Rocky Roberts
| Rocky Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Roberts |
| Born | Tanner, Alabama[1] |
| Died |
January 14, 2005, age 66[2] Rome, Italy |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1960-2004 |
Rocky Roberts (born Charles Roberts) was an American singer who became popular in Italy.
Before his singing career, Roberts served in the United States Navy and was a Navy champion boxer. He was in a band called The Airedales. He won a singing competition while on shore leave in Juan-les-Pins, France, and remained in Europe after retiring from the Navy in 1962.[1][2] 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, and he appeared in several other films. He was known for always wearing dark sunglasses.[1][2]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Italian fans rave for 'Bama Singer", UPI in The Beaver County Times, May 6, 1970.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "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.
Exteranal links
Rocky Roberts at the Internet Movie Database