Rocky Roberts (August 23, 1940 – January 13, 2005) was an American-born Italian rhythm and blues singer. He was known for always wearing dark sunglasses. He is said to have introduced soul music to Italy, and set fashion trends for Italian youths in the 1960s.
Born Charles Roberts in Tanner, a small town in Alabama, he was the fourth child of a modest family. He was fatherless at the age of eight; He began to work very young, practicing various trades. Moving to Miami, Florida, he enlisted in the United States Navy and was embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Independence in Boca Chica Key West. Here he had some success in boxing , to the point of winning four championships in the welterweight category, in the various stages of US naval missions abroad. However, during a match, a blow to the jaw and left eye seriously injured him, forcing him to abandon boxing and to wear dark glasses which, in addition to covering the scar, gave him the artistic look that distinguished him in the following years.
During a French concert, they were noticed by a Barclay executive, who offered them a contract at the ATCO studios in New York City where they recorded a series of 45s and EPs. Which were published since 1960 (in Italy by Vis Radio ) under the name Rocker Roberts with Doug Fowlkes and the Airedales . The band then reorganized in 1963 under the name of Rocky Roberts and The Airedales with Doug Fowlkes as producer and manager. Roberts became quite popular in France, playing classics such as Stax and Motown, eventually winning the international Rock 'n' Roll championship in Cannes in 1964.
Rocky Roberts was noticed by Renzo Arbore and Gianni Boncompagni in 1965, who called him to Rome to entrust him with the theme song of the Bandiera Gialla radio program, with his song, in English, "T-Bird", at the time known and published only in France. Meanwhile, Roberts recorded two more 45s for Barclay,
He also appeared on the state run television network almost weekly as one of the highest paid singers in the country. His American accent didn't stop him from having hits and he was well known for his energetic Italian language cover versions of Motown & Atlantic soul hits, live and on record. In 1968 Rocky left the Airdales and formed the Pyranas. In 1969 Rocky participated in the Sanremo Festival, paired with the singer Robertino, with the song Le belle donne. Also the following year he took part in the important singing event proposing the song "Accidenti" together with The Supergroup.
In the period between 1970 and 1973 he made European tours, especially in France and Spain. In the same period he married Katia, an Italian girl who gave him a son, Randy, born in 1974. Rocky settled in Rome and in the late seventies, despite being very busy with live appearances, tours abroad and participation in television programs, he often returned to the recording studio to revisit timeless hits and also to make some soul covers inspired by the great Otis Redding . He then released some 45s for various labels ( Decca , Riviera , Barclay , Ariston Records ), but without reaching the success of the late sixties.
In the eighties he returned to live in America. Here, after a long period of musical inactivity, he recorded Dedicated, released in 1990, an album that was once again successful in Italy and Europe. Returning to Italy in 1997, he saw his son Randy perform at the Sanremo Festival with the song No Stop. Rocky continued his shows until the early 2000’s when, with a perfect role for him, he took part in the second edition of the musical Saturday Night Fever. He died of lung cancer in Rome in 2005 at the age of 64.
(Edited from Wikipedia. IMDb, Discogs, Beaver County Times & Surfinbird @ Center Blog)