"Leader of the Pack" is a 1964 pop song recorded by girl group The Shangri-Las. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed The Shangri-Las were a Girl group, an American pop group of the 1960s A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure The teenage tragedy song, also known as a splatter platter, was a style of Ballad popular between the late 1950s and the late 1960s that lamented the early deaths In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Red Bird Records was a Record label started A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both George 'Shadow' Morton (b 3 September 1944 Richmond Virginia) is an American Record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the Jeff Barry (born April 3, 1938) is an American pop music Songwriter, Singer, and Record producer. Eleanor Louise Greenwich known as Ellie Greenwich (born October 23, 1940, Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing George 'Shadow' Morton (b 3 September 1944 Richmond Virginia) is an American Record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A girl group is a Popular music act featuring several young Female Singers who generally harmonize together The Shangri-Las were a Girl group, an American pop group of the 1960s It became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964. Events January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television

Original Shangri-Las recording

The tune was credited to producer George "Shadow" Morton with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. George 'Shadow' Morton (b 3 September 1944 Richmond Virginia) is an American Record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the Jeff Barry (born April 3, 1938) is an American pop music Songwriter, Singer, and Record producer. Eleanor Louise Greenwich known as Ellie Greenwich (born October 23, 1940, Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop According to Morton^[1], he originally wrote the song for a different group, the Goodies (also known as the Bunnies^[2]), but instead it was needed as a follow-up to the Shangri-Las hit "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". " Remember (Walking in the Sand " is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton and originally recorded in 1964 by The Shangri-Las. Morton later claimed that he credited Barry and Greenwich as co-writers for business reasons; however, his recollection of these events has been questioned by Ellie Greenwich.

In July 1964, Morton recorded the song with the Shangri-Las at the Ultrasonic Sound studio on the second floor of a Manhattan hotel. Billy Joel, then a young session musician, has claimed that he played piano on "Leader of the Pack", but this has been denied by Ellie Greenwich. William Martin Joel (born May 9 1949 is an American Pianist and Singer-songwriter.

According to legend, to add the authentic sound of a motorcycle engine, one was driven through the lobby of the hotel and up to the floor of the recording studio. No one was arrested, but a ticket was issued^[3]. However, in an interview four decades later, Shangri-Las lead singer Mary Weiss scoffed at this story, and said that the motorcycle sound was simply taken from an effects record. The Shangri-Las were a Girl group, an American pop group of the 1960s The Zombies' drummer Hugh Grundy recalls being the one revving up a real motorcycle backstage, when the Shangri-Las performed the song on a U. For the Undead creature of Vodou lore see Zombie. For other meanings see Zombie (disambiguation. S. tour.

In the United Kingdom, the song was refused airplay by the BBC. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This is probably due to its death theme,^[4] although some have speculated that it was because it was considered likely to encourage violence between mods and rockers. The Mods and Rockers were two conflicting British youth Subcultures of the early-mid 1960s ^[5] It still charted four times in the UK between 1965 and 1976, peaking at number 3 in 1972^[6] (by which time the BBC ban had been lifted). The record also reached number 1 in Australia. In 1990, it featured in the soundtrack of the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas. Goodfellas (also spelled GoodFellas) is an Academy Award winning 1990 Crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese

In 2004 Rolling Stone ranked the song among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, at #447. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published

Plot

The song is about a young high school-aged girl named Betty, who is asked by friends to affirm rumors that she is dating Jimmy, the leader of a motorcycle gang. After singing of how her love for Jimmy came at first sight ("I met him at the candy store/He turned around and smiled at me/You get the picture?/That's when I fell for the Leader of the Pack"), Betty's heart turns to despair as she bemoans her parents' disapproval of Jimmy. The parents claim that Jimmy hails from "the wrong side of the tracks" and will be a bad influence on her. They ask Betty to tell Jimmy good-bye and find someone new.

