Looking For a Good Book

My Sirius Radio is almost always tuned to the 1960s hits channel. I grew up listening to this music and I still enjoy it today. But with a few exceptions, I know vey little about many of the artists of this era that I enjoy so much, so when I see a book like Dressed in Black: The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy by Lisa MacKinney, I’m definitely interested.

There’s a good reason that there hasn’t been much written about this group prior to MacKinney’s book – the band has been tight-lipped (their lead singer wouldn’t sit down for an interview even today) and there isn’t much information available otherwise. And it shows in the book.

MacKinney does a fine job given the lack of available information, but it becomes obvious that MacKinney is reaching for something to write about and branches off on a number of tangential items. Tangents such as a deep dive into the record label the Shangri-Las recorded with, and a lot about George “Shadow” Morton. To be fair, “Shadow” Morton might be to the Shangri Las what George Martin was to The Beatles, which I did find quite interesting – I just maybe didn’t need quite so much about him.

I admit that I got off to bit of a rough start with the book. We had way too much information in the opening about ‘girl groups’ and how we are not to refer to the Shangri-Las as a girl group. Don’t call them a girl group. Got that? They are not a girl group. They are, however, a group of three or four girls, two sets of sisters (or sometimes one pair of sisters and a solo) who had a lot of talent but, as was way too common in the 60’s – and probably, unfortunately, still too common – taken advantage of in a number of ways. Some of this is why the members don’t talk about these days. This book could easily be a social commentary on sleazy business practices or the way in which women are taken advantage of.

As a parent, I will say that I’m disappointed that the parents of these girls let so much happen. These girls were minors in their early days. But I do recognize that the 60s were a different and difficult time – not just for the youth coming of age, but for the adults who were struggling to adapt.

Not having been a follower of the Shangri-Las, I was unaware of the fact that the group was not very consistent with its three or four members. Nor had I known that there was never any public notice as to why a member might suddenly not be with the group (but not a girl group). MacKinney addresses this and while there’s no official confirmation, MacKinney believes it’s because one of the members was pregnant. Single and pregnant. This wouldn’t be the image promoters wanted to present so one of the members (Betty) was simply removed until such a time as she could return. And while she was the lead singer when she was with the group, her sister Mary took on the role when it was a trio.  Later, when twin Mary Ann Ganser died of a drug overdose at age 22, Mary rejoined the team for their last few hurrahs.

What it meant to be a teen and pregnant in the early 1960s was another tangent that we take.

Overall, I appreciated this look at a ‘classic’ pop group though I did feel it was padded with a fair amount of ‘extras’ that I didn’t really need. It did, however, prompt me to add the Shangri-Las to my Spotify playlist so that I can get a few of the songs that don’t usually spin in a set of classic 60s songs.

Looking for a good book? Lisa MacKinney does a deep dive into a 1960s pop group in Dressed in Black: The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy. It was a Masters thesis adapted for general consumption. It is sometimes thin on relevant material, but interesting nonetheless.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Dressed in Black: The Shangri-Las and Their Recorded Legacy

author: Lisa MacKinney

publisher: Verse Chorus Press

ISBN: 9781959163077

paperback, 396 pages