ArtistInfo

Mary Ann Gesmundo Regal

voc, US
Singer of Pop
A.k.a. Maryann Gesmundo

Lead Singer for the legendary 60's girl group, The Goodies.The Goodies were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1963 and 1965 they charted with teen melodramas, and remain perhaps best known for their recordings of "The Dum Dum Ditty" and "Sophisticated Boom Boom" before both songs were made even more popular by another 60's girl group, the Shangri-Las. Sisters Maureen and Diane Reiling, Maryann Gesmundo and Susan Gelber were four friends living in the neighboring towns of Seaford, Levittown and Wantagh on New York's Long Island. The foursome started singing during their days in junior high and high school. While singing in a talent show, the girls were spotted by talent man, Ron Shubert. After the show, he approached the group and mentioned that he liked what he heard and was interested in representing them. Through Ron's contact, the group, originally calling itself The Bunnies, was introduced to producer George "Shadow" Morton. Maureen picks up the story, "We met George through our first manager, Ron Shubert. Ron had seen us at a local talent show, and wanted to represent us. He subsequently introduced us to George." Morton was already having success with the Shangri-Las, providing them with their first hit single during the summer of 1964, the atmospheric "Remember (Walking In The Sand)". Morton recorded his demos with The Bunnies at a studio in Hicksville, NY. The group readied such future hits as "Leader Of The Pack", "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" and "You Don't Know", the song that Ellie Greenwich would take for her lone Red Bird single. Unfortunately, every time Morton's proteges were about to get their shot, the powers that be at Red Bird insisted that the more established Shangri-Las record the actual release. "The first demo we cut was for our first single, 'Leader Of The Pack'. Because the Shangri-Las were already established at Red Bird, it was decided by the company that they were to get the song as a follow up hit. We then recorded a demo of 'Give Him A Great Big Kiss', which was again taken from us and given to the Shangri-Las. Our third recording, The Dum Dum Ditty, was our first release. That was recorded at Mars Sound in New York." Not only was the choice of releases out of the group' hands, they discovered that right before their first release, they were also given a new moniker. "We called ourselves The Bunnies when we began singing publicly. After signing with Red Bird Records, a copyright search found the name 'Bunnies' was in use. As we had a record soon to be released, the execs at Red Bird decided to give us the name 'The Goodies' without any input on our part." Even the publicity photos that were ready with the name "Bunnies" had "Goodies" stickers applied over the group name. Whatever changes took place at the last minute, the good news was that The Goodies were finally going to have their first single released. "The Dum Dum Ditty", co-written by Shadow Morton, Steve Venet, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, made inroads at several East Coast markets in the spring of 1965, including Springfield, MA., Columbus, OH, Louisville, KY, and New York, NY. Of course, the young ladies participated in all the local musical events, such as the WMCA Good Guys New York area tri-state tour and Clay Cole's dance show, events that provided maximum exposure. Some of their traveling companions were chart luminaries like Ben E. King, Ruby and the Romantics, The Tokens, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Jive Five, Lenny Welch, The Crystals, Jay and the Americans, Randy and the Rainbows, Mary Wells, and Bobby Rydell. However, when the girls were ready for their follow-up single, they found the powers that be in disagreement over what the group's next step should be. Maureen tells of the events that contributed to the group's demise, "We expected there would be a follow-up record. However, we really felt the record company was not supporting our efforts. Soon after the release of 'Dum Dum Ditty', Sue Gelber got married and Maryann moved to Pennsylvania. Diane graduated from High School and went to college." Despite Ron Shubert and co-manager Larry Martire's efforts in favor of the group, Red Bird's indecisiveness and life changes for the members, marked the end of The Goodies' brief tenure in the music business. Fast-forward to 2003, a reunion took place between Diane, Maureen and Maryann, courtesy of a chance meeting between Maryann's daughter and a mutual friend. In 2005, The Goodies were invited to a release party given by Rhino Records, upon the release of a CD set entitled, "One Kiss Can Lead To Another-Girl Groups Lost & Found". The Goodies' killer B-side, "Sophisticated Boom Boom" was included in the set. To the ladies' surprise, not only were they invited to the party, they were subsequently invited to sing at the event. Held in November of 2005 at The Cutting Room in New York City, The Goodies took their rightful place besides many other girl-group stars, including The Toys, Margaret Ross of The Cookies, Reparata & The Delrons, Arlene Smith of The Chantels, La La Brooks of The Crystals, Lillian Walker of The Exciters, The Shangri-Las' Mary Weiss, and songwriters Russ Titelman and Toni Wine. Plus, they were part of the Red Bird roster on hand, featuring the Shangri-Las' Mary Weiss and Paulette Holland of The Butterflys. For good measure, contemporary rockers and fans of the genre were there to lend support, including Lenny Kaye and Fred Schneider of the B-52's. The Goodies took the stage and performed like they never were apart. "...The invitation to sing at The Cutting Room was the inspiration to start singing together--it was great to be on stage agains. And it was delightful to learn to learn The Goodies still had a following encouraging us to continue singing. As a result of the Cutting Room experience we were invited to do a show with Little Anthony and the Imperials and Maxine Brown at the Count Basie theatre in Red Bank, NJ. We look forward to singing at events in the future." Although their time in the spotlight was brief, their impact was significant. The Goodies' fine example of early-60's girl-group rock shows just how far one can get with a fresh, energetic singing group, talented writers and a dynamic production, intermingled to serve up a well-crafted, well-executed, hook-laden pop melody. From Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World By John Clemente, pgs. 237-240. Authorhouse.

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