Reparata And The Delrons, "The Kind Of Trouble That I Love" c/w "Boys and Girls," RCA Victor 47-9123 (rel. 2/1967)

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Reparata and The Delrons never crashed the Top 40, but they left behind some of the best girl-group sides of the mid-1960s. They’re spiritual cousins of The Shangri-las, who got a #1 with their “Leader of the Pack” in 1964. Reparata & Co. approached the tough stance of that more successful group, and their records have a similar vibe, though they never sang of dead motorcyclists or the life of a teen runaway.

The group formed at a girls’ Catholic high school in Brooklyn. At first a quintet, they were pared down to a trio by 1967, when they’d signed with RCA-Victor—a label with not the faintest clue of what to do with them. (The label signed another tough-stance girl group, The Angels, who’d had a 1963 #1 with “My Boyfriend’s Back,” and fumbled with them as well.)

Lead singer Mary Alese chose the name Reparata from a Catholic saint; it was her confirmation name. They signed to World Artists, a smaller label that had virtuoso musician/bandleader Harry Lookofsky, who used the pen name Hash Brown, as musical director. His engineers, Steve and Bill Jerome, created a chunky and winning sound with the group’s 1964 near-hit, “Whenever a Teenager Cries.” The single just missed the Top 50 but sold well enough that World Artists put out an LP, as seen above.

Lookofsky was a grouch; he fired the Jeromes and after two singles, Reparata & Co. were off the label. RCA snapped them up and hired the Jeromes to produce their recordings. By this time, the group had endured some professional and personal traumas: a long, grueling package tour for no pay and two portly members were asked to leave, since they didn’t make for a sexy look. (These whiteman decisions never factor in [a] that people deserve to be paid for their work and [b] people like pop stars they can relate to.)

RCA could have pushed the group onto the charts; they chose, instead, to release a string of excellent singles and let them die, one by one. Example given: the group did record a powerful Shangri-las-worthy side, “I’m Nobody’s Baby Now” (penned by Jeff Barry, who co-wrote most of the Shangs’ hits)—as perfect a pop melodrama as ever conceived. Victor put it out, didn’t promote it, and let it expire. They did this for each of the group’s five 45s.

Today’s single, recorded in late 1966 and issued at the start of ’67, is a fine example of what Reparata and The Delrons had to offer. “The Kind of Trouble that I Love,” written by Ed Reeves, has a bright sound, with tinkly bar-room piano and blatting brass (plus unexpected flute!) on a song about a guy who’s a bit of a handful but worth the fuss. The song’s conceit seems to reflect a moment in Raymond Chandler’s noir novels with private eye Philip Marlowe in which the snoop admits he doesn’t mind a reasonable amount of trouble.

It’s a refreshing change from the polar standards of he’s-an-angel and he’s-an-asshole that define girl-group recordings. Here, the narrator has no illusions. He’s a human being, as prone to mistakes and bad choices. But he has something special that makes him neither angel or devil. And that’s most people.

Had the public the chance to hear this recording, it might have gotten somewhere on the Hot 100 in the late winter of ’67. Alas, it did not.

Cash Box vouched for the quality of today's record.

Reparata and Bill Jerome co-wrote “Boys and Girls,” which opens with a greeting from the group—a charming touch that gets this wonderful rocker off to a happy start. This sounds like a song The Ramones might have written; it’s a celebration of teenage love that takes no sides. At 1:44, it doesn’t have much time to explore this theme, but while it lasts, it’s a winning blast of sound. I’m sure someone used this as the opening track on a mix-tape of girl-group songs. If not, it needs to happen.

One more RCA single happened, then the inevitable; the label dumped the group. They went to Mala, a New York independent imprint, where they explored more au courant sounds and created some late gems in the girl-group style. Their 1968 single “Panic”/”Saturday Night Didn’t Happen” is a sought-after platter and big fave of DJs. As with RCA, Mala issued five singles; then the group moved to Kapp Records, where their recording career ended in 1969 with a cover version of The Ronettes’ 1964 hit “Walking in the Rain.”

For an excellent overview of this fine group’s career, I direct you to the UK Ace Records CD The Best Of… (CDCHD 1066). This 20-year-old collection has examples of all their labels and includes a few solo tracks by Reparata. Well worth the six bucks you might spend to get a used copy.

Tomorrow: Cray-zee Black doo-wop with The New Yorkers from 1961. Wonderful “huh?” moments abound on this Wall Records release.