Rocky Roberts
American singer
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Charles "Rocky" 'Roberts (August 23, 1940 – January 13, 2005) was an American naturalized Italian rhythm and blues singer.
August 23, 1940
Born in Tanner, Alabama, Roberts served in the United States Navy and was a Navy champion boxer. He first got interested in singing after listening to a country-oriented musician named Doug Fowlkes, whose band the Airdales (US-navy slang for Navy pilots) used to perform on the ship where Roberts was stationed. Fowlkes, impressed by Roberts' voice, eventually agreed to let him sit in with the band.[1]
Roberts won a singing competition while on shore leave in Juan-les-Pins, France, and chose to stay in Europe after retiring from the Navy in 1962.[2][1]
Roberts had a stint in France performing at ORTF television show Les raisins verts, and achieved some success with an early version of "T-Bird" and "Monkiss".
In 1965 Renzo Arbore and Gianni Boncompagni invited Roberts to Rome to record the theme of their Radio Show, Bandiera Gialla. The song, "T-Bird", was a hit in the Italian charts and Roberts settled in Rome.
In 1967, Roberts had a major Italian hit, "Stasera mi butto", which sold 3.7 million copies[1] and won the Festivalbar.[3] The song's success led to a 1967 motion picture of the same title, starring Roberts. He appeared subsequently in several other Italian films.
He was known for always wearing dark sunglasses.[2][1]
Roberts sang the Luis Bacalov-written theme song from the 1966 film, Django.[4] Quentin Tarantino reused the recording as the opening theme for his 2012 film Django Unchained.[5]
He died of lung cancer in Rome in 2005 at the age of 64.[2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Non mi dire mai good-bye | ||
| 1967 | Stasera mi butto | Himself | |
| 1967 | Una ragazza tutta d'oro | Himself | |
| 1968 | I ragazzi di Bandiera Gialla | Himself | |
| 1969 | Il ragazzo che sorride | Rocky | (final film role) |