Leader of the Pack-The Shangri-Las

This song is so good. First off, it's a story song which are the best songs. Second, it's a teenage tragedy song. It's not the first teenage tragedy song but it's arguably the best (although that's not saying much when you look at the competition). I mean just listen to Tell Laura I Love Her. That song is brutal and not in a good way. If I had to pick my top five TTSs, which I do because I need something to write about, it would go like this:

1. Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-las
2. Last Kiss by Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders (Remember when Pearl Jam covered that one? WTF was that?)
3. Johnny Remember Me by John Leyton-This was produced by Joe Meek who I'll probably cover at some point. If I don't you should still check him out. He was an odd bird. Anyway this song is creepy and awesome. Also, The Meteors did a solid cover. Not as good as the original but still pretty good.
4. Dead Man's Curve by Jan and Dean. I tracked down the actual Dead Man's Curve in LA once when I was killing time. It's a pretty sharp curve so, you know, if you go there don't say Jan and Dean and I didn't warn you. Oh and off the topic but interesting, did you know Jan or Dean, I don't remember which one, was roommates with one of Frank Sinatra Jr.'s kidnappers? Small world, huh?
Not 5. Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks. I sort of think true TTSs have to be from the 50's and early 60's. That excludes Seasons in the Sun. If you search for this and play it on Spotify then the next song that plays is Seasons In The Abyss by Slayer, a different sort of teenage tragedy song.
5.Teen Angel by Mark Dinning which is basically a slightly better version of Tell Laura I Love Her

All of these, except for Teen Angel, have really good key changes. I love a good key change although it is possible to overdo it (see: Seasons In The Sun). But Leader Of The Pack has the BEST key change. Maybe the best key change ever. It happens right after the girl yells ""Look out! Look out! Look out! Look out!"

When I was younger I used to hate Leader Of The Pack. I actively disliked it. I think it was the sound effects that really threw me off but I also hated most things when I was younger so...Anyway now I love it, obviously, but I especially love the sound effects. You don't get sound effects too often in songs. I'm not sure why. Working Man Blues by Merle Haggard is one that comes to mind. What are some others? In LOTP there are three sound effects: the revving motorcycle which is placed so perfectly right after they say Leader of the pack each time. There's also the crash sound effect which is way over the top and insane and it comes with the key change right after "Look out!" It's the best moment in the song. Oh wait actually I think the best moment in the song is in the beginning when the other girls ask Betty, "Is he picking you up after school today?" and there's a looooong pause and she says "mmm-mm" I'm not sure how you write that but she indicates no, he is not picking her up after school today or any other day. Ever. While we're on the subject, the conversation between Betty and the girls in the beginning of the song is so great, especially once they start singing. Betty's voice is so desperate and sad and the other girls are just clueless. Betty has this depth of experience and emotion the other girls couldn't dream of. It's really great too when Betty gets further into the story and the other girls finally stop asking their inane questions. I always picture them staring at Betty dumbfounded, or maybe slowly backing away down the school corridor. The third sound effect is the screeching tires that lead up to the crash and then again during the outro where they just goes on and on and on and on.

I think that's all I have to say about Leader Of The Pack. It's so good! Right now I'm listening to the Shangri-las doing Remember (Walking in the Sand) which is also pretty great and has a ton of seagull sound effects in it. Aerosmith covered that one. Fuck Aerosmith. None of their songs will appear on this blog.

If you read this far I'd recommend getting a hobby. Get out and go for a walk. You shouldn't be reading all of this. From now on just listen to the song I post and know that I think it's great.