Originally Posted by barbeler:
“As with many similar groups at that time, they were merely vehicles for other people's songs and a big studio production.”
So what? That's far from an unusual situation in pop music, this still happens and it doesn't stop the production of great pop music. The Shangri-Las were the vehicle for at least two brilliant, influential pop songs in 'Remember (walking' in the sand)' and 'Leader of the Pack'. Who's to say that these songs would have been successful without them? Shadow Morton and Ellie Greenwich wrote the songs with them in mind.
What made the Shangri-Las different was they were an all-white group and then had a somewhat risqué image.