Recorded - July 8, 1964
Released - September, 1964
#1 for week of November 28, 1964.
If The Angels, ("My Boyfriend's Back"), were among the "Good girls" of the girl group scene, then the Shangri-Las were the so called "Tough girls" of the genre. Funny thing is though, if you look up early pictures of the group, they started off with a very preppy and innocent schoolgirl image. This all changed upon the release of their first hit single "Remember (Walking In The Sand". The two twins of the group Marge and Mary-Ann Ganser cut their hair quite short and the fourpiece adopted leather jackets and biker garb. Complete with the fact that the girls had actually grown up in a rough/tough Queens NY neighborhood, this image was more than reinforced in their first #1 hit "Leader Of The Pack".
Co-Written and produced by famed producer George "Shadow" Morton, the song is an A1 example of a teenage tragedy record. I've already mentioned in my review of "Teen Angel" that I am mostly not a fan of these kind of topics in music. I personally don't enjoy listening to an often graphic description of someone losing their lover, especially since in nearly all of these cases, the singers either didn't write the song or it isn't based on a real life tragedy.
"Leader Of The Pack" is actually a bit more tame and not as brutally graphic in terms of the topic of early death. The song lyrically deals with a girl who falls in love with the leader of a motorcycle gang who, after getting told off by the girl's parents, drives off and gets into a fatal motorcycle accident. Throughout the song you have lead vocalist Mary Weiss, in conversation with the rest of the Shangri-Las which gives the song a bit of a theatrical feel.
There are numerous ways people will react to the lyrical content. Some might actually be able to relate, especially if they have/had a boyfriend who rides motorcycles. Others might find the lyrics and melodrama laughable at times. Then there's those like myself who can't relate at all to the lyrics, but at least understand that they were sung by someone who lived a more edgy life, and thus, their emotion is genuine.
It's the music though that saves any possible negative verdict on this song. It's very piano-heavy with a pounding riff played on numerous pianos which is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. There is also a heavy amount of reverb in the production which gives the entire piece a very ghostly vibe. Seeing how the song deals with death, this production certainly matches the music.
This certainly isn't my favorite song by The Shangri-las as I feel that some of their other hits such as "Remember" capture this same great music sound, but with less melodramatic lyrics. With that being said, "Leader Of The Pack" certainly deserves mention as it is among the last and most memorable of these "Death discs", which were so prevalent in the early 1960's. After 1964, the Girl Group scene began to greatly diminish in popularity, with only Motown's girl groups finding continued success.
Final Verdict - Great music and an honest vocal performance, which is let down by the song's overly melodramatic lyrics and tone. Because of this, listening to the song more than one time in a row is a bit tiresome. Otherwise, it's a noteworthy period piece that deserves at least a listen.
Coming Up Next - "Ringo" by Lorne Greene.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, and I'm the leader of the pack.
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