Johnny & the roccos
JOHNNY AND THE ROCCOS is a band that knows their stuff inside out - accordingly high is the "marking line" for their musical quality. Bob Fish, born in a small town in the south of Scotland, is the head and frontman of this classic trio. He grew up with this kind of music in the 50's and learned his trade - to play the guitar - starting from the bottom. When only 13 years old, he had his first band, with 15 the first TV-show. In the 60's he toured with his Skiffle-band and ran his own folk-club where he booked well-known bands. But the biggest influence of them all and the "red thread" of his career was and still is the music of the 1950's: Rock'n'Roll, Country, Blues.
As early as 1972 Bob Fish founded that band that made his name famous in the music scene of Europe. He named the group JOHNNY AND THE ROCCOS. As a classic trio this band was to become one of the most successful of that kind of music in Europe. Bob Fish developed into the guitarist, who US-musicians requested to have in their backing-band whilst on tour in Europe. Charlie Gracie once said: "I wish I had them with me in the early days" and Billy Lee Riley agreed: "I could have used these guys at SUN". Such compliments don't come out of the blue.
With musical perfection and partly original 50's-equipment Bob Fish has created a sound, that could not be any more powerful and stunning. His guitar technique has gained him the reputation of a guitar wizard as his style of playing sometimes is close to witchcraft. For about 20 years Bob Fish plays the original Gibson-guitar that was once owned by Scotty Moore - Elvis Presley's guitar player who recorded with him in the 50's for SUN Records in Memphis/ Tennessee on the songs that made Presley famous!
The high quality standard of their work secured Johnny and the Roccos a very good reputation in the music scene and they are often chosen to tour with or to back American artists such as Chuck Berry (who they supported on two nationwide major theatre tours in Great Britain), Little Richard, Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Wanda Jackson, Warren Smith, Emmylou Harris, Vernon Oxford, Hayden Thompson, Merrill E. Moore, The Bellamy Brothers, Fats Domino, Linda Gail Lewis (Jerry Lee's sister), Janis Martin, Tommy Sands, Frankie Ford, Sleepy LaBeef, and many many more. In the late 70's it was Johnny and the Roccos, who were booked as the backing band for SUN-Legends Ray Smith, Billy Lee Riley and Warren Smith on their first European tours. They all appreciated Bob Fish's "no nonsense attitude" when it came down to the professional side of music.
With Country and Rock´n´Roll-Legend Jackie Lee Waukeen Cochran Johnny and the Roccos have recorded the Album Fiddle Fit Man that hit the British Country Charts and went to the Top Three! They also were the backing band for New Orleans R&B-piano player Frankie Ford on his album New Orleans Dynamo and with Bob Fish's original title Tarzan Boogie they went to number 1 in the Norwegian charts!
The band turned professional in 1975 and is "on the road" full time ever since then. For more than two and a half decades they have now continuously toured the European continent and are also very welcome guests in the USA. Bob Fish has been invited to perform at music-festivals in the States several times and to provide the guitar-backing for well-known Rock'n'Roll artists. Amongst others he twice played the Memphis-In-May-Festival in Memphis/ Tennessee - with approx. 165.000 visitors one of the biggest festivals held in the entire USA - together with Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess. In 2001 they were opening the show for Bob Dylan who himself is a great fan of Riley's music. Bob Fish also performed at a casino-show in Green Bay/ Wisconsin together with Billy Lee Riley. Also announced was Jerry Lee Lewis (who never showed up, so Riley and the band did a full length show for the sold out venue!) In March 2002 Johnny and the Roccos toured in Sweden and Germany together with Hayden Thompson.
On many occasions throughout the last years they were chosen as the backing band for Linda Gail Lewis who recently received great recognition for her projects with Van Morrison. In 2004 Johnny and the Roccos and Linda Gail Lewis will be touring Germany, France and Great Britain together.
Johnny and the Roccos work a lot at major festivals and events throughout Europe. As their music is so many-sided it appeals to listeners of any age and musical preference. The long list of their appearances at big festivals reaches from the Donauinselfest in Vienna/ Austria to the Formulae-1-Races in Monaco, from the Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow/ Scotland to the Tennis Open in Sopot/ Poland and from the annual Rock'n'Roll-Festival in Munich/ Germany to huge US-car-meetings in Sweden.
In April 2000 Johnny and the Roccos have recorded a new Live-album on Rattlesnake Records of Munich/ Germany. The live atmosphere on this double-CD-album is captured so well it makes you believe you're actually at the gig! You will also enjoy the brilliant sound as every technical effort has been taken to present the listener with the highest quality possible. The enormous repertoire of bandleader Bob Fish and his two sidemen covers the whole range of classic Rock'n'Roll, Rockabilly and Country. On the CD you will find
*early material of the legendary recording company SUN-Records of Memphis/ Tennessee like Elvis Presley's That's Allright Mama, Carl Perkins´ Honey Don't and Matchbox or Billy Lee Riley's Flyin' Saucers Rock'n'Roll
*pure 50's classics as Buddy Holly's Midnight Shift and Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Chuck Berry's Maybelline and Roll Over Beethoven, Eddie Cochran's Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie and C'mon Everybody
*classic country like Don Gibson´s Blue Blue Day and Sea Of Heartbreak or Moon Mullican's Cherokee Boogie
*and of course many of the band's own titles like Rough Cut, Baby You're Playin' With Fire, Rocco Rumble or I Hate The Disco
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