Leader of the Pack – The Shangri-Las

 

 

Leader of the Pack is both a super melody and a sad story.  It topped the charts in 1964 for the Shangri-Las.  Don't you just love their costumes??

 

 

Mm--"Is she really going out with him?

"Well, there she is, Let's ask her"

"Betty, is that Jimmy's ring you're wearing?"

"Mm-hm" 

"Gee, it must be great riding with him"

"Is he picking you up after school today?"

"Mm-mm"

"By the way, where did you meet him?"

"I met him at the candy store

He turned around and smiled at me 

You get the picture

"Yes, we see"

That's when I fell for the leader of the pack

My folks were always putting him down

They said he came from the wrong side of town

They told me he was bad but I knew he was sad

That's why I fell for the leader of the pack

One day my dad said find someone new

I had to tell my Jimmy we're through

He stood there and asked me why, but all I could do was cry

I'm sorry I hurt you, the leader of the pack

Do do

He sort of smiled and kissed me good bye

The tears were beginning to show

As he drove away on that rainy night,

I begged him to go slow, whether he heard,

I'll never know  Look out! Look out! Look out!

I felt so helpless, what could I do

Remembering all the things we'd been through?

In school they all stop and stare

I can't hide the tears, but I don't care

I'll never forget him, the leader of the pack

Ooh, the leader of the pack now he's gone

the leader of the pack now he's gone

the leader of the pack now he's gone

 

The British media even banned the song!  A young Billy Joel played piano for the song.  They used a real motorcycle on the track too.

 

Songfacts says about the song:

 

'This is a tale of young love, parental disapproval, and death by motorbike. Mary Weiss, the lead vocalist of the Shangri-Las, said in Telegraph magazine, April 14, 2007, "I don't think I would be able to put feeling into the song unless I had really thought about the lyrics. I put a lot of my own pain into that song. I don't think teenage years are all that rosy for a lot of people - they certainly weren't for me. They are the most confusing time of people's lives and there is a tremendous dark side to the record, which I think teenagers related to. The studio was a great place to let the pain out.'

 

It was even covered in 1985 by Twisted Sister.