In the
early 1960s at a Queens, NY high school, sisters Mary and Betty Weiss, Marge
and Mary Ann Ganser started playing music at talent contests, school shows and
teen parties. They had signed their first record deal by the close of the year,
and were to go by the moniker of the Shangri-Las – inspired by a local Chinese
restaurant.
The band's
first hit, Remember (Walking in the Sand) was released when Mary was just 15,
and they were soon playing with the likes of James Brown, the Beach Boys and
The Zombies, making them the envy of a generation. Batting away the advances of
boys in bands, setting off fireworks after every show, and eschewing an
entourage in favour of a pistol, the Shangri-Las soon became renowned for being
the tough girls of pop – all while making time to complete high school and earn
qualifications at business school between tours.
Although
they had many female compatriots, being key players in the ‘girl groups’ set,
for the most part their contemporaries would be singing about waiting for a guy
to call, dreaming about first dates and lamenting heartbreak. When the
Shangri-Las covered similar bases, it’d be with undercurrents of fighting dogs,
rumbling motorcycles and running away from home, death-obsessed melodrama and
girl gangs.
The leader
of the pack
Remember walking
in the sand
I can never
go home anymore
Out in the street
Past,
Present And Future
lyrics :
(Past),
Past, well now let me tell you about the past.
Past is
filled with silent joys and broken toys,
laughing
girls and teasing boys,
Was I ever
in love? I called it love- I mean, it felt like love.
There were
moments when, well, there were moments when.
(Present),
Go out with you? Why not?
Do I like
to dance? Of course,
Take a walk
along the beach tonight? I'd love to,
But don't
try to touch me, don't try to touch me
'Cause that
will never happen again,
Shall we
dance?
(Instrumental
Interlude)
(The
future), Tomorrow? well, tomorrow’s a
long way off.
Maybe
someday I'll have somebody's hand.
Maybe
somewhere someone will understand.
You know I
used to sing- a tisket a tasket a green and yellow basket.
I'm all
packed up and I'm on my way and I'm gonna fall in love,
But at the
moment it doesn't look good
At the
moment it will never happen again
I don't
think it will ever happen again.
More info here :
Bonus : Bat For Lashes
What's a girl to do
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