The Rokes

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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 placementsTemplate: chart table / maintenance / monthly data
(Year, title, rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) 		Remarks
IT 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 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
B-side: Io vivrò senza te
Original: Save the Last Dance for Me by The Drifters
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

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Guido Racca: M&D Borsa Album 1964-2019 . Self-published, 2019, ISBN 978-1-09-470500-2 , pp. 266 .
  2. ↑ Guido Racca: M&D Borsa Singoli 1960-2019 . Self-published, 2019, ISBN 978-1-09-326490-6 , pp. 368 f .