Thursday, July 03, 2025

Dressed in Black - The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy - Lisa MacKinney

 


I am always somewhat amused, but also impressed, when youngsters write about musical acts that broke up long before the writer was ever born. But in cases like these, that is simply because I'm old enough to remember the Shangri-Las when they were on the radio - as opposed to, say, writing about someone like Robert Johnson. So, guess I'm just a bit of a pompous ass when it comes to music...(Not news to many people, I know!)

In any case, Lisa MacKinney is a musician in her own right and actually wrote about the Shangri-Las for her thesis, which explains why some of the writing her is a bit analytical. She is somewhat opposed to the term "girl group" which I think is nit-picking a bit as that is a fairly universal term these days and everyone know exactly what is meant by it and I (as an older white male) do not see it as a pejorative, but maybe that's not my place to say. In any case...(She doesn't seem to have as many issues with the term "doo-wop", which is also a later appellation and which also covers a fairly wide spectrum of music.)

I have always been a huge fan of the Shangri-Las tough, practically girl-gang take on the girl-group sound, with their Shadow Morton produced "teenage operas" such as "Leader of the Pack" (natch), "(Remember) Walking in the Sand", "Out in the Streets", "Heaven Only Knows" (covered by both Redd Kross and the Excessories) and the NY Dolls-covered "Great Big Kiss" (among many others). So, of course, I was interested in learning their background.

MacKinney goes into the family history somewhat, especially their NY locations that both families (the group was made up of two sets of sisters) grew up in and their families had settled in. The Weiss' had it particularly tough as the father passed away just weeks after Mary was born. But all of the girls were musical and were naturally drawn together and harmonizing was also a natural, as they were heavily influenced by the likes of the Everly Brothers and the Doo-Wop groups that proliferated, particularly in their neighborhoods, at the time.

Their rise to fame was quick and it was quite a whirlwind for the short time they were in the spotlight. The usual culprits caused the band's demise - exhaustion, lack of hits, terrible contracts and eventual drug and alcohol abuse. MacKinney does her best to give an overview of their career, some of their special gigs and stars that they gigged with, and a bit of what they were all going through at an extremely young age - touring the world, but not being able to go to school, exciting shows, but grueling tours that left little time to sleep, etc.

There are also chapters dedicated to various songs and the songs' significance as she places them in a bigger context - comparing to works of literature, drama and film - in a totally plausible way. Again, though, this does become analytical, which was her point, but makes it a little dry. She does also use these comparisons to go on lengthy tangents that are related to her point, but do go on a bit, especially when she repeats herself - making it seem as if some chapters were meant to stand on their own, or that, as part of her thesis, she needed to reinforce the points or remind the reader. 

So, some good information and a fine concept for a fantastic group that does not necessarily get its due, but unfortunately, it's not an overly compelling read.