The Rokes
The Rokes | |
---|---|
General information | |
origin | London |
Genre (s) | Beat , pop rock |
founding | 1963 |
resolution | 1970 |
Last occupation | |
Norman David "Shel" Shapiro | |
Vocals, bass
|
Robert "Bobby" Posner |
guitar |
Johnny Charlton |
Vocals, drums
|
Mike Shepstone |
The Rokes were a British beat band that mainly operated in Italy .
Band history
The group originated in London in the early 1960s as the Shel Carson Combo . In addition to founder Shel Shapiro, the members were Bobby Posner, Johnny Charlton and Mike Shepstone. In 1963 the group in Hamburg was hired by Colin Hicks for an Italian tour, now under the name The Cabin Boys . She was discovered by Teddy Reno , the manager of Rita Pavone . The four musicians then adopted the definitive name The Rokes and first accompanied Pavone on a tour. In 1964 the band finally made their debut in Italy with the single Shake, Rattle and Roll . With the second single Un'anima pura she drew attention at a newcomer festival .
The Rokes succeeded in 1965 with the single C'è una strana espressione nei tuoi occhi (Original: When You Walk in the Room by the Searchers ), her debut album and appearances in the film Rita la figlia americana (with Rita Pavone and Totò ) as well as in advertising campaigns the hoped-for breakthrough. The band celebrated great success in 1966 with the singles Che colpa abbiamo noi and È la pioggia che va , which reached number three and number one on the Italian single charts. That year the band also released two albums, The Rokes Vol. 2 and the very successful Che mondo strano . The B-side of È la pioggia che va , Piangi con me , was also a hit on the American Billboard Hot 100 in 1967 in the English version Let's Live for Today by The Grass Roots . At the Sanremo Festival in 1967 the band presented the song Bisogna saper perdere together with Lucio Dalla , which was also a great success. Singles like Ricordo quando ero bambino or Cercate di abbracciare tutto il mondo come noi followed .
The Rokes returned to Sanremo in 1968 with Le opere di Bartolomeo , this time together with the vocal ensemble The Cowsills , but missed the finale. That year the group released the single Lascia l'ultimo ballo per me and the fourth album, but sales were down. The group also had a film appearance in the western parody Sing not, shoot! . The third Sanremo participation in 1969 on the side of Nada with the song Ma che freddo fa was a success (fifth place in the final), but could not revive the popularity of the band. After a few more little-noticed singles, The Rokes announced their breakup in 1970. Shel Shapiro stayed in Italy afterwards and has since worked mainly as a songwriter and producer .
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
IT | |||
1966 | Che mondo strano |
IT2 (6 months) IT |
Arc
|
More albums
- The Rokes (1965)
- The Rokes vol. 2 (1966)
- The Rokes (1968)
- I successi dei Rokes (1969)
- These Were the Rokes (1977)
- Anthology (1988)
- Dal vivo al teatro Parioli 1969 (1993)
Singles (selection)
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
IT | |||
1966 | Grace |
IT12 (3 weeks) IT |
B-side: La mia città
|
Che colpa abbiamo noi |
IT3 (21 weeks) IT |
B-side: Piangi con me
Original: Cheryl's Going Home by Bob Lind |
|
È la pioggia che va Che mondo strano |
IT1 (15 weeks) IT |
B-side: Finché c'è musica mi tengo su
Original: Remember the Rain by Bob Lind |
|
1967 | Bisogna saper perdere |
IT4 (11 weeks) IT |
B-side: Non far finta di no
|
Ricordo quando ero bambino The Rokes |
IT8 (12 weeks) IT |
A-side: Eccola di nuovo (Original: Here Comes My Baby by Cat Stevens )
|
|
Cercate di abbracciare tutto il mondo come noi The Rokes |
IT12 (4 weeks) IT |
B-side: Regency Sue
|
|
1968 | Le opere di Bartolomeo The Rokes |
IT15 (2 weeks) IT |
B-side: Siamo sotto il sole
|
Lascia l'ultimo ballo per me The Rokes |
IT16 (4 weeks) IT |
||
1969 | 28 giugno |
IT23 (2 weeks) IT |
B-side: Mary
|
Filmography
- 1965: Rita la figlia americana
- 1965: Altissima Pressione
- 1968: don't sing, shoot! (Non cantare, spara)
Web links
- The Rokes at Rockol.it
- The Roke at Discogs (English)
- Official website of Shel Shapiro
supporting documents
- ↑ Guido Racca: M&D Borsa Album 1964-2019 . Self-published, 2019, ISBN 978-1-09-470500-2 , pp. 266 .
- ↑ Guido Racca: M&D Borsa Singoli 1960-2019 . Self-published, 2019, ISBN 978-1-09-326490-6 , pp. 368 f .