Girl Group Chronicles: Reparata and the Delrons

Fans of the girl group sound usually place Reparata and the Delrons near the top of their list of acts who, if the world was fair, would be household names. The group, which failed to achieve a national Top 40 hit in their homeland, will have to settle for a large cult following and an extensive critically acclaimed repertoire that has stood the test of time.

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Mary Aiese, Anne Fitzgerald, Regina Gallagher, and Nanette Licari   first formed the Del-rons, in honour of the Dell-Vikings, in high school during 1962. The group was mostly just for fun, and the line-up constantly changed - so much so that two years later, during Mary’s graduating year at Saint Brendan’s Catholic High School she was the only original member. The Del-rons, now consisting of Carol Drobnicki, Mary McGuire, Cathy Romeo, and Sheila Reilly (aka Reillie), came to the attention of  two brother who owned a local record shop and a small recording studio. Impressed by the group's sweet sound and disposition, Bill and Steve Jerome, recorded some demos with the girls and shopped them around to some New York record labels.

Once it became apparent the group would pursue a music career in earnest Mary McGuire dropped out. Cathy Romeo was excited about the chance to record and become a star, but the Jeromes were a little concerned about her weight. In an interview with author John Clemente, Mary remembers the other girls wanting fame so badly they agreed to oust Cathy, owing it to a poor singing voice. She says the girls promised a disappointed Cathy a corvette if they became the next Supremes. Now a more 'slim' trio, the group and their master tapes were presented to record company executives.

The group was snatched up by the Laurie, which was having great success with another girl group, the Chiffons, at the time. Perhaps not having the promotional muscle to fully promote two girl groups at a time when the field was becoming crowded, the group's sole release "Your Big Mistake b/w Leave Us Alone," came and went without much fanfare.

Whatever disappointment the girls might have had was tempered by their busy schedule. Whisked backed into the studio, the Jeromes next approached World Artists to release the pleasant "Whenever A Teenager Cries," in 1964. The record, credited to Reparata and the Delrons (Mary assumed the name of a nun at her old school), was the complete opposite of the Dixie Cups' joyful "Chapel of Love" which was popular at the time. It became a monster hit in New York, reaching number one locally. For some reason the record did not match its local success nationally and only managed to reach number 60 on the Billboard charts. The follow-up, "Tommy," was an equally potent mix of teen angst which is better remembered on oldies stations today. Unfortunately it also failed to generate big sales outside of New York. An album called Whenever A Teenager Cries was also released around this time to capitalize on the song's success locally, but it wasn't a big seller.

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The group started to tour heavily around the country to promote themselves, but Carol and Sheila soon deserted Mary Aiese. The touring had become too much for them and they simply left for home. An embarrassed Reparata continued on as a solo singer for the rest of the tour making lame excuses for the absence of the Delrons. The next World Artists release was credited only to Reparata, but Carol and Sheila could still be heard in the background. The group name was back on "The Boy I Love b/w I Found A Place," but the success of the first couple of singles was not forth-coming, and World Artists dropped the act in the middle of 1965 and shut its doors shortly thereafter.

The Jeromes were not about to give up on their pride and joy, so Mary "Reparata" Aiese looked for replacement Delrons once the tour ended. A new group including Lorraine Mazzola, and original Delron Nanette Licari, joined up around the time the group began a stint at RCA records. Lesley Gore was rumoured to have provided back-up on their first release on the label, "I Can Tell," before Lorraine had not yet joined the group.

By this point in their career, Reparata and the Delrons started to move away from their cute girlish sound and towards a new more sophisticated style. Influenced by Phil Spector's emerging wall of sound, the group's second release on RCA has become a treasured cult favourite among girl group collectors. "I'm Nobody's Baby   Now" written and produced by Jeff Barry, fresh from his divorce to fellow songwriter Ellie Greenwich, was an emotional and artistic high-point for the group. Densely layered vocals and instrumentation, a sad spoken lyric similar to the style of the Shangri-las' lead singer Mary Weiss, and a powerful message that saw them leaving their carefree youth behind, the song could have easily made the Top 10. But, once again it failed to move many copies, just nipping at the bottom of the Billboard Top 100.

