12 Comments

Bravo Joe, this is a superb piece and it's true, no one does melancholy quite like Shangri-Las. 'I Can Never Go Home Anymore' never fails to pull at the heartstrings.

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Thanks, Nathaniel!

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Excellent piece of writing! Really illuminates why those recordings are so timeless, and great. There's a wonderful Shangri-Las episode of Andrew Hickey's "History Of Rock Music In 500 Songs" podcast (#121), a good companion to your piece. Thanks!

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Thanks so much Hugh, and thanks for the heads up!

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The Shangri-Las were definitely "punk rock 'n' roll":

It wasn't hardcore, but their music was a huge influence on punk rock in New York City.

The New York Dolls referenced their songs and Blondie? Well, yeah!

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No doubt, John. Attitude to spare! (And some disruptive hijinx on the road to boot)

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Great article. Can I give a shout out for my favourite: The Train from Kansas City. As I wrote in an article recently "with its rumbling piano, pleading words (“Baby, baby, please believe me, I would never never do anything to hurt you”)."

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And that clickety-clack snare! Great stuff.

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Good piece Joe. Who were the main bassist & drummers they used on the Shangri-La sessions?

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Thanks, MMA. According to Arthur, bassists were Russ Savakus, Bob Bushnell, and Richard Davis, drummers were Gary Chester, Buddy Saltzman, and Allan Schwartzburg

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Thanks, this is Nate from Let It Roll, I used the wrong account to comment the first time, d'oh!

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Oh. Hey, Nate!

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