The Rokes

The Rokes distinguished themselves from other British Invasion acts that emerged from England, largely because of where and how their career unfolded. Sales stayed modest on home soil and never materialized across the Atlantic, yet the band achieved major status in Italy while exerting a striking, roundabout influence on 1960s rock through a composition they first unveiled in Italian.

London native Shel Shapiro, born in 1943, began his career as guitarist and vocalist with Rob Storm & the Whispers, later known as the Rob Storme Group, and subsequently backed Gene Vincent on an English tour. He next performed in Hamburg with the Shel Carson Combo before joining the group that supported Colin Hicks—Tommy Steele’s brother—throughout an extended 1963 Italian trek. The musicians who later recorded with Hicks took the name Cabin Boys, a lineup that placed Shel Shapiro on guitar and vocals, Johnny Charlton on guitar and vocals, Bobby Posner on bass and vocals, and Roger Shepstone on drums and vocals.

An Italian manager brought the Cabin Boys to his attention, arranged their split from Hicks, and prompted the new name the Rokes. They began by supporting female singer Rita Pavone onstage before signing directly with Italian RCA. Their initial single under the Rokes banner, a version of “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” found no buyers. A subsequent Italian-language effort also stalled, yet every release thereafter appeared in Italian, with English-language counterparts issued abroad. In 1965 the group adapted Clint Ballard’s “I’m Alive” as “Grazie a Te” and Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room” as “C’e Una Strana Espressione Nei Tuoi Occhi,” reaching numbers 12 and 11 on the Italian charts. Those hits preceded their debut album, and 1966 yielded further Top 20 entries with “Che Colp Abbiamo Noi” and “E La Pioggia Che Va.” The same year the Rokes placed second in a poll ranking Italy’s most popular beat groups.

Shapiro’s co-authorship of “Piangi Con Me” supplied the band’s greatest success and its most far-reaching effect beyond Italy; the song became a domestic hit and surfaced in England as “Let’s Live for Today.” The Rokes’ own recording remained relatively restrained and introspective. The Living Daylights covered it first, but the Grass Roots’ bolder, more dramatic American rendition—produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri—secured its lasting place in music and popular culture. That single surpassed two million copies sold, endured as one of the period’s signature hits with special significance for Vietnam veterans, and anticipated the sound that would elevate Bruce Springsteen to stardom nine years later.

The Rokes derived no benefit from the track’s American triumph. Although they issued several English-language singles in England and adopted evolving styles that included the psychedelic “When the Wind Arises,” they never charted there. Their appeal remained an Italian phenomenon, capped by a number-two hit in 1967. They stayed in favor locally, appearing alongside the Cowsills at the 1968 San Remo Festival, and continued to place records on Italian charts into 1969. Changing public tastes for pop and rock eventually prompted the group’s breakup in summer 1970. Italian RCA released a retrospective album in 1972. Shapiro kept writing and producing, establishing his own label in Milan in 1977, while the other members eventually departed the music business.