Dickie Rock

Irish singer (born 1936)

Dickie Rock
Birth nameRichard Rock
Born (1936-10-10) 10 October 1936 (age 87)
Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Musical artist

Richard "Dickie" Rock (born 10 October 1936) is an Irish singer.[1] He experienced much success on the Irish charts during the 1960s, but has continued on as a popular live act as well as occasionally hitting the charts ever since.

Early fame

Rock was born in the North Strand, Dublin and raised in Cabra on Dublin's Northside.[2]

Between 1963 and 1972, he was one of the frontmen of the Miami Showband[2] (who were later in the headlines due to the Miami Showband killings incident). He had 13 top ten hits with the Miami Showband, including seven number ones.[3] Dickie Rock and the Miami Showband were the first Irish artists to go straight into the number one spot with "Every Step of the Way" in 1965.[4] During his time with the Miami Showband, Rock attracted the kind of mass hysteria normally reserved for The Beatles.[5]

In 1966, he sang for Ireland in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, "Come Back to Stay".[2] He entered as a solo artist and finished joint fourth (with Belgium).[6] This song also became a number one hit in Ireland.

Solo years

Rock went solo in 1973, although still performed occasionally with the Miami Showband after this.[2]

Later years

Rock continued to tour well into his eighties. Following a third RTÉ documentary (one in the 1960s, another in the 1980s and another in 2006) about Rock and his place at the forefront of the Irish showband scene, he received a lifetime achievement award in October 2009. In 2019, he announced his final tour would be held in October that year.[7] In 2021, at the age of 84, Rock retired from showbusiness due to hearing problems.[8]

Personal life

Rock married his wife Judy (née Murray) in 1966.[9] Judy died in April 2022 several weeks after contracting COVID-19.[10][11]

Discography

  • Irish chart singles
  • 1963 "There's Always Me" (IR #1)
  • 1964 "I'm Yours" (#1)
  • 1964 "From the Candy Store On the Corner" (#1)
  • 1965 "Just for Old Time's Sake" (#2)
  • 1965 "Round and Round" (#2)
  • 1965 "Every Step of the Way" (#1)
  • 1965 "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (#4)
  • 1965 "Wishing it Was You" (#1)
  • 1966 "Come Back to Stay" (#1)
  • 1966 "Darling I Love You" (#4)
  • 1967 "When You Cry" (#7)
  • 1967 "Baby I'm Your Man" (#13)
  • 1968 "Simon Says" (#1)
  • 1968 "Christmas Time and You" (#10)
  • 1969 "Emily" (#12)
  • 1970 "When My Train Comes In" (#15)
  • 1971 "My Heart Keeps Telling Me" (#7)
  • 1971 "Cathedral in the Pines" (#15)
  • 1972 "Till (Mini Monster)" (#9)
  • 1973 "The Last Waltz" (#15) – first solo single
  • 1973 "Maxi single" (#11)
  • 1977 "Back Home Again" (#1)
  • 1978 "It's Almost Like a Song" (#18)
  • 1980 "Coward of the County" (#11)
  • 1982 "When the Swallows Come Back from Capistrano" (#24)
  • 1988 "The Wedding" (#18)
  • 1989 "I'll Never Stop Wanting You" (#10)
  • 1989 "Come Home to Ireland for Christmas" (#25)

References

  1. ^ ""Miriam Meets...", 18 October 2009". Rte.ie. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2113. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Irish charts – straight in at No.1". Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  5. ^ O'Toole, Fintan (2023). We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-1-324-09287-2.
  6. ^ "Official Eurovision website – 1966". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  7. ^ O'Loughlin, Mikie (25 August 2019). "Showband star