"Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton,

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kisse ...

, and

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...

. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

the Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", " Give Him a G ...

. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a popular cultural example of a "

teenage tragedy song A teenage tragedy song is a style of ballad in popular music that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Examples of the style are also known as "tear jerkers", "death discs" or "splatter platters", among other colorful sobriquet ...

". The song was covered in 1985 by the heavy metal band

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...

, who had a more modest hit with their version (no. 57 in the US).

Background and composition

The tune of "Leader of the Pack" is credited to pop impresario George "Shadow" Morton together with

and

. According to Morton, he wrote the song for the Goodies (also known as the Bunnies), but instead it was needed as a follow-up to the Shangri-Las hit "

Remember (Walking in the Sand) "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", also known as "Remember", is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton. It was originally recorded by the girl group the Shangri-Las, who had a top five hit with it in 1964. A remake by Aerosmith in 1979 was a ...

Lyrical content

The song is about a girl named Betty, who is asked by friends to confirm that she is dating Jimmy, the leader of a motorcycle gang, whose ring they see on Betty's finger. After singing of love at first sight ("''(By the way, where'd 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''"), Betty's heart turns to despair as she bemoans her parents' disapproval. The parents claim Jimmy hails from "the wrong side of town" and ask Betty to tell Jimmy goodbye and find someone new. Betty reluctantly does as she is asked, and a crushed and tearful Jimmy speeds off on his motorcycle. Moments later, Betty's pleas for Jimmy to slow down are in vain as Jimmy crashes on a rain-slicked surface and dies.

The Shangri-Las original version

Recording

In July 1964, Morton recorded the vocals for "Leader of the Pack" with the Shangri-Las at Mira Sound Studios located on 145 West 47th street on the second floor of a Manhattan hotel. The song was produced by Morton. These vocals were dubbed over the instrumental parts, which had been previously recorded at the Ultrasonic Recording Studios in Hempstead, New York.

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

, then a young session musician, said on November 16, 2010 during an interview with Howard Stern that he played piano on one of the demos for "Leader of the Pack," but he was not sure if any of his parts made the final recording. In fact, the piano part was played by Roger Rossi, a staff musician for Ultrasonic Recording Studios at the time. Rossi said, "I remember the date like it was yesterday, there were no written charts, so unfortunately, some musicians kept making mistakes. As I recall, it took 63 recording takes before Shadow Morton was satisfied." Rossi added, "By the end of the session, in take 62, I also messed up and Morton laughingly yelled out, 'Ohhhh, noooo. Not you, too!'" In 2007

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

wrote that pianist

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American composer, arranger, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

played on the track. To add the authentic sound of a motorcycle engine, one was reportedly 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. The motorcycle belonged to the assistant engineer on the session, who was Joe Venneri. However, in an interview four decades later, Shangri-Las lead singer

Mary Weiss Mary Weiss (born December 28, 1948) is an American pop music vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the Shangri-Las in the 1960s. She then vanished from the music scene for decades, returning in 2007 to record her first solo album with Norton ...

said the motorcycle sound was taken from an effects record. Hugh Grundy, drummer for

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

, revved up a motorcycle backstage when the Shangri-Las performed on a US tour.

Reception

"Leader of the Pack" was released as a single by

Red Bird Records Red Bird Records was a record label founded by American pop music songwriters Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and George Goldner in 1964. Though often thought of as a "girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist roster on Red B ...

, a

Leiber and Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ...

label, and the song hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 28, 1964. On Cashbox's R&B chart, it went to number 8. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

, the single was refused airplay by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, probably due to its death theme, although some have speculated that it was considered likely to encourage violence between mods and rockers. It charted three times on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

: number 11 in 1965; number 3 in 1972 (by which time the BBC ban had been lifted); and once again at number 7 in 1976, when its sales figures as a reissue on two different labels (

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

and Contempo) were combined to arrive at its chart position. The record also reached number 1 in Australia. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a heartbreaking cha cha thumper about a gal in love with the 'Leader Of The Pack'—who loses his life in a cycle crash" with "sensational vocal and instrumental sounds" and a "powerhouse"

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

." In 2004, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

'' ranked the song among the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

at number 447. In the 2010 revision of the list, it was moved to number 454 as new entries were added. In the 2021 update, it was moved to number 315. ''Billboard'' named the song #9 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. In 2019, the song was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

under the new singles category created in 2018. The song appeared in a Broadway musical based on the songs of Ellie Greenwich, ''

Leader of the Pack "Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well a ...

'', which opened in 1985. In 1990, the song was used in the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

film, ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...

''.

Chart performance

Twisted Sister version

Recording

In 1985, the heavy metal band

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Leader of the Pack" from the eponymous leader's perspective, where it is the female lover that was in a car accident, although, in the video, she does not die. The track was included on the group's fourth studio album '' Come Out and Play''. It was released as the album's first single and was issued on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

. The song charted at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and reached number 47 on the

UK Singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

. In Canada in bubbled on the RPM Top Singles chart peaking at number 80. In New Zealand the single reached number 45.

Other versions

* On her debut album '' The Divine Miss M'',

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

did a version which began in the original tempo, sped up in the second verse, and was so fast by the end that it became difficult to understand the lyrics. Midler later covered the opening track of the ''

'' album " Give Him a Great Big Kiss" on her 2014 album '' It's The Girls!'' * French singer Frank Alamo (1942–2012) recorded this song in French in 1965 as "Le chef de la bande". * New Zealand group When the Cat's Away released a version as their debut single. * In the U.S. television series ''

American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons & 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with man ...

'', the song was performed by Hilary and

Haylie Duff Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, and the older sister of American singer and actress Hilary Duff. She is best known for her roles as Sandy Jameson in the television series '' 7th Heav ...

