TPPM (9): The Shangri-Las

[Tim Strzechowski]

"But Sloth's offspring, though bad -- to paraphrase the Shangri-Las -- are not always evil [...]"


The Shangri-Las were the most broadly appealing of all the '60s girl groups.  What they sang about had a lot to do with it. The "hip" look combined with a measure of innocence also helped convince the kids of the sincerity of the Shangri-Las message.

The group consisted of four sisters Mary (lead) and Liz (Betty) Weiss and identical twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser. All were 15 and 16 when they began singing at Andrew Jackson High School In the Cambria Heights section of Queens, New York Influenced by Little Anthony and the Imperials and the Four Seasons, they began playing school shows, talent shows and teen hops. The girls came to the attention of Artie Ripp, who arranged the groups first record deals with Smash, where they recorded "Simon Says" and with Spokane for "Wishing Well."

"Wishing Well" gave a taste of the future with it's talking intro over a capella harmony. [...]

http://www.history-of-rock.com/shangria-las.htm

http://www.tsimon.com/shangri.htm

http://www.marstalent.com/bio_shangri_las.htm


The specific song that Pynchon alludes to here is likely "Leader of the Pack" (1964), which contains the lines:

  My folks were always putting him down (down, down)
  They said he came from the wrong side of town
  (whatcha mean when ya say that he came from the wrong side of town?)
  They told me he was bad
  But I knew he was sad
  That's why I fell for (the leader of the pack)

http://www.rockabilly.nl/lyrics2/l0053.htm



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