In fact, none of their RCA single were hits, though not for lack of quality releases. "Mama's Little Girl," "The Kind of Trouble That I Love," and "I Can Hear The Rain," all continued to show the Delrons' progression.

Mala Records was the next label to sport the group’s name. "I Believe," and update of a tune originally done by the Earls in 1963 and "Captain Of Your Ship" both flopped in America..The first single failed to chart and  "Captain Of Your Ship," couldn't get out of the port, bubbling under at  number 127.

Record buyers in the United Kingdom reacted entirely differently, however. One of the biggest girl group hits of the 1960s, "Captain Of Your Ship" hit number 13 on a long chart run. The group toured the other side of the pond, and met crowds of fans, including the Beatles. But the hit seemed to be the exception and not the rule for Reparata and company, who despite releasing excellent mod-rock sides like "Saturday Night Didn’t Happen," "Weather Forecast," and "Heaven Only Knows," followed in quick secession, couldn't seem to find a successful follow-up.

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Lorraine and Nanette both took time off when touring became too hectic again. When both returned, the group moved to Kapp Records to record "That’s What Sends Men To The Boweries," "We’re Gonna Hold The Night b/w San Juan," and "Walkin’ In The Rain," but none of these singles brought the girls back to the charts. The last of these songs, originally a big hit for the Ronettes in 64/65 started to attract some attention, but before it could ride to the top, another cover by Jay and the Americans beat them out and hit number 19. According to Clemente's book Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Record The World, subsequent pressings of the competing single had "Sorry Reparata" etched in.

Avco-Embassy carried Reparata and the Delrons last effort on vinyl. Lorraine, who had become the new lead voice since "Captain Of Your Ship," also became Reparata when Mary left the group. Cookie Sirico joined in time for Rock And Roll Revolution, which was filled with oldie goldie girl group hits. The group also provided background vocals for the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women."

Lorraine went to work as a television producer for a local program called "The Morning Show" but kept the name Reparata and the Delrons (with Nanette and Cookie) for touring purposes. While working on the show, Lorraine got word that up-coming singer Barry Manilow wanted a girl group to back him on record and on tour. He had apparently asked about finding Reparata and the Delrons, a group he liked from the 60s. Lorraine joined Lady Flash, Barry Manilow’s back-up group, and had a couple of hits in the late seventies with the group as well. Cookie and Nanette decided to stay home, and the group finally disbanded.

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photo credit: Tony Leong

Meanwhile, Mary Aiese, was still occasionally recording for the Jerome Brothers, ("Octopus' Garden," and "There's So Much Time" in the early 1970s). In 1975, a discoish single called "Shoes (Johnny and Louise)" coupled with a gentle ballad called "A Song For All" was flying up the British charts and starting to gain spins on this side of the pond. It seemed Reparata would finally have the hit for which she had worked more than a decade. But Lorraine Mazzola was still user the Reparata moniker with Manilow and she filed a lawsuit claiming Mary had given up the right to the name when she left the group. The label that was carrying "Shoes" immediately withdrew the single, and Mary spent the next several years in court trying to win back the name. Eventually Mazzola failed to appear for the hearing, and the name was given back to the original lead vocalist - of course, this was all just a little to late to pick up where 'Shoes" had left off.

But Mary did decide to keep the reformed group touring, and Nanette and Cookie both stayed on for several years. Today when Mary isn’t hearing the cries of teenagers in her Brooklyn classroom, she still performs with her Delrons.

Suggested Listening:

Whenever A Teenager Cries, Collectables COL-0527, 1993.

Rock 'n' Roll Revolution, Evergreen 2691724, 1990s.

Further Reading:

Clemente, John. Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked The World, Krause Publications: Iola, WI, 2000, pp. 90-93.

Warner, Jay. The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups. Billboard Books: New York, 1992, pp. 435-437.