Ellie Greenwich had been schoolmates with an eccentric character named George Morton. He suddenly showed up at her office in the Brill Building one day in 1964, claiming that he could write and produce. After he impressed Ellie with a demo, she and Jeff Barry helped him land a gig at Red-Bird. Morton’s demo was an unconventional song recorded by a girl group comprised of two sets of sisters. Jeff and Ellie helped Morton, whom they nicknamed “Shadow” for his habit of disappearing, to structure his song and re-cut it. The daring lyrics, which dealt with loss of virginity and abandonment, made it a huge hit. Lead singer Mary Weiss Stokes had a tremulous teenage voice that was perfect for putting across such melodramatic material. She was both vulnerable and insolent at the same time.
The Shangri-Las: Remember, Walking in the Sand”
