George Francis "Shadow" Morton (September 3, 1941 – February 14, 2013)^[2] was an Americanrecord producer andsongwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s. In particular, he was noted for writing and producing "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Leader of the Pack", and other hits for girl groupthe Shangri-Las.

He was born inRichmond,Virginia, United States,^[1] and raised inHicksville,Long Island, where he met his high school sweetheart and future wife, Lois Berman, and formed adoo-wop group, the Markeys. In the late 1950s Morton wrote and recorded for The Markeys, including two singles forRCA Victor.^[3][4] He became friendly withEllie Greenwich, and did drop-in visits to her and her songwriting partner and husbandJeff Barry when they were working at theBrill Building.

According to aBiography episode on various 1960s Brill Building pop songwriters, which included interviews with Greenwich, Barry and Morton among others, Barry said that at the time he was suspicious of Morton's overt attention to Greenwich. Skeptical that Morton was really the songwriter he claimed to be, Barry challenged Morton to prove his legitimacy and bring in samples of his recent work (expecting never to hear again from the unheard-of Morton).^[5] Morton stated in his interview that, with an empty song portfolio at the time, he felt sufficiently challenged by Barry, whereupon he left the Brill Building and drove to a Long Island beach. Full of inspiration and determination, Morton spent the evening writing most of his first song "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" while sitting in the dark in his parked car, and the rest of it in the shower back home before heading back to Barry. Morton then 'rolled the dice' and recorded a demo of his song at Long Island's Ultrasonic Recording Studios with an unknown localgirl-group that he admired,The Shangri-Las^[6] (according to Morton, with the then-unknownBilly Joel on piano in the demo recording),^[7] and offered the demo recording toJerry Leiber, who was then setting upRed Bird Records.^[6] "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" reached number 5 on the USBillboard Hot 100 in 1964.^[6] This accomplishment transformed Morton overnight from a credential-less industry 'wannabe' into a hit songwriter and producer. According to Steve Kurutz atAllmusic, "Morton's production work, which included brilliant sound effects and inventive percussion, carried the Shangri-Las to girl-group history."^{[8][failed verification]}

Morton signed on as a staff producer for Red Bird Records. He was nicknamed "Shadow" by record company executiveGeorge Goldner because his whereabouts could never be pinned down.^[6] He was a key architect in creating the girl group sound of the mid-1960s, by continuing to write and produce hit teen melodramas for the Shangri-Las and the Goodies, including "Leader of the Pack", "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", "I Can Never Go Home Anymore", "Past, Present and Future" and "Sophisticated Boom Boom".^[6] These juxtaposed teen lyrics against a mixture of pop, R&B and even the classics, with sound effects and inventive percussion that were often compared to the work ofPhil Spector and hisWall of Sound technique;Billy Joel believed that Morton wanted to be Spector's equivalent in the East Coast.^[9][10][11]

In 1967, his successes continued after the collapse of Red Bird when his production ofJanis Ian's "Society's Child" became a hit record.^[6] The same year, he discovered a group called Mark Stein & the Pigeons, who becameVanilla Fudge, and produced their first three albums, which included their hit version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On", followed by a foray into aural collage calledThe Beat Goes On.^[6] The experimentation was largely Morton's idea; it was resisted by the band and poorly received by critics, though it reached number 17 in the USBillboard Top 200.^[12] Morton also worked withIron Butterfly; the group gave an interview toMix Magazine crediting him with producing the hit track "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". Morton told film producerLarry Schweikart in 2009 that the band was too uptight to get the song down, so he faked an equipment malfunction on the soundboard and told them to practice. In fact, he was rolling tape, and he kept giving them the "keep it up" sign, resulting in the long solos and the famous drum solo.

In 1970, Morton produced the psychedelic heavy rock band Haystacks Balboa, a New York City based quintet who toured nationally as support forRod Stewart,Ten Years After andJethro Tull.^[13] In 1971, Morton produced the Polydor Records albumUncle Chapin, the sole release of the seven-piece jazz rock horn group formerly known as Stonehammer. He also produced all-girl groupIsis, and worked withThe New York Dolls, producing their second albumToo Much Too Soon.^[6][8] Dolls guitaristJohnny Thunders would later cover his composition "Great Big Kiss" on his 1978 solo albumSo Alone. In 1972, Shadow produced the Boston comedy band Gross National Productions' albumP-Flaps and Low Blows.

Morton then disappeared from themusic industry for several years,^[6] and was treated foralcoholism in 1987 at theBetty Ford Center. He later filed a lawsuit withPolygram Records for the unauthorized use of his music, most famously two Shangri-Las songs that were featured in the 1990 filmGoodfellas.^{[8][failed verification]}

He was inducted into theLong Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.^[14] In 2009, Morton appeared in the documentaryRockin' the Wall, about music's part in bringing down theIron Curtain, along with former Vanilla Fudge members Mark Stein and Vinny Martell, as well asDavid Paich ofToto,Rudy Sarzo ofQuiet Riot,Robby Krieger ofthe Doors,Billy Joel andJoan Jett. In 2013, a compilation album was released of songs written or produced by Morton, titledSophisticated Boom Boom: The Shadow Morton Story.^[15]

Shadow Morton died on February 14, 2013, inLaguna Beach, California, from cancer.^[16]

• Comprehensive 1991 interview with Morton
• Documentary on Shangri-Las including interview with Morton onYouTube
• Rockinthewall.com