, acting as members of the Shangri-Las. * In the 2006 movie ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and E ...

'', it was sung by the character Néstor, with a sad rhythm quite different from the original. * The

Portsmouth Sinfonia The Portsmouth Sinfonia was an English orchestra founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in 1970. The Sinfonia was generally open to anyone and ended up drawing players who were either people without musical training or, i ...

covered the song on their 1980 album ''20 Classic Rock Classics''. It is the only track on the album with vocals. * Alvin and the Chipmunks did a cover version, changing "Jimmy" to "Alvin". On the album ''

Chipmunk Rock ''Chipmunk Rock'' is a children's album by Alvin and the Chipmunks featuring covers of various rock hits, mostly from the late 1970s and early 1980s, plus one original tune. The album name and cover is a parody of Deep Purple's '' Deep Purple i ...

'', the Chipmunks are portrayed as the girls. This is also the first Chipmunks song to mention the Chipettes by group name. * Estonian singer Margit Viirma recorded a cover version of the song in 2009, entitled "Jõugu liider". * Seventies pop duo,

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's cont ...

, did a cover of the song on their first live album, '' Live In Japan''. They performed it as part of an oldies medley in most of their concerts from 1973–1975. * A version of it is performed in the musical The Marvelous Wonderettes.

Parodies

* In 1965, "Leader of the Laundromat", written by

Paul Vance Joseph Paul Florio (November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally as Paul Vance, was an American songwriter and record producer, primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s. His most successful song compositions, all written with Lee Poc ...

and Lee Pockriss, was released by

The Detergents The Detergents were an American music group consisting of Ronnie (Ron) Dante, Danny Jordan, and Tommy Wynn. The group's specialty was parody songs, as with their first and best-known single, "Leader of the Laundromat". A spoof of the then-curr ...

. This resulted in Morton, Barry and Greenwich filing a lawsuit for plagiarism. This parody was a favorite of Dr. Demento. *

The Downliners Sect Downliners Sect are an English R&B and blues-based rock band, formed in the 1960s beat boom era. Stylistically, they were similar to blues-based bands such as The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones, playing basic R&B on thei ...

also released a parody on their 1965 "Sect Sing Sick Songs" EP called "Leader of the Sect." * Also in 1965, the parody " I Want My Baby Back" was released by Jimmy Cross. In 1977, this was awarded the title of "The World's Worst Record" by British radio DJ

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

. * In 1977, EMI records released "Packer of the Leads (Leader of the Pack)" by The Roadies (Lewis 'n Luce) in the UK. * In the 1982 musical '' Little Shop of Horrors'', Ronette, one of the backup singers, says "Here he is, girls, the Leader of The Plaque" during the song "Dentist". Orin, the dentist, notably rides a motorcycle that sounds similar to that in the song. * "Jonny Don't Go", from the 1993 musical '' Zombie Prom'', is melodically similar to, and likely a parody of, "Leader of the Pack". The song centers around Toffee, a high school senior whose parents forbid her from seeing her boyfriend Jonny because they believe him to be "no good" and force her to break up with him. She reluctantly does so, and Jonny immediately throws himself into a nuclear power plant, despite Toffee's pleas for him to stop. * British comedian

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...

sang a parody of "Leader of the Pack" in 1988–90 as part of his then-act, The Joan Collins Fanclub. It was released as a single in the UK and reached a peak position of No.60 on the UK singles chart in the summer of 1988. Clary sang the lead part from the point of view of a camp 28-year-old gay man bewailing the loss of his biker love interest in a fatal motorcycle accident. * Bob Rivers also did a parody of "Leader of the Pack" which is called 'Leader of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

'. The song was centered around the execution of former president of Iraq

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

. * The tune was used by the political satire group

The Capitol Steps The Capitol Steps was an American political-satire group that performed from 1981 to 2020. Most of the Capitol Steps' material parodied well-known contemporary songs, usually introduced with a short skit. The songs were interspersed with other ro ...

for their song "A Leader Like Barack", about

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. * A parody version of the song ("Our leader is Lurpak") was used in a

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

TV advertisement for

Lurpak Lurpak is a Danish brand of butter owned by Arla Foods. It is sold in over 75 countries worldwide, and is known for its distinctive silver packaging. Lurpak came into existence in October 1901 after a combination of several Danish dairy farmers ...

butter in the UK. * In 2009, the BBC produced a trailer for the children's TV show ''

Shaun the Sheep ''Shaun the Sheep'' is a British stop-motion television series and a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' franchise. The title character is Shaun (previously featured as the sheep named "Shaun" in the 1995 short film '' A Close Shave'' and t ...

'' as a parody of the song called "Leader of the Flock". *

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian, and one of the seven original cast members of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). In h ...

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

, and

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...

did a song entitled "Chevy, Chevy" on an episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves as ...

'', which has a spoken part very similar to the one in this song. ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' and ''Touhou Project'' fans have made their own parodies of aftermentioned ''SNL'' song. *British punk rock group The Damned quoted the first line of the song ("Is she really going out with him?") in their single "

New Rose "New Rose" by The Damned was the first single by a British punk rock group, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Written by guitarist Brian James, "New Rose" was also included on ...

References

External links

History of the Shangri-Las
{{authority control 1964 songs 1964 singles 1985 singles Songs written by Ellie Greenwich Songs written by Jeff Barry The Shangri-Las songs Teenage tragedy songs Vehicle wreck ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Shadow Morton Alvin and the Chipmunks songs Red Bird Records singles Twisted Sister songs Atlantic Records singles Songs banned by the BBC

Background and composition

Lyrical content

The Shangri-Las original version

Recording

Reception

Chart performance

Twisted Sister version

Recording

Other versions

Parodies

See also

References

External links