The Isley Brothers are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
The Shangri-Las were an American girl group of the 1960s, consisting of Mary Weiss, her sister Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss and twin sisters Marguerite "Marge" Ganser and Mary Ann Ganser. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit pop songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember ", "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", and in particular, "Leader of the Pack" which went to number 1 in the United States in late 1964. Following the death of Mary Weiss in 2024, her sister Betty is the only living member of the group.
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers for their album Twist & Shout in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
Mary Louise Weiss was an American singer and interior designer, best known as the lead singer of the Shangri-Las in the 1960s. Their single "Leader of the Pack" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. She had little involvement in the music scene for decades, returning in 2007 to record her first and only solo album with Norton Records.
"Shout" is a popular song, written and originally recorded by American vocal group the Isley Brothers in 1959. Later versions include a UK Top 10 hit in 1964 by Scottish singer Lulu.
George Francis "Shadow" Morton was an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s. In particular, he was noted for writing and producing "Remember ", "Leader of the Pack", and other hits for girl group the Shangri-Las.
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Tell Laura I Love Her", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" ; "Leader of the Pack" ; "Sugar, Sugar" ; "Without Us", and "I Honestly Love You".
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-current hit song "Leader of the Pack", "Leader of the Laundromat" became a hit in its own right, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1965.
Come Out and Play is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released by Atlantic Records on November 22, 1985. The album was significantly less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984), both critically and commercially, although it achieved Gold status by selling more than 500,000 copies.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich 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", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
"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 as a popular cultural example of a "teenage tragedy song". The song was covered in 1985 by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who had a more modest hit with their version.
"Remember (Walking in the Sand)", also known as "Remember", is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton. It originally was 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 minor hit. There have been many other versions of the song as well.
Givin' It Back is the ninth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on September 25, 1971. After years of having other acts covering their most famed material, particularly, "Shout" (1959) and "Twist and Shout" (1961), the Isleys decided to do the same to music made famous by artists such as Stephen Stills, Eric Burdon and Neil Young. Among the songs they covered were "Spill the Wine", "Love the One You're With", the social commentary medley of "Ohio" and "Machine Gun", "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay". The Isleys' perseverance paid off when their covers of "Love the One You're With", "Lay Lady Lay" and "Spill the Wine" became charted hits. Bill Withers plays guitar on the Isleys' version of his "Cold Bologna".
"Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song, produced by Spector, was initially released as a single on Philles Records (#115) in July 1963 by The Crystals. The lyrics are a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual engagement with a young man.
The Best of the Girl Groups is a 2-volume compilation series released by Rhino Records in 1990. The collection, compiling 36 of the better known tracks by girl groups of the 1960s, is listed at #421 in Rolling Stone's list of "Greatest Albums of All Time". Music journalist Robert Christgau includes the compilation in his "core collection" for an essential rock library of music preceding 1980. Entertainment Weekly described the first volume as "a veritable catalog of the era's romantic attitudes". The New York Times recommends both volumes, in conjunction with Rhino's Girl Group Greats, for listeners seeking "the biggest girl-group hits".
Meet The Searchers is the 1963 debut and most successful album by British rock band The Searchers. The album featured their first single released in June 1963, a version of the Drifters' "Sweets for My Sweet", which was a UK No.1 for the band, as well as their version of the Clovers "Love Potion No.9", which was released as a single in the U.S. the following year. "Love Potion No.9" peaked on the US charts at No. 3 on 19 December 1964. The album was also released in Canada, Germany and South Africa, often with track listing changes.
"Give Him a Great Big Kiss" is a song written by Shadow Morton and performed by the Shangri-Las. It debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1964, and peaked at number 18 for two weeks in late January and early February 1965. It was featured on their 1965 album Leader of the Pack. The single was produced by Shadow Morton and released by Red Bird Records.
Shangri-Las-65! is the second album by the Shangri-Las. Released in September 1965 by Red Bird Records, it serves as the follow-up album to Leader of the Pack, which was released earlier in the year. Shangri-Las-65! was reissued and re-titled as I Can Never Go Home Anymore later in the same year, with the song "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" added to the album after it became a hit single.
Dangerous Game is an album by Mary Weiss, released by Norton Records in 2007. A positively received album, Weiss was backed by the Reigning Sound.
