The Shangri-Las – Right Now and Not Later
Cat suits and Go-Go boots! The mighty Shangri-Las! (Mary Weiss at right)
Listen/Download The Shangri-Las – Right Now and Not Later
Greetings all
The end of the week is here, and so it’s time for the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Coming to you every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, the Funky16Corners Radio “thang” brings with it the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on vinyl. If you are unable to join me at airtime, you can always keep up by subscribing to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or you can come here to the blog and pick yourself up an MP3 in the archive.
The record I bring to you today might at first glance (with the eyes, see…) seem an unusual selection for Funky16Corners, but once you let the music flow, and bring your ears into the equation I think your doubts will be assuaged.
I think it was a friend’s Facebook post of a Shangri-Las appearance on the old LA dance party show Shivaree that first turned me on to this amazing record.
Not ever having been a fan or collector of ‘girl group’ sounds (something I’ve been working to remedy these last few years) – excepting where they intersect with the sounds of soul – I don’t recall what made me click on the video, but it wasn’t long before I was glad that I did.
The Shangri-Las had a string of hits starting with ‘Leader of the Pack’ in 1964 that epitomized a heavy, East Coast alternative to the kinds of records Phil Spector was crafting in the West.
Guided by writers and producers like George ‘Shadow’ Morton and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Shangri-Las – composed of various and sundry combinations of two sets of sisters from Queens, NY, Mary and Betty Weiss and Marge and Mary Anne Ganser – the Shangri-Las made some of the most undeniably powerful (and successful) records of the era.
Singles like ‘Remember (Walkin’ In the Sand)’ and ‘Give Him a Great Big Kiss’ and ‘Out In the Streets’ had a big (BIG) sound, often comparable to a group like the Ronettes but with a rougher, tougher edge to it.
I won’t belabor the point, but I would suggest that if you dig 60s pop and haven’t yet gotten hip to the Shangri-Las, you should pick up the nearest ‘Best Of’, slap on some headphones (or find an AM radio) and turn it up.
Of course, if the story was strictly 60s pop, you’d be reading this over at Iron Leg.
We’re here to talk about the time the Shangri-Las got some soul.
Now, when I clicked on the YouTube link – and got past the rush I always get when I see what a party Shivaree was – I realized I was hearing something unexpected.
That song was ‘Right Now and Not Later’. As is often the case with a record like this, the second thing I thought (after “where can I get myself a copy”) was “How groovy would it be to spin this at a soul night?”
When I finally got the copy you see before you – which took a surprisingly long time – and had a chance to scan the label, most (if not all) of my questions were answered.
Where I expected to see the names Shadow Morton or Barry/Greenwich, instead I saw another very familiar name, Robert Bateman.
Bateman was best known to me as one of Lou Courtney’s frequent writing/producing partners, as well as a journeyman soul songwriter who had co-written tunes like ‘Please Mr Postman’ for the Marvelettes, ‘If You Need Me’ for Solomon Burke, ‘Soul Is Taking Over’ for Henry Lumpkin** and ‘Mama’s Got a Bag of Her Own’ for Anna King.
‘Right Now and Not Later’ was written by Bateman, Ronald Mosely and Kenny Hollon and produced by Bateman and Mosely and is a fairly stark departure for the Shangri-Las.
Though the group had R&B flowing through much of their catalog and had covered tunes like the Chantels ‘Maybe’, the Isley Brothers ‘Shout’ and the Ikettes ‘I’m Blue’, ‘Right Now and Not Later’ is an unmistakable attempt to recreate the Motown sound (something Bateman and Mosely were very familiar with).
The arrangement – by Bateman – sounds straight outta Detroit, from the opening tom toms, to the vibes, the baritone sax and the soaring chorus to the backing vocals.
I haven’t been able to track down any firm info as to why Bateman and Mosely were brought in to work on the track (they did work with other Red Bird acts like the Bouquets), and my assumption is that the label was basically trying something different (though the flip was a Barry/Greenwich tune ‘Train From Kansas City’, produced by Morton and Barry).
While there wasn’t a tremendous amount of time between their previous and subsequent hits, in the mid-60s Top 40 world, forward momentum was everything and label owners and producers were throwing everything they could at the charts to see what would stick.
The real tragedy in this situation is that ‘Right Now Or Not Later’ was not a success. While it got some traction in the Northeast (it reached #99 in the Hot 100) it faded quickly.
The song and arrangement were a perfect vehicle for Mary Weiss’s rich, powerful voice and as imitation-Motown goes, it doesn’t get much better than this.
The Shangri-Las’ short history ended when the group broke up in 1968.
Tragically, Mary Ann Ganser died at the age of 22 in 1970, followed by her sister Marge in 1996.
Fortunately Mary Weiss has returned to recording (for the mighty Norton label) and performing.
I hope you dig this record as much as I do, and I’ll see you all soon.
Keep the faith
Larry
*It’s fortunate that the Shangri-Las’ peak success intersected with the era of the great televised dance party shows. There are clips of them performing on a number of shows including Shivaree, Shindig, and a pre-catsuit era shot on I’ve Got a Secret, with Robert Goulet standing in for the ‘Leader of the Pack’
**the flip of the Lumpkin 45 was another Bateman/Mosely/Hollon tune ‘If I Could Make Magic’
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Themocracy
[…] ‘The Train From Kansas City’, the b-side of the #99 ‘Right Now and Not Later’ (check it out over at Funky16Corners) is my favorite of Morton’s sound-effect heavy […]