Rocky Roberts
| Rocky Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charles Roberts |
| Born | Tanner, Alabama[1] |
| Died |
January 14, 2005, age 66[2] Rome, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1960–2004 |
Rocky Roberts (born Charles Roberts) was an American-born Italian singer.
Before he became famous in show business, Roberts served in the United States Navy and was a Navy champion boxer. He first got interested in singing by a country-oriented musician called Doug Fowlkes, who was in a band called the Airdales (US-navy slang for Navy pilots).[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]
In 1967, he 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.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Italian fans rave for 'Bama Singer", UPI in The Beaver County Times, May 6, 1970.
- 1 2 3 4 "Rocky Roberts, 66; Ex-Boxer Made a Hit Record, Movie in Italy", Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2005.
- ↑ "From the Music Capitals of the World: Milan", Billboard, September 30, 1967.
- ↑ Anselmo Núñez Marqués, Western a la Europea-: Un Plato Que Se Sirve Frío (Entrelineas Editores, 2006), ISBN 978-8498024326, pp. 123-125 (in Spanish). Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ↑ Randy Lewis, "Quentin Tarantino discusses the music of 'Django Unchained'", Los Angeles Times, December 25, 2012.
External links
Rocky Roberts at the Internet Movie Database