Mary Weiss, the former lead singer of the 1960s girl group the Shangri-Las, died on Friday. At present, a cause of death has not been announced. Weiss was 75 years old.

Miriam Linna of Norton Records, the label that released Weiss' only solo album Dangerous Game (2007), confirmed the singer's death to Rolling Stone: "Mary was an icon, a hero, a heroine, to both young men and women of my generation and of all generations."

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Mary Weiss grew up performing at local dances and hops with her sister Betty and friends Mary Ann and Margie Ganser. Together, as teenagers, they formed the Shangri-Las in 1963. After capturing the attention of record executive and producer Artie Ripp, they were signed to his label Kama Sutra Productions. Under Ripp’s management, the quartet recorded their first song ‘Simon Says.’

When Weiss was just 16 years old, the Shangri-Las achieved their first Top 5 single on the Billboard charts with 'Remember (Walking in the Sand)' in 1964.

Their career only soared from there, with the group going on to release 11 more charting singles, including 'Give Him a Great Big Kiss,' 'Out in the Streets' and 'I Can Never Go Home Anymore.' Despite their success with single releases, the group only launched two studio albums in their career: Leader of the Pack and Shangri-Las-65!, both in 1965.

Formed in Cambria Heights, a working-class neighbourhood in Queens, the Shangri-Las boasted a 'tough-girl' persona which helped them stand out from other girl groups. Unlike the go-go wardrobe of many girl groups, the quartet famously preferred donning street clothes and tailored menswear to chiffon blouses and taffeta dresses.

While the Shangri-Las sang of heartbreak and love—as with many popular girl groups at the time—they also covered themes of suburban ennui, alienation and mortality in their music. Their most famous single, ‘Leader of the Pack,’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The song brought the theme of tragic youth into the mainstream, with a doomed love story between a girl and a young biker lad. The song maintained its relevance over the years, with a famous needle-drop scene in Martin Scorsese’s film Goodfellas.

The Shangri-Las disbanded in 1968, promoting a move to San Francisco for Weiss before returning to New York. While the group reunited for a handful of concerts in the 1970s, Weiss had moved on in her professional life. She worked at an architectural firm and climbed the ranks to become chief purchasing agent in Manhattan. In the 1980s, she managed a furniture store alongside her stints as an interior designer and furniture consultant to New York businesses. The Shangri-Las reunited for a final concert in 1989.

During her career in architectural aesthetics, Weiss all but vanished from the music scene, that is until she began pursuing a solo career in 2005. Weiss recorded her debut solo album Dangerous Game with backing arrangements from the band Reigning Sound. The record was released in 2007, with support from an international tour and an appearance on Conan O'Brien, Weiss' first television performance in decades.

Countless musicians and music industry figures have expressed condolences and shared tributes mourning Weiss after her passing, including Garbage, Steven Van Zandt, Sky Ferreira and Tim Burgess.

Weiss remained a reclusive figure in the music industry and often spoke of the challenges faced by a teenaged girl in the brutally sexist scene of the 1960s music industry. Many of those challenges are revealed in the 2023 oral history But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? which illustrates the era’s misogyny, sexism and the voices of the women who lived it—including Weiss'.

Watch the Shangri-Las perform 'Leader of the Pack' on the game show I've Got A Secret in 1964 below.