George "Shadow" Morton - Well Known Producer - Has Died

Writer and producer George "Shadow" Morton died of cancer Thursday (February 14) in Laguna Beach, California at the age of 72. The Brooklyn native became friends with songwriter Ellie Greenwich and her husband, Jeff Barry challenged Shadow's assertion that he was also a songwriter, asking to see some of his writing.

In one of the greatest bluffs in music history, Shadow (nicknamed that because he was nowhere to be found when someone wanted him) wrote "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" overnight. It was cleaned up and recorded with the Shangri-Las, who were then signed to Red Bird Records. Shadow wrote and produced many more hits for the girls, including "Leader Of The Pack" (it's said he drove his own motorcycle into the studio for authentic sound effects), "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" and "I Can Never Go Home Anymore." He also produced such hits as "Society's Child" for Janis Ian, Vanilla Fudge's version of "You Keep Me Hanging On" and reportedly Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." He also worked with Mott the Hoople and the New York Dolls. Shadow was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.