Shadow Morton may not be a familar name to many but his songs were influencial in the 60s Rock and Roll R&B scene. He could neither read or write music and he played no instrument, all of his songs came to him simply in his head.
'Remember (Walking In The Sands)' was a breakaway sound that part operatic, part spoken, chanting, sound effects (sea gulls are heard in the background track). Performed by High School friends the Shangri-Las and 'written' by shadow in just 22 minutes when he pulled his car over by the side of the road, it became an international hit and influenced many other artists and song-writers. Following in a similar style Shadow wrote 'Leader Of The Pack' with sound effects (motorcycles in the background) spoken and sung lyrics. Lead singer of the Shangri-Las, Mary Weiss, is famous for her stopping the song and crying out 'Look out, Look out!' but the boyfriend dies in the tragic song.
Shadow went on to produce one of the iconic songs of the 60s- Janis Ian's 'Socirty's Child' when Janis was just 14.
He worked with Leiber and Stoller during that period and later produced albums for Vanilla Fudge and the New York Dolls