The Shangri-Las

The Shangri-Las stood out from other ’60s girl groups with a more streetwise, heightened take on teen melodrama. They were actual teens, too, forming the group in Queens, New York in 1963. Fronted primarily by Mary Weiss and guided by atmosphere-rich producer George “Shadow” Morton, the band established their snappy portrayal of romantic anguish—complete with Greek-chorus whispers—on 1964’s “Remember (Walkin’ In the Sand)” and its chart-topping follow-up “Leader of the Pack.” A theatrical tale of motorcycle tragedy, the latter stands as the commercial peak of a run of hits that spanned just two years. Subsequent singles began stalling by late 1966, and the band split in 1968. Apart from a brief live reunion a decade later and Weiss’s 2007 solo album with The Reigning Sound, The Shangri-Las live on as an evergreen emblem of forthright cool whose sound has been absorbed into indie acts as varied as Sonic Youth and The Black Lips.