20 January 2024 , 07:56
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The lead singer of 1960’s pop group the Shangri-Las, Mary Weiss, has died at the age of 75.
On Friday, Miriam Linna of Norton Records confirmed the singer's death. "Mary was an icon, a hero, a heroine, to both young men and women of my generation and of all generations," Linna said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the official Instagram for Ronnie Spector, who co-founded hit girl group the Ronettes and died in January 2022, shared a tribute following the news. “We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Mary Weiss’ passing. She and Ronnie were kindred spirits; two fearless bad girls of the 60s. Join us as we spin the Shangri-Las in her honour,” the statement said.
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The girl group were big in the 60sThe Shangri-Las shot to fame in the 60s with hits like Leader Of The Pack and Remember (Walking In The Sand). Mary was at the helm and took centre-stage of the girlband.
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Thye group was made up of two sets of sisters, Mary and Elizabeth Weiss, and twins Marguerite and Mary Ann Ganser, forming in the Queens borough of New York City.
After a slew of big hits such as Give Him A Great Big Kiss and Out In The Streets, the Shangri-Las sadly split up.
Mary made a return to the music industry in the noughties following a hiatusBut despite the band's success, Mary made a career U-turn and took on a job in commercial interiors, with her vanishing from the world of music for years. She is reported to have previously said of her change in career: "I went to work for an architectural firm, and I was seriously into it. Then I got into commercial interiors, huge projects, buildings."
In 2005, she decided to leave her job in interiors to get back to music. It was in 2007 that she then teamed up with Norton Records to release Dangerous Game, a critically acclaimed solo album.
Tributes have been flooding in from fans on social media, with one taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to pen: "RIP Mary Weiss. Lead singer of the legendary Shangri-Las. One of the essential Girl Groups of the ‘60s that empowered young girls to dream bigger at a time when society limited women to be secretaries. Their brilliant records with Shadow Morton defined aural cinema."
While a second said: "Mary Weiss had the face of an angel & the voice of teenage angst…of the streets, then & now. Her & her badass girl gang sound as great now as they did then. Usually it’d be 'Rest In Peace' but the doors of Rock & Roll Heaven just blew wide open."