Remembering Shadow Morton

"Is she really going out with him?"

Thus begins one of the classic teen operas of all time, the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack." Okay, so it ain't Romeo and Juliet, but it was part of a wave of remarkable pop songs that suggested that the age of the professional songwriter could still compete with those self-contained acts coming from Liverpool and London. Complete with motorcycle sound effects, dialogue, and a hook line backed by a drum beat stolen from "Be My Baby," "Leader of the Pack" is a quintessential "girl group" recording. Its producer and co-author, George "Shadow" Morton, died on Thursday of cancer at age 72.

Morton's career was a testament to New Yawk bravado. He was not a musician nor did he read music. He bluffed his way into the biz by claiming that he was a songwriter, then went out and wrote songs for the gals from Queens, who scored a trio of hits in 1964. He was hired by the new label created by the legendary team of Lieber and Stoller, Red Bird. He was associated with the cream of the Brill Building crop, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, Carol King and Gerry Goffin, and many more. His nickname was bestowed on him because he seemed to come and go to the studios and offices without any set pattern.

Unfortunately, Shadow came about near the end of the girl-group era, and he was less inclined to keep plugging away. Booze was also a factor in his disappearance; it wasn't until the 1980s that he got sober. But he did have a role in creating Iron Butterfly's bizarre epic "In a Gadda Da Vida," having deceived the group into just rehearsing the take while the recording equipment was supposedly being worked on. He also produced the New York Dolls' brilliant second album.

But he'll always be remembered for the iconic teen dramas of those 1964 singles. RIP Shadow.