She Had a Massive Hit With the Shangri-Las

Mary Weiss of 'Leader of the Pack' fame and more is dead at 75
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 21, 2024 5:31 AM CST

A familiar voice from the 1960s has died. Mary Weiss, lead singer of the Shangri-Las, was 75, reports Rolling Stone. The group is best known for "Leader of the Pack," which reached No. 1 in 1964 and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, per the BBC. Rolling Stone previously included the track on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, at No. 316. The pop group from Queens—made up of sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, and twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser—was far from a one-hit wonder, specializing in songs of "teenage love and tragedy," per NPR. Another big hit was "Remember (Walking in the Sand)."

"Mary was an icon, a hero, a heroine, to both young men and women of my generation and of all generations," says Miriam Linna of Norton Records, with whom Weiss recorded her one and only solo album, Dangerous Game, in 2007. The Instagram account of another 1960s icon, the late Ronnie Spector, also paid homage. "We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Mary Weiss' passing," reads the post. "She and Ronnie were kindred spirits; two fearless bad girls of the 60s." The Shangri-Las broke up in 1968 amid legal issues—"my mom signed some really bad contracts," she once said—and Weiss largely retired from the music industry until her 2007 album. No cause of death was provided. (Read other notable obituaries.)

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