THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,203) The Shangri-Las — “Sophisticated Boom Boom”
Sometimes called the first female rap record, this ’65 and ‘66 B-side is a hoot, “a brilliant single”, “one of the most bizarre things ever committed to vinyl. . . . a paen to lounge music, given a finger-clickin’ hip-wigglin’ backbeat by Shadow Morton, and with one of Mary [Weiss’] drollest, most deadpan vocals” (BradL, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the_shangri_las/long_live_our_love___sophisticated_boom_boom/), though I think Betty Weiss did the vocals. BradL adds that “And ain’t it a gas to hear the Shangri-Las actually sounding happy?” And GrubStLodger says “Wow, must be one of few shangri-la’s songs I know without a death in. They built up quite a bodycount.” (GrubStLodger, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBQ5xvj8BU) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Steve Simels ponders:
You know, some times I think that if titles were everything, these gals’ 1966 masterpiece “Sophisticated Boom Boom” would be the greatest record ever made. Even if it isn’t, of course, it’s still pretty transplendent stuff. And incidentally — if anybody knows what instrument the solo is being played on, I’d be grateful if you could let me know. Is it a trumpet? A melodica? A kazoo? Somebody singing through their nose? I haven’t a clue, honest…
https://powerpop.blogspot.com/2010/07/shangri-las-explain-it-all-to-you.html
As to the Las’, Richie Unterberger says:
One-part teenage melodrama, one-part charming naivete, and more than their share of unshakable early pop melodies, the Shangri-Las were one of the greatest and most important girl groups of the ’60s. Along with joyous adolescent energy tailored for high school dances, the trio of Mary Weiss and twin sisters Marge and Mary Ann Ganser also conveyed an eerie darkness that offset their more innocent characteristics. Some of their biggest hits (produced by studio mastermind Shadow Morton) were crushing love songs about dead bikers, doomed love affairs, and familial estrangement. . . . [T]he group’s material[ is] a breathlessly exciting body of work that played an undeniable role in defining the girl group sound. The Shangri-Las formed in 1963 and were originally comprised of two pairs of sisters from Queens, New York (identical twins Marge and Mary Anne Ganser and siblings Mary and Betty Weiss). They had already recorded a couple of obscure singles when they were hired by George “Shadow” Morton to demo a song he had recently written, “Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand).” The haunting ballad . . . made the Top Five in late 1964. . . . The quality of Morton’s work with the Shangri-Las on Red Bird . . . was remarkable considering that he had virtually no prior experience in the music business. The group’s material, so over-the-top emotionally that it sometimes bordered on camp, was lightened by the first-class production, which embroidered the tracks with punchy brass, weeping strings, and plenty of imaginative sound effects. . . . The death rock classic [“Leader of the Pack”] became the Shangri-Las’ signature tune, reaching number one. Several smaller hits followed in 1965 and 1966, many of them excellent. . . . Unlike some girl groups, the Shangri-Las were dynamic on-stage performers, choreographing their dance steps to their lyrics and wearing attire that was daring for the time.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-shangri-las-mn0000418955#biography
As to Shadow Morton, who wrote “Boom Boom”, Thomas Erlewine writes:
Shadow Morton is one of the legendary cult figures of rock & roll, a mad genius who existed in, well, the shadows. He was one of the great girl group producers . . . [and] one of the only Brill Building-related musicians to successfully transition from pop to psychedelia and acid rock, helming Janis Ian’s breakthrough 1966 single “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)”: before producing heavy hits for Vanilla Fudge (“You Keep Me Hanging On”) and Iron Butterfly (“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”). . . . [He] carved out his own histrionic, theatrical sound within the confines of the Brill Building. . . . [T]he New York Dolls do seem like a career-capping masterwork, drawing upon everything else Morton tried in the previous decade and a half, but . . . in between the Shangri-Las and the Dolls, Morton created a wild, wooly, visionary body of work that retains its mystique to this very day.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/sophisticated-boom-boom-the-shadow-morton-story-mw0002545418
Oh, and did I forget to mention the the Goodies? John Clemente writes that:
[A]n American pop girl group of the 1960s[, b]etween 1963 and 1965 they charted with teen melodramas, and remain perhaps best known for their recordings of “The Dum Dum Ditty” and “Sophisticated Boom Boom” before both songs were made even more popular by . . . the Shangri-Las. Sisters Maureen and Diane Reiling, Maryann Gesmundo and Susan Gelber were four [Long Island] friends . . . . [who] started singing . . . in junior high . . . . [T]he group . . . was introduced to producer George “Shadow” Morton. . . . [who] was already having success with the Shangri-Las . . . . Morton recorded . . . demos with [the Goodies (first known as the Bunnies), including] “Leader Of The Pack” [and] “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” . . . . Unfortunately, every time [they] were about to get their shot, the powers that be at Red Bird insisted that the more established Shangri-Las record the actual release. . . .
Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World, https://www.jacodarecords.com/the-goodies
The Goodies finally got to release “The Dum Dum Ditty”, with “Boom Boom” on the flip side — before the Las. Here are the Goodies:
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That’s a cool tune, don’t recall that one! Your obscurity remains in tact.
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