20 Facts About Shadow Morton

George Francis "Shadow" Morton was an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s.

Shadow Morton was born in Richmond, Virginia, United States, and raised in Hicksville, Long Island, where he met his high school sweetheart and future wife, Lois Berman, and formed a doo-wop group, the Markeys.

Shadow Morton became friendly with Ellie Greenwich, and did drop-in visits to her and her songwriting partner and husband Jeff Barry when they were working at the Brill Building.

Skeptical that Shadow Morton was really the songwriter he claimed to be, Barry challenged Shadow Morton to prove his legitimacy and bring in samples of his recent work.

Shadow 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, Shadow Morton spent the evening writing most of his first song "Remember " while sitting in the dark in his parked car, and the rest of it in the shower back home before heading back to Barry.

Shadow Morton then 'rolled the dice' and recorded a demo of his song at Long Island's Ultrasonic Recording Studios with an unknown local girl-group that he admired, The Shangri-Las, and offered the demo recording to Jerry Leiber, who was then setting up Red Bird Records.

Shadow Morton signed on as a staff producer for Red Bird Records.

Shadow Morton was nicknamed "Shadow" by record company executive George Goldner because his whereabouts could never be pinned down.

Shadow Morton worked with Iron Butterfly; the group gave an interview to Mix Magazine crediting him with producing the hit track "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".

Shadow Morton told film producer Larry 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 1970, Shadow Morton produced the psychedelic heavy rock band Haystacks Balboa, a New York City based quintet who toured nationally as support for Rod Stewart, Ten Years After and Jethro Tull.

In 1971, Shadow Morton produced the Polydor Records album Uncle Chapin, the sole release of the seven-piece jazz rock horn group formerly known as Stonehammer.

Shadow Morton produced all-girl group Isis, and worked with The New York Dolls, producing their second album Too Much Too Soon.

In 1972, Shadow Morton produced the Boston comedy band Gross National Productions' album P-Flaps and Low Blows.

Shadow Morton then disappeared from the music industry for several years, and was treated for alcoholism in 1987 at the Betty Ford Center.

Shadow Morton later filed a lawsuit with Polygram Records for the unauthorized use of his music, most famously two Shangri-Las songs that were featured in the 1990 film Goodfellas.

Shadow Morton was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15,2006.

In 2009, Shadow Morton appeared in the documentary Rockin' the Wall, about music's part in bringing down the Iron Curtain, along with former Vanilla Fudge members Mark Stein and Vinny Martell, as well as David Paich of Toto, Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot, Robby Krieger of the Doors, Billy Joel and Joan Jett.

Shadow Morton died on February 14,2013, in Laguna Beach, California, from cancer.