Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about purpose, awe and good vibrations. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe (birth, death, love, the big picture); and our personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. Here, you’ll encounter interviews, essays and some episodes created simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Shangri-Las' Lead Singer Mary Weiss Led the Way on "Leader of the Pack"
Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, achieved fame at 15 with the hit song "Leader of the Pack." Her personal life wasn't easy, though, and she put a lot of her own emotions into the song.
The Shangri-Las had their very first hit in 1964 with "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." Weiss was 14 at the time. By 1968, the group had disbanded amid legal disputes.
The photo of Weiss accompanying this episode was cropped from a group publicity shot taken in 1964 and distributed by Red Bird Records. It's available on Wikipedia.
If you want to hear "Leader of the Pack," you can find a version on YouTube.
Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Weiss is one of 41 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones for 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Tribute excerpt:
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"Weiss,
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her older sister, and two friends
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started the Shangri-Las when she was 14.
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Music producer George Shadow Morton hired them to
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record a demo of his song 'Remember,
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(Walking in the Sand).'
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The demo turned into a hit."
Kate:
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That's just a snippet
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of Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Mary Weiss,
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who died in January
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2024.
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For more,
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here's the whole story.
Sheldon:
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Mary Weiss had a number one hit when
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she was 15 years old, but she said
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her teenage years were difficult,
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filled with emotional pain when recording hit songs
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with the Shangri-Las.
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Weiss died January 19th in Palm Springs, California,
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of chronic obstructive
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pulmonary disease.
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She was 75.
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Song of the Day is paying tribute to
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the singers, songwriters, and musicians
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who died in 2024.
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Weiss was only 6 weeks old when her
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father died.
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Her family survived on welfare after that.
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Weiss,
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her older sister, and two friends
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started the Shangri-Las, named after a Long
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Island restaurant, when she was 14.
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Music producer George Shadow Morton hired them to
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record a demo of his song "Remember
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(Walking in the Sand)."
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The demo turned into a hit,
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reaching number 5 on Billboard's Hot 100
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in 1964.
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"Leader of the Pack" followed, reaching number 1
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in November
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1964.
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The group disbanded in 1968.
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"When we started, it was all about the
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music.
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By the time it ended, it was all
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about litigation,"
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Weiss told Rolling Stone Magazine
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in 2007.
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Weiss couldn't record again until 1977
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because of lawsuits,
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but the group hated the album that came
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out so much they never released it.
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Weiss quit the music business to work for
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an interior design firm.
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She returned to music as a solo artist
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in 2007
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and recorded a well-received album.
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Morton,
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Ellie Greenwich, and Jeff Barry wrote "Leader of
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the Pack."
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The song is about Betty who's in love
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with a motorcycle
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gang leader, Jimmy.
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Her father makes her end the relationship,
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and when she tells Jimmy, he speeds off
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crashing his bike and dying.
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"I put a lot of my own pain
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in that song. I don't think teenage years
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are all that rosy for a lot of
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people.
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They certainly weren't for me," she said in
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a 2007
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interview with The Telegraph.
Kate:
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This is Kate Jones. You'll find a lot
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of other tributes on Everyday Creation.
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Please check them out, and thank you for
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listening.
