Ed Ryan is best recognized as the husband of Mary Weiss who was an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Shangri-Las in the 1960s. After disappearing from the music industry for several decades, she reappeared in 2007 to record her debut solo album under the Norton Records label.
Ed Ryan, confirmed the news to NPR but details on Weiss’s death have not been released yet. Weiss’s record label, Norton Records who was founded by Miriam Linna, wrote on Facebook about her death,
“Remembering Mary Weiss with much love and affection. Mary was the ultimate”
Ed Ryan Wiki
Ed Ryan is in his 80s. He caught media attention as the husband of Mary Weiss with whom he tied knot in 1970s. Couple also had also kids together.
He grew up in the borough of Queens in New York City. Like his wife, he also used to sang in school plays and choirs. His wife Mary Weiss listened to her brother and his friends perform popular songs of the day; George being an Elvis fan.
At the age of 14, Mary went to her first Everly Brothers concert at Freedomland U.S.A. in 1963, having a strong appreciation for artists like Neil Sedaka. With her growing popularity, her band Shangri-Las became a leading girl group in the 1960s.
Ed Ryan Career
Ed Ryan made his public debut at places like the storied Folk City in New York, where he was praised for being a “strong songwriter with an even stronger voice.” By the time he and his band Ed Ryan & The Underdogs were personally chosen to accompany then-teen queen Debbie Gibson on her national tour, Ed had already received praise from one critic who called him “possibly the best songwriter on Long Island today.”
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His second group, the tough-edged Wide Awake, won first place in the WBAB HomeGrown Competition and the Long Island Music Festival. They also put out two popular CDs. Ed Ryan led another popular band in the new millennium, Rhino Caravan, an acoustic group that put out two more highly regarded CDs.
Ed Ryan made a reputation for himself on the Stand-Up Comedy circuit and also a respected entertainer in the Irish-American community. He has gained a lot of popularity in the Irish music scene, especially for his fiery performance of “Danny Boy” and his endearing original sing-along, “The Drinking Song.”
