The Regents
The Regents were an American doo wop group.
history
The quintet was founded in 1958 in the Bronx / New York . They recorded a composition by Chuck's brother Fred Fassert called Barbara Ann , for which they did not find a record company. Shortly afterwards the band broke up again.
When Jacobucci's brother used the song when his band auditioned in 1961, the Regents version came out again and was to be published this time. The Regents got back together and the song became a hit.
The Regents had a second hit in 1961 with Runaround . This song came from the prehistoric times of the Regents by former member Ernie Maresca , who had also written the greatest hits for Dion ( Runaround Sue and The Wanderer ).
From 1962 onwards, the group's success gradually fell apart.
Five years later, the Beach Boys got their hands on a recording of the song and released their own version of Barbara Ann in January 1966 . Then the song became a million seller .
The original Regents by Barbara Ann was used in the film soundtrack for American Graffiti (1973) and Guy Villari went on an oldie tour again with two new companions, Ron Lapinsky and Bob Falcone, but under the old name.
Members
- Guy Villari (born August 11, 1942 ), vocals
- Sal Cumo (born August 10, 1939 ), 1st tenor
- Charles 'Chuck' Fassert (* 1939 ), 2nd tenor
- Don Jacobucci (born August 8, 1938 ), baritone
- Tony Gravagna (* 1939 ), bass
Discography
Albums
- 1961: Barbara Ann
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1961 | Barbara Ann Barbara Ann |
- |
US13 (10 weeks) US |
|
| Runaround Barbara Ann |
- |
US28 (7 weeks) US |
||
| 1979 | 7 teen |
UK11 (12 weeks) UK |
- | |
| 1980 | See you later |
UK55 (2 weeks) UK |
- | |
Identical names
- From 1963 to 1967, another band called "The Regents" existed in Tacoma , Washington. These were part of the "Pacific North West Sound" in the early 1960s.
- Another band called "The Regents" released the song "7 Teen" in 1979, but did not hit the charts
literature
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 434f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chart sources: UK US
- ↑ hitparade.ch, viewed July 14, 2012
Web links
- Band biography (Engl.)