Mary Weiss, the former lead singer of the 1960s pop girl group The Shangri-Las, died Friday at 75 years old. Her death was confirmed by her husband, who offered no details.
The group was made up of two sets of sisters, Mary and Betty Weiss, and twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser, who formed in the Queens borough of New York City.
Mary was the lead singer, singing about teenage love and tragedy on such hits as “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” and “Leader of the Pack.” The latter was written by George “Shadow” Morton, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and became a No. 1 pop hit in 1964.
“Remembering Mary with much love and affection. Mary was the ultimate,” Miriam Linna, who runs Norton Records, Weiss’ record label, said in a post on Facebook.
By 1968, the Shangri-Las disbanded because of litigation, a subject that Weiss said she was prevented from discussing even decades later.
She returned to music in 2007 with a debut solo album Dangerous Game, and appeared at the South by Southwest in Austin.