Cuppy's Music Curios S2 E2: R.I.P. Mary Weiss

Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the 60's girl group The Shangri-Las death was announced on January 19, 2024 at the age of 75. Weiss' contributions to music was a big one as her group The Shangri-Las recorded two Top Ten singles and four Top Forty hits along with two studio albums during their heyday. The death of one member along with the change in the sound of pop music led to the group's demise. Mary Weiss would disappear from the music scene for several years to become a San Francisco hippy.

She would return to New York City and reunite The Shangri-Las in the mid-seventies and along with a brief revival of their popularity (especially with 70's bands such as the New York Dolls, Blondie and The Ramones) would play the club circuit and sign a recording contract with Sire Records but the tracks they recorded would remain unreleased. Mary Weiss would retire again and disappear from the music scene until 2005 when she would retire from her career as a interior designer and start performing live again as a solo artist. Weiss would record a solo album in 2007 before leaving the music world once again.

Her death was announced on Janaury 19th by her former record label Norton Records.