The Bunnies aka The Goodies

The Bunnies
L-R: Maureen Reilling, Diane Reilling, Susan Gelber, Maryann Gesmondo
The Goodies were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. They are 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.

Members:
    Maryann Gesmondo - Lead
    Diane Reilling
    Sue  Gelber
    Maureen Reilling

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.

From top clockwise:
Maryanne Gesmondo, Diane Reilling, Susan Gelber, Maureen Reilling

Morton recorded his demos with The Bunnies at a studio in Hicksville, NY. The group demos of what would be  future hits   "Leader Of The Pack", "Give Him A Great Big Kiss"  for the Shangri-las and "You Don't Know" that would be  Ellie Greenwich's only Red Bird single.  However the people 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.   The Goodies  then recorded a demo of 'Give Him A Great Big Kiss', which was again taken  and given to the Shagria-las too. Three was a charm.  Their third record recorded Mars Sound in New York " The Dum Dum Ditty, was to be their first release.  Before that release they were renamed The Goodies.

"The Dum Dum Ditty", co-written by Shadow Morton, Steve Venet, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, began being played in several East Coast markets in the spring of 1965, including Springfield, MA., Columbus, OH, Louisville, KY, and New York, NY.  The newly named Goodies began playing at 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.

When the time came for their follow-up single there was disagreement what it would be. The feeling among the group was Red Bird was not sufficiently supporting the group.  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.

Goodies today
(clockwise from top) Barbara Jean Baker, Maureen Reilling, Maryann Gesmundo, Regal

Though their time in the spotlight was brief, their impact was significant. The Goodies were an energetic group, executing well crafted, well executed, hook laden pop.