Die am 28. Dezember 1948 in New York City geborene US-amerikanische Sängerin Mary Weiss (Bild) ist am 19. Januar 2024 in Palm Springs (Kalifornien) gestorben. Sie wurde als Frontsängerin der Band The Shangri-Las berühmt, die von 1963 bis 1968 bestand. Nach einer mehrere Jahrzehnte andauernden Pause veröffentlichte Weiss 2007 ein Soloalbum. (*) Die Shangri-Las waren eine der führenden Girlgroups der 1960er-Jahre. Mit «Leader of the Pack» landeten sie einen Nummer-eins-Hit in den Billboard-Charts und erreichten auch in Grossbritannien die Top-20.

Bild: Die Shangri-Las 1964, in der Mitte Mary Weiss – Foto: Red Bird Records –
Pre-1978, no mark – Datei: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Shangri-Las_1964.jpg?uselang=de
Mary Weiss, Lead Singer of Sixties Girl Group the Shangri-Las, Dead at 75
Weiss vanished from the music industry for decades before returning in 2007 to release her first solo record.
The Shangri-Las encapsulated the height of the early-Sixties trend for teen tragedies, with the girls documenting their melodramas with songs such as «Give Him a Great Big Kiss» and 1964’s «Leader of the Pack» — a track that went on to become a Number One hit that year. In 2021, Rolling Stone included the track in its list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 316.
Charisma Madarang
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mary-weiss-the-shangri-las-dead-obituary-1234950474/
Mary Weiss, Who Sang ‘Leader of the Pack,’ Is Dead at 75
As the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, she conveyed passion, pathos and toughness — and reached the Top 40 six times while still in her teens.
«Leader of the Pack,» the Shangri-Las’ second and biggest hit, was narrated by a young woman who falls in love with a motorcycle-riding tough guy without her parents’ approval — «They told me he was bad/But I knew he was sad» — and is then left bereft when he dies in a road accident on a rainy night.
Gavin Edwards
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/arts/music/mary-weiss-dead.html
Mary Weiss, style-setting lead singer of the Shangri-Las, dies at 75
The Shangri-Las — which included Weiss’s sister Betty and twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser — channeled their working-class roots in Queens with a sound and look that challenged the reigning glamour of groups such as the Chiffons and Supremes. Ms. Weiss was once asked about the evening gowns worn by some other singers onstage. «Old people’s clothes,» she scoffed.
Brian Murphy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/01/20/mary-weiss-shangri-las-dies/
Mary Weiss, Shangri-Las Lead Singer and an Icon of the Girl-Group Era, Dies at 75
Along with the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las epitomize the girl group era more than any others. Weiss was at the center of their sound and look, with a tart, youthful, yearning voice that burst out of transistor and car radios, and long blonde hair that made her the object of countless crushes during the era.
Jem Aswad, Thania Garcia
Mary Weiss brought streetwise realism to the Shangri-Las – and let 60s girl groups flirt with danger
Weiss’s piercing voice gave the trio’s songs about bad boys – with their unusually high body count – a lasting punch.
Alexis Petridis
Mort de la chanteuse Mary Weiss, voie furieuse du rock
Au sein des Shangri-Las, girl group emblématique des sixties, la New-Yorkaise avait conté les désillusions adolescentes avant de disparaître de la scène à la fin des années 60.
Grégory Schneider
Mary Weiss, la voz inolvidable de Shangri-Las, muere a los 75 años
Los Shangri-Las, formados en el distrito de Queens de la ciudad de Nueva York, estaban compuestos por dos pares de hermanas: Mary Weiss y su hermana Elizabeth «Betty» Weiss, junto con las gemelas Marguerite «Marge» Ganser y Mary Ann Ganser. Se conocieron en la escuela y comenzaron a actuar en bailes escolares y eventos para adolescentes.
Morta Mary Weiss, voce delle signorine del pop Shangri-Las
Weiss faceva parte di uno dei gruppi pop tutti al femminile più noti degli anni Sessanta, diventato famoso grazie a un’infilata di singoli incentrati sull’amore e sull’adolescenza, tra cui Remember (Walking in the sand) e soprattutto Leader of the pack, che è stata successivamente inserita nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Weiss con le Shangri-Las, delle quali curava sia l’aspetto musicale che il look, ha contribuito ad aprire la strada a tanti altri gruppi femminili insieme alle celebri Ronettes.
Shangri-Las-Sängerin Mary Weiss ist tot
In den Sechzigerjahren stieg Mary Weiss aus New York auf zum weltberühmten Popstar – da war sie gerade einmal 15 Jahre alt. Nun ist die Sängerin gestorben, teilt ihre Plattenfirma mit. (…)
Weiss blieb dem Popbusiness später lange Jahrzehnte fern. Im Jahr 2007 dann startete sie ein Solo-Comeback. Weiss veröffentlichte ein Album mit dem Titel «Dangerous Game». Von der Kritik wurde es hochgelobt, wie etwa der «Guardian» anmerkt. «Mary war eine Ikone, ein Held, eine Heldin, sowohl für junge Männer als auch für Frauen meiner Generation und aller Generationen», teilte eine Sprecherin ihrer Plattenfirma Norton Records mit.
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Videos:
The Shangri-Las – Leader of the Pack (1964) Stereo HQ Audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ge8_6rtQvs
The Shangri-Las – Remember ( Walking in the Sand) – Long stereo mix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5YxtweUxrA
Mehr:
https://web.archive.org/web/20221228103222/http://www.maryweiss.com/
https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/781369-Mary-Weiss
https://www.allmusic.com/album/dangerous-game-mw0000479254
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mary-weiss-mn0000646165#biography
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2607332/
https://web.archive.org/web/20170506182506/http://theroundplaceinthemiddle.com/?p=9428
https://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/profiles/28500/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Weiss
(*) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Weiss_(Sängerin)
#MaryWeiss #TheShangriLas #CHcultura @CHculturaCH ∆cultura cultura+
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