Reparata and the Delrons

Infobox musical artist
Name = Reparata and the Delrons
Background = group_or_band


Img_capt =
Origin = New York
Genre = Pop
Years_active = 1962 to 1973, 1978 to 2000
Label = World Artists
RCA Records
Mala Records
Associated_acts = Reparata
Past_members = Mary Aiese ("Reparata") Nanette Licari Lorraine Mazzola Regina Gallagher Anne Fitzgerald
Sheila Reilly
Carol Drobnicki
Cathy Romeo
Cookie Sirico Reparata and the Delrons were an American girl group popular during the 1960s.

The Delrons started out as a quartet in 1962 at St. Brendan's Catholic School in Brooklyn, New York, led by lead singer Mary Aiese, who subsequently billed herself as Reparata after Sister Reparata, one of her school teachers [ [http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=9&pg=2] ] . The other original members were Nanette Licari, Regina Gallagher, and Anne Fitzgerald, but they were soon replaced by Sheila Reilly, Carol Drobnicki, and (initially) Cathy Romeo.

The Delrons were spotted by record producers Bill and Ted Jerome, who recorded them in 1964 first for Laurie Records, then on the Ernie Maresca song “Whenever a Teenager Cries” on the World Artists label. The song became a regional hit but failed to reach the national top 40, a pattern repeated by its follow-up, “Tommy”. However, the quartet toured nationally with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars, and the group’s name became widely known. In 1965 they moved to RCA Records, Drobnicki and Reilly having been replaced by former member Licari and Lorraine Mazzola. After several unsuccessful releases in a style similar to the Shangri-Las, including Jeff Barry’s “I’m Nobody’s Baby Now” and an album, the Delrons moved again to Mala Records. Like the Shangri-Las The Delrons appreared as a trio and recorded as a quartet until late 1968.

In 1968 they released "Captain of Your Ship", co-written by Kenny Young. The song missed the U.S. national charts, but made the U.K. top 20 and the group toured the United Kingdom. Young said [ [http://www.spectropop.com/KennyYoung/index.htm Kenny Young ] ] of this period:-"If they had been more attractive there could have been a decent career there. They were responsible for me moving to England. I accompanied them to Top Of The Pops... [and] ...attended the reception for their hit single "Captain Of Your Ship", along with John Lennon and Ringo at the Revolution Club in London. I met half the Beatles at our own reception...".

Follow-up recordings were unsuccessful, and by 1970 Mary Aiese left the group. Initially Lorraine Mazzola’s group continued to bill themselves as Reparata and the Delrons, releasing an album of classic girl group songs, but they retired in 1973 and the following year Mazzola re-emerged as a member of Lady Flash, Barry Manilow's group of back-up singers.

In the mid-1970s, the group's 1968 single "Panic" became a favourite on the U.K. Northern Soul scene centered around Wigan Casino.

Mary Aiese released several solo singles as Reparata, retaining the name after an unsuccessful lawsuit by Mazzola. The most successful was "Shoes", which was a Top 10 hit in South Africa and a minor U.K. and U.S. hit.

Mary Aiese reformed Reparata and the Delrons in the late 1970s and combined performing on the oldies circuit with working as a schoolteacher in Brooklyn. She finally retired the group in 2000.

Carol Scordilis, nee Drobnicki, died from cancer in 1980 at the age of 33. [Death notice, "New York Times", Dec. 19, 1980, p. D19.]

References

External links

*amg | id = 11:hipzeflk7gfn | label = Reparata and the Delrons
* [http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Frontrow/2301/reparata.html Girl Group Chronicles: Reperata and the Delrons]
* [http://www.myspace.com/reparatathedelrons Unofficial MySpace page]