Shangri-Las Singer Mary Weiss Dead at 75: ‘A True Star’

Mary Weiss, singer and lead singer of the band Shangri-Las, has died. She was 75 years old.

Weiss’ death was confirmed to PEOPLE by a representative of her record company, Norton Records, on Saturday. The cause of death has not been given at this time.

“It was a joy and an honor to work with Mary on her solo/comeback album, which were her final albums,” Miriam Linna of Norton Records told PEOPLE, adding, “She was as charming and charismatic as an adult as she was as a teen idol. . A real star.”

The late singer, who was born in Queens, New York, is best known for fronting the Shangri-Las, which reigned supreme in the early 1960s when they released a string of hits including “Leader of the Pack,” “Leader of the Pack” , “Big Big Kiss” and “Only Heaven Knows”.

Weiss was just 15 when she landed her first record deal with the band, which she signed with her sister Betty and classmates, twins Mary-Ann and Marguerite Ganser, in 1963. The Queens native performed with the group on talent shows when producer Artie Ripp approached them to sign the Kama Sutra, trans Rolling stone.

The singer Weiss died at the age of 75.

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The band then released their debut single, “Simon Says,” and later went gold with the 1964 top five hit “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” written by George “Shadow” Morton with Billy Joel on piano.

Social media users will recognize the song as one of the most popular samples on TikTok today. Known on the platform as the song “Oh No,” the chorus performed by Weiss has been repeated in various skits in videos uploaded in recent years.

The Shangri-Las were considered among the popular teen groups of their era, alongside The Ronettes and The Supremes, who offered a revolutionary focus within their music on the challenges faced by teenage girls at the time. The band toured with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but eventually broke up in 1968 due to legal issues that prevented Weiss from recording elsewhere for the next decade, according to Rolling stone and Diversity.

Weiss fronted the Shangri-Las in the 1960s.

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“My mother kind of signed my life when I was 14,” she recalled, according to Variety. “There is a warehouse of litigation up to the ceiling. That’s one of the reasons I left. I couldn’t get close to another record company for 10 years.”

After several reunions with the band in 1977 and 1989, Weiss established herself as a solo artist and released her first and only solo album. A dangerous game with Norton Records in 2007.

“In the beginning, I didn’t know how I would feel about filming again,” she said earlier Rolling stone of going solo. “But when I got back to the studio, it felt like home.”

After the news of Weiss’ death, tributes poured in.

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“Mary Weiss 💔eternal inspiration.” singer Sky Ferreira wrote on Instagram. A post from the Instagram account of the late Ronnie Spector, co-founder of The Ronettes, honored Weiss with a touching message. “We are deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of Mary Weiss. She and Ronnie were kindred spirits; two fearless bad girls from the 60s. Join us as we spin the Shangri-Las in her honor,” the tribute post reads.

IN message posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess wrote: “Oh no. Mary Weiss. Rebel role model has left the building… most likely on the back of a motorcycle. Safe travels x.”

Weiss left behind a husband.

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Source: HIS Education