Shangri-Las lead singer Mary Weiss passed away in Palm Springs, California, on Friday. She was seventy-five.
The Associated Press was informed of Weiss’s passing by Miriam Linna, the creator of Norton Records, Weiss’ record label.
The cause of death for the musician known as “Leader of the Pack” was not immediately disclosed.
In 1963, at the age of fifteen, Weiss started the band with her sister Betty and two school friends, the twin sisters Mary-Ann and Marguerite Ganser.
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The New York natives followed up the release of their first single, “Simon Says,” with the piano-heavy song “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” starring Billy Joel.’CALIFORNIA SOUL’ SINGER MARLENA SHAW DEAD AT 81
With the hit song, The Shangri-Las—named after a Queens, New York restaurant—reached the Billboard top 5 in 1964.
Later, Aerosmith would cover “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” and the song would resurface as a top TikTok song among social media users.
Weiss’s “Oh No” chorus is among the songs most frequently sampled on the platform.
In 1968, the groundbreaking all-female group broke up.
Her solo debut album “Dangerous Game” marked her comeback to music four decades later.
“Right now, I just want to have fun. And I will do so. In your youth, people can take advantage of you,” Weiss said at the time to New York magazine. “They also promised not to repeat the action. There are advantages to growing up.”