A heartbroken Betty does as she is asked, and an obviously upset Jimmy — after putting up his bravado — speeds off on his motorcycle. Moments later, Jimmy crashes his motorcycle on a rain-slickened surface and dies instantly; Betty's pleas for Jimmy to slow down were in vain. In the end, Betty is left to deal with both heartbreak and grief, but vows never to forget her brief fling with Jimmy, the "Leader of the Pack. "

Cover versions, tributes and parodies

• Later in 1965, a parody record, "Leader of the Laundromat," written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, was released by The Detergents. A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Paul Vance (born 1929 in Westbury New York) is an American Songwriter. The Detergents were an American Music group consisting of Ronnie (Ron Dante, Danny Jordan and Tommy Wynn This resulted in Morton, Barry and Greenwich filing a lawsuit for plagiarism.
• The Downliners Sect also released a parody on their 1965 "Sect Sing Sick Songs" EP called "Leader Of The Sect. The Downliners Sect were a British Rhythm and blues band of the Beat boom era formed in 1963 when the existing Downliners band split up An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify "
• Bob Rivers also did a parody of "Leader of the Pack" which is called 'Leader of Iraq'. Bob Rivers is a well known American Rock and roll Radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer The song was centred around the execution of former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30
• On her album "The Divine Miss M" Bette Midler did a version which started in the regular tempo, sped up in the second verse, and was so fast by the end that it's difficult to understand the lyric. Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is anAmerican Singer, Actress and Comedian, also known (as her informal stage name as
• The opening line from "Leader of the Pack" - "Is she really going out with him ?" - was recycled both as the opening line of "New Rose" by the Damned - usually considered the first British punk rock record, in 1976 - and as the title of the 1979 hit song by Joe Jackson. " New Rose " was the first single by British Punk rock group The Damned, released on October 22 1976. The Damned are an English band formed in London in 1976 notable for being the first Punk rock band from England to release a single (" New Rose " an Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson, 11 August 1954 Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire) is an English Musician and Singer-songwriter It is also paraphrased in the opening line of The Boomtown Rats song "I never loved Eva Braun" where the question is changed to "Are you really going out with Adolf?"
• In 1984, a Broadway musical, "Leader of the Pack," opened, based on the songs of Ellie Greenwich. The Boomtown Rats were a new wave group led by Bob Geldof. All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland. Eva Anna Paula Braun, died Eva Anna Paula Hitler ( 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was the longtime companion of Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Leader of the Pack is a musical with Liner notes by Anne Beatts and additional material by Jack Heifner, music by Ellie Greenwich
• In 1985 the hard rockers Twisted Sister gave the song a short revival by putting a cover version (from the eponymous Leader's perspective) on their album Come Out and Play and publishing a video for the song. Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from New York City. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released ' Come Out and Play' (November 9 1985 is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released by Atlantic Records
• The comedian Julian Clary recorded a cover version of the song in 1988. Julian Clary (born 25 May 1959 is an English Comedian and Writer, known for his playing-on-stereotypes camp style with a heavy reliance on Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)
• The song was also used in the 2006 movie Happy Feet sung by the character Néstor, with a sad rhythm quite different from the original. Happy Feet is an Australian -produced 2006 computer-animated Comedy-drama musical Film, directed and co-written
• The tune was used by the political satire group The Capitol Steps for their song "A Leader Like Barack", about Barack Obama. The Capitol Steps is an American political Satire group It has been performing since 1981, and has released approximately thirty albums consisting
• The song was performed by Hilary Duff on the since-cancelled primetime television show American Dreams. Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28 1987 is an American Actress, pop Singer-songwriter American Dreams is an American Television Drama program broadcast on the NBC Television network.
• Jim Steinman has stated on several occasions that the title song of the debut Meat Loaf album, "Bat out of Hell", was inspired by "Leader of the Pack". James Richard "Jim" Steinman (born November 1 1947 in New York City New York is an American record producer Composer, and lyricist responsible for several hit songs Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27 1947 better known by his stage name Meat Loaf, is an American rock Musician "Bat out of Hell" is a Rock anthem written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meat Loaf as the opening track to the 1977 album of the
• There is a live recording of Belle & Sebastian performing the song. Belle and Sebastian are an Indie pop band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in January 1996

References

• History of the Shangri-Las