Top singles from the past

28 November 2024

THE SHANGRI-LAS was an American
girl group that scored several hits
between 1963 and 1968.

Their biggest one was LEADER OF THE PACK.
It topped the US Charts 60 years ago today,
on 28 November 1964.

The song was labelled a “teenage tragedy song“.

It’s about a girl named Betty, who is dating Jimmy, the leader of a motorcycle gang. Betty‘s heart turns to despair as she bemoans her parents’ disapproval. The parents say 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. Betty‘s pleas for Jimmy to slow down are in vain and Jimmy crashes on a rain-slicked surface and dies.