Illustration titled "And the Dead Came to His Banquet" by M.H. Squire and E. Mars from Charles Lamb's The Adventures of Ulysses, 1902
It's only due to my own sheer ignorance that I didn't know I was a huge fan of Ellie Greenwich. A master-class songwriter with an embarrassing number of hits under her belt, Greenwich passed away this week in Manhattan at the age of 68. I recognized the name when I saw it in the news, and it only took a little digging to realize that Greenwich has long been one of my favorite songwriters. You've probably seen the "Barry/Greenwich" writing credit attached to classic pop songs like "Be My Baby", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Chapel of Love", "River Deep, Mountain High", "Hanky Panky", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Look of Love", and "Then He Kissed Me". She also wrote, with husband/ex-husband collaborator Jeff Barry, some of my favorites by the Monkees ("She Hangs Out") and the Beach Boys ("I Can Hear Music"). And Ellie Greenwich was a singer, producer, publisher, and arranger in addition to being a songwriter - her 1965 single "You Don't Know" should have been a huge hit. Not finding success on her own, she was instrumental in the success of the Ronettes, Neil Diamond, and the Shangri-Las.
Greenwich's work with the Shangri-Las, one of my favorite bands, may have been the pinnacle of her songwriting career. She co-wrote three of their best-known songs, "Leader of the Pack", "Out in the Streets", and "The Train From Kansas City". She also penned some of my other Shangri-las favorites, like the single "Give Us Your Blessings" and its beautiful b-side track, "Heaven Only Knows". "Heaven Only Knows" is probably my favorite Shangri-Las song - Mary Weiss sings the crap out of the lyric, and it has a rich, lovely arrangement. I think I hear Ellie Greenwich bolstering the girls' backing vocals as well. Do yourself a favor and listen to something by Ellie Greenwich today.
"Heaven Only Knows" by the Shangri-Las
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