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

Mar. 15, 2025

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

“It was a joy and an honor to work with Mary on her solo/comeback album, which were her last records,” Miriam Linna from Norton Records told PEOPLE, adding, “She was as charming and charismatic as an adult as she was as a teenage idol. A true star.”

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

Weiss was just 15 years old when she secured her first record deal with the band, which she formed with sister Betty and classmates, twins Mary-Ann and Marguerite Ganser, in 1963. The Queens native had performed with the group at talent shows when producer Artie Ripp approached them to sign with Kama Sutra, perRolling Stone.

Mary Weiss in New York in November 2010.Steven A Henry/WireImage

Steven A Henry/WireImage

Shangri-Las were considered among the trending teen groups of their era, alongside The Ronettes and The Supremes, who offered groundbreaking focus within their music on the challenges teenage girls faced at that time. The band toured with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but eventually split in 1968, amid legal issues that prevented Weiss from recording elsewhere for the next decade, according toRolling StoneandVariety.

Weiss fronted the 1960s band Shangri-Las.Ron Case/Getty

Ron Case/Getty

“My mother kind of signed my life away when I was 14,” she recalled, perVariety. “There’s a storeroom of litigation up to the ceiling. That’s one of the reasons I walked away. I couldn’t go near another record label for 10 years.”

After a couple of reunions with the band in 1977 and 1989, Weiss established herself as a solo artist and released her first and only solo albumDangerous Gamewith the label Norton Records in 2007.

“Initially I didn’t know how I’d feel about recording again,” she previously toldRolling Stoneof going solo. “But when I walked back into the studio, I felt like I was home.”

Tributes have poured in after the news of Weiss’ death.

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“Mary Weiss 💔forever inspiration.” singer Sky Ferreira wroteon 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 Mary Weiss’ passing. She and Ronnie were kindred spirits; two fearless bad girls of the 60s. Join us as we spin the Shangri-Las in her honour," atributepost read.

In amessage posted on X(formerly known as Twitter), The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess wrote, “Oh No. Mary Weiss. A role model for rebels has left the building…very possibly on the back of a motorbike. Safe travels x.”

source: people.com