Lorraine, Mary, and Nanette on board
Photo from Melody Maker, 1968

The girls usher in the late sixties
Courtesy of Ace Records

"Tommy" reached #92 on the Billboard chart. The next two singles were credited to a reluctantly solo Reparata but, unfortunately, "I Found My Place" and "A Summer Thought" both failed to click with the public. The World Artists label ceased operation shortly afterwards.

The Jerome brothers, now numbering not only Reparata & the Delrons but also the Left Banke and the Fifth Estate among their hit acts, had no difficulty securing Mary a new contract at RCA. The only snag was that Nipper and Co. demanded a non-solo Reparata, thus instigating an urgent search for two new Delrons. Nanette Licari from the group's original line-up was quickly re-enlisted and, with a little additional help from session-singer Lesley Miller, Mary set about recording "I Can Tell." Numerous auditions eventually led to Lorraine Mazzola restoring the group to a trio in time to promote the single.

Lesley Gore also cut a version of "I Can Tell." Did this lead to any rivalry? "Oh, major petulance!" says Mary. "Hash Brown, our orchestra leader, played on both versions, so we were kind of anticipating something. We were booked to appear on Clay Cole's TV show and Lesley was supposed to star. When she found out we were on the bill, she refused to appear at all!"

Next came the Jeff Barry-authored "I'm Nobody's Baby Now," a successful coalition of the lush Phil Spector sound and Shangs-inspired despair. It failed to sell but remains Reparata & the Delrons' magnum opus. The group's RCA releases continued apace with "Mama's Little Girl" and "The Kind Of Trouble That I Love," culminating in mid-'67 with "I Can Hear The Rain," another gem that came close to matching Spector at his own game. "Melba Moore helped out on that session," remembers Mary.

Later that year the group were signed to Larry Utall's Mala label, debuting with a version of the evergreen "I Believe." Reparata & the Delrons' next release, "Captain Of Your Ship," featured more gimmicks than you could shake a stick at; with clanging bells, foghorns, morse code, megaphoned vocals and tempo changes galore, not to mention enough nautical metaphors in the lyrics to sink a, erm, ship. It reached #13 on the UK charts in 1968, doing much to establish the Bell label in Britain.

Once again our subjects' studies were put on hold as they flew in to London to promote the record. "There was a big reception laid on for us," recalls Mary. "The Beatles, David Niven and Lulu were all there. Then we went off and played about every city in England. We represented the USA at the Polish International Song Festival and went over to Germany too. But it must have been a public holiday, or something, because Germany was closed! There were interviews, parties and constant travelling. We were mentally and physically exhausted." Lorraine went AWOL during the group's European jaunt, leaving Mary and Nanette to return to the States without her. "Coming back to New York was such a let down. It was such a strange feeling to come home to Brooklyn and be nobodies again."

With Lorraine safely back in the ranks, the group went on to release three more singles on Mala. Although none of the sides were hits, several of them, like "It's Waiting There For You" and "Panic," along with some of their earlier RCA sides, would go on to achieve popularity on the British northern soul scene.

Nanette was the next Delron to take temporary leave of absence, which coincided with another label change, to Kapp in 1969. The straw that broke the camel's back came late that year when their third 45 for the label, a remake of the Ronettes' "Walking In The Rain," was outsold by a rival rendition by Jay & the Americans. Etched into the run-off grooves of the Americans' hit version was the message "Sorry Reparata." Mary, by now married and keen to start a family, chose this moment to quit the group.

Mary gave her blessing for the group to continue without her. Lorraine Mazzola took over as lead vocalist and the addition of new girl Cookie Sirico brought the line-up back to three. The group released 1970 Rock & Roll Revolution, a quickie album of girl group oldies for the Avco Embassy label, before disbanding in 1973. Lorraine went on to work as a backing vocalist for Barry Manilow.

Meanwhile, Reparata, although now a happily busy mother and wife, continued to release occasional quirky solo singles like "Octopus's Garden" and "Jezebee Lancer The Belly Dancer." In 1975 she made a surprise return to the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with the absurdly catchy "Shoes."

Things turned sour when Mary spotted an announcement in Billboard magazine that claimed she was an impostor and that the real Reparata was then presently fronting a group named Lady Flash. The group in question was Barry Manilow's back-up trio and the claimant was none other than Lorraine Mazzola. Mary, "As you can imagine, I was upset about this. When I left the group, I had no objection to them continuing without me. But I never dreamed that someone would then try to stop me from using my own name. I know that we weren't in the same league as the Supremes, but it would have been like Mary Wilson calling herself Diana Ross! Lorraine and I had been friends for years and here she was trying to steal my name. I was personally offended. I considered that Reparata was my real name. It wasn't a name that was invented. I had personally chosen Reparata as my confirmation name after my choir mistress at school. I 'phoned Lorraine and she told me that the story in Billboard was all Manilow's idea and that she would speak to him about it. Next thing I knew I was contacted by his attorney and the writs started flying." Mary and Lorraine are no longer friends.

Reparata - the REAL Reparata, Mary Aiese-O'Leary - and her latter-day Delrons continued to perform live in the New York area until recent times. "Those songs are near and dear to me", says Mary. "They are my teenage years. I will always want to hear them performed properly, with love and care."

Recalling REPARATA & THE DELRONS' classic "I'M NOBODY'S BABY NOW," Mary – now a schoolteacher of long standing – says, "Sometimes we'd be given a demo disc to listen to and learn, but with this song Jeff Barry was there in person at the piano. He played "I'm Nobody's Baby Now" from start to finish. I knew it was something special straight away. Of all our recordings, this is the one I'm most proud of."