The Regents

In the Bronx, New York, during 1958, lead singer Guy Villari, first tenor Sal Cuomo, baritone Ernie Maresca, and second tenor Chuck Fassert assembled under the name the Montereys. After inking a deal with Seville Records, the quartet laid down two compositions by Maresca that remained in the vaults, prompting a frustrated Maresca to exit; Donnie Jacobucci stepped in as his replacement. The singers tracked their audition tapes at Regents Sound Studios, an experience that inspired the decision to rebrand themselves the Regents, yet their debut single would not surface until 1961—three full years after the group’s formation.

Although “Barbara Ann” had been captured on tape back in 1958, more than fifty labels turned it down, leading the members to call it quits before 1959 arrived. Salvation came unexpectedly through Donnie Jacobucci’s younger brother Eddie, whose own outfit, the Consorts, needed fresh material for an upcoming audition and therefore committed an old household demo of “Barbara Ann” to tape. Impressed by the recording, the proprietor of Cousins Records opted to issue the track not under the Consorts but under the Regents banner. With Eddie Jacobucci taking Villari’s place, the original lineup reconvened, and Cousins launched “Barbara Ann” in March 1961. The stuttering doo-wop entry topped the New York charts, generating such demand that Cousins licensed it to Roulette/Gee for national and international release, where it climbed to number 13 on the pop side and number seven on the R&B side.

Follow-up “Runaround” reached number 28 pop and number 30 R&B, while neither “Liar” nor “Oh Baby” registered on any chart. After disbanding, the musicians resurfaced in 1964 as the Runarounds—Villari, Fassert, Ronnie Lapinsky, and Sal Corrente—issuing five singles across an equal number of labels. Their initial effort, “Unbelievable,” appeared on Nat King Cole’s short-lived KC imprint in 1963 and failed to move, as did their final outing, “You Lied,” released on MGM in 1967. Another split followed, yet the singers reformed as the Regents in 1973 to work the oldies revival circuit. Today an original Cousin pressing of “Barbara Ann” commands roughly 1,200 dollars, whereas the same recording on Gee typically sells for 25 dollars or less.