases on Red Bird failed to make the top 50. That same year the band left Red Bird and Morton after the label folded. At the beginning of 1967, Marge decided to leave the group. Despite signing to Mercury Records that year, the group had no further hits. In 1968, they disbanded.
Mary Ann died of a drug overdose in 1970. Marge succumbed to breast cancer on July 28, 1996 at age 48.
The group experienced a small revival in the UK when "Leader Of The Pack" was re-issued twice, reaching #3 in 1972 and #7 in 1976.
The Shangri-La's 1966 hit "Past, Present & Future" was effectively covered in 2004 by ex ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her 2004 album, "My Colouring Book".
Since the 1980's, the group has had to deal with a group calling themselves The Shangri Las, but having nothing to do with the original group. The group was put together by Dick Fox.
Discography
Standard albums
* 1964: Leader of the Pack (US #109)
* 1965: Shangri-Las-65!
Compilations
* 1966: Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las
* 1975: The Shangri-Las Sing
* 1996: The Best of the Shangri-Las
Singles
* 1964: "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (US #5, UK #14)
* 1964: "Leader of the Pack" (US #1, UK #11)
* 1965: "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" (US #18)
* 1965: "Give Us Your Blessings" (US #29)
* 1965: "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" (US #6)
* 1965: "Maybe" (US #91)
* 1965: "Out in the Streets" (US #53)
* 1965: "Right Now and Not Later" (US #99)
* 1966: "He Cried" (US #65)
* 1966: "Long Live Our Love" (US #33)
* 1966: "Past, Present and Future" (US #59)
* 1966: "Take the Time"
* 1967: "Sweet Sounds of Summer"
References
* "Shangri-Las 77!", footnote 4, by Phil X Milstein, Spectropop
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-Las
The Train From Kansas City
The Shangri-Las Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please believe me
I would never never do anything to hurt you)
Baby, baby
Please believe me
I would never never do anything to you
To make you blue
But yesterday I
Got this letter
From a boy I loved
Before I ever knew you,
Before I even knew you
And the train from Kansas City
Is coming into town
The train from Kansas City (is a comin')
Nothing I can do can make it turn around
Baby, baby
Please don't worry
Nothing in this world could tear us apart
We'll never, never part
So wait right here
And I will hurry
I'll be back in the time it takes to break a heart
I gotta break his heart
Yes, the train from Kansas City
Is coming into town
The train from Kansas City (is a comin')
Nothing I can do can make it turn around
Well, I never answered his letter
I just couldn't tell him that way (oh yeah)
No, I never answered his letter
'Cause I didn't know what to say
Now I'm going down to the station
He'll be there at ten after two (ooh yeah)
I'll show him the ring on my finger
I don't know what else I can do
Oh, the train from Kansas City
Is coming into town
The train from Kansas City
Nothing I can do can make it turn around
Here comes the train
Here comes the train
Here comes the train
The Shangri-Las' "The Train From Kansas City" is a story song that revolves around a girl who receives a letter from a previous lover just as she is about to get married. She pleads with her fiancé, repeatedly assuring him that she would never do anything to hurt him, but her ex-lover's letter has thrown her life into disarray. The girl informs her fiancé that she had never replied to her ex-lover's letter because she just couldn't bring herself to respond. The girl decides to go to the train station to break her ex-lover's heart in person by showing him her engagement ring. She's certain that this gesture will make her ex-lover understand that she has moved on and that it's time for him to do the same.
