John Rocca
| John Rocca | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 July 1960 London, England |
| Genres | Dance, post-disco, freestyle, electro |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels | Beggars Banquet |
| Associated acts |
Freeez Midi Rain |
John Rocca (born 23 September 1960, London, England) became known first as a dance music performer, remixer, and record producer. During the early 1980s, Rocca formed, played with, wrote for, produced and managed his first musical band, Freeez. After his first self-funded and self-released effort, "Keep in Touch", a No. 49 hit in the UK Singles Chart, his next effort, "Southern Freeez" was a chart success in various other countries in Europe, reaching No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
During 1983, one of the first records to use digital sampling, "IOU", featured Rocca's falsetto voice and became one of the major dance successes of the 1980s electro music style. It scored number one in dance charts in Europe and the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and had popular music chart success across the world spending three weeks at number 2 in the UK.
As a solo artist, Rocca scored number one again, this time with "I Want It To Be Real", on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart during 1984. Rocca retired from the music business during 1993. His last recording, using the pseudonym Midi Rain, reached No. 1 on the Billboard US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with Shine. In 2012, Rocca uploaded a new ambient-style album called Just Be...[1]
Singles
| Year | Song title / singles | UK Singles Chart |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "I.O.U." (Freeez) (Streetwise, Beggars Banquet) | - |
| 1983 | "Pop Goes My Love" (Freeez) (Streetwise, Beggars Banquet) | - |
| 1984 | "My World Is Empty Without You" (Streetwise, Beggars Banquet) | - |
| 1984 | "Once Upon a Time" (Streetwise, Beggars Banquet) | - |
| 1984 | "I Want It To Be Real" (City Beat) | - |
| 1986 | "I.O.U." (featuring Freeez) (Criminal Records) | - |
| 1987 | "Extra Extra"/"Move" (City Beat) | - |
| 1987 | "Move" (Criminal Records) | - |
| 1985 | "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" - Pink Rhythm Feat. John Rocca | - |
Albums
| Title | Release date |
Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | U.S. R&B albums | UK Albums Chart[2] | ||
| Extra Extra | June 1987 | - | - | - |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of number-one dance hits (UK)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
- ↑ "welcome the day". YouTube. 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 214. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.