The Shangri-Las

The Shangri-Las were an American pop music girl group of the 1960s.

The group were formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York as the Bon Bons: a four-piece act consisting of identical twins Marge and Mary-Ann Ganser and sisters Betty and Mary Weiss.

In 1964 they had their first hit, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", after being hired by the producer George "Shadow" Morton. Their songs for Morton on Red Bird Records 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.

The band continued to have a string of US hit records, mainly on depressing themes such as death, loneliness and abandonment.

Marge left the band in 1966, and 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, and despite signing to Mercury Records, the group had no further hits. Shortly afterwards they disbanded.

Mary-Ann died of encephalitis in 1976, while Marge died of a drug overdose twenty years later.