The song explores the intricacies of love and how things can quickly get complicated. The girl loves her fiancé and doesn't want to hurt him, but the letter and the ex-lover's presence represent an obstacle that she must overcome. The song's somber tone and the girl's plea for understanding and forgiveness create an emotional undertone that is not immediately apparent upon an initial listen.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, baby
My dear, my love
Please believe me
Trust me
I would never never do anything to hurt you
I would never intentionally cause you pain
To make you blue
To make you sad
But yesterday I
However, the previous day
Got this letter
Received a written message
From a boy I loved
From someone I had affection for
Before I ever knew you,
Before we met and fell in love
Before I even knew you
Before we were acquainted
And the train from Kansas City
The locomotive departing from Kansas City
Is coming into town
Is arriving at our location
The train from Kansas City (is a comin')
The train from Kansas City is approaching
Nothing I can do can make it turn around
Unfortunately, I am powerless to stop its arrival
Please don't worry
Don't be concerned
Nothing in this world could tear us apart
Nothing could come between us
We'll never, never part
We will always be together
So wait right here
Stay in this spot
And I will hurry
And I will rush to return
I'll be back in the time it takes to break a heart
I'll return soon, quicker than a broken-heart
I gotta break his heart
I must end my previous relationship
Yes, the train from Kansas City
Indeed, the locomotive from Kansas City
Well, I never answered his letter
Actually, I didn't reply to his message
I just couldn't tell him that way (oh yeah)
I was unable to inform him of my feelings via letter
No, I never answered his letter
I never responded to his written communication
'Cause I didn't know what to say
I lacked the words to reply
Now I'm going down to the station
I am travelling to the train station
He'll be there at ten after two (ooh yeah)
He will arrive at ten minutes after two o'clock
I'll show him the ring on my finger
I will reveal the ring on my hand
I don't know what else I can do
I am uncertain of any other action to take
Here comes the train
The train is approaching
Here comes the train
The train is arriving
Here comes the train
The train is here
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@transmit13
RIP Mary Weiss 😔
@rocknjbindad3707
Mary Weiss, Rock and Roll HOFer. IMO. RIP , you are beautiful.
@somchitrwright6749
Rest In Peace Mary😢❤
@ingsve
A lot of the Shangri-Las song demonstrate what an inventive and skilled producer George "Shadow" Morton was. The way this song evokes the sound of a train is amazing.
@KCStuffedAnimal
That train sound is probably not a sound effect, but a vocal imitation. The seagull sound on The Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)" is also a vocal imitation. The vocal talent was Jeff Barry, who co-produced both that song and this one.
@DNRY122
@@KCStuffedAnimal And by the time this record was released, steam locomotives were nearly extinct in the US, and would not be found on a main line passenger train.
@KCStuffedAnimal
@@DNRY122 I rode passenger trains out of Kansas City back in the early Sixties, when this record was made. Those sound effects sound pretty authentic to me.
@joemacpherson1664
@@KCStuffedAnimal Not true. In the 1980's, I read an extensive interview with Shadow Morgan and he discussed many details regarding his recordings with the Shangri-Las. The seagulls that bring so much atmosphere to Remember (Walkin In The Sand) were quite real. Morgan used their plaintive cries to great effect. He found a sound effects LP, bought it and when he heard that particular track with gulls, inspiration took over. Also, the train sounds are real on The Train From Kansas City. Morgan borrowed them from either the same sound effects LP, or found them on another recording. Also, this is how he achieved the sounds of lightning, used to extraordinary effect on Shangri-Las tracks.
Shadow Morgan was a truly unique song producer, at a time when most 45 RPM records weren't evoking atmosphere. Shadow Morgan was a man of ideas, with visions of sound, mood and drama in his mind. In the studio, working with The Shangri-Las, they came through every time with results.
@KCStuffedAnimal
@@joemacpherson1664 This is a lie. Jeff Barry recreated the seagull sounds for me vocally, over the telephone. The train sounds were probably simulated by Jeff, too. The motorcycle sounds came from an actual bike owned by engineer Joe Venneri. Shadow Morton is also on record claiming that Jeff and Ellie Greenwich stole songwriting credits from him, and did not take part Shangri-Las productions. More lies. The man had a problem giving credit to people he worked with.
@theoutsider4066
Finest & most underrated girl groups of the 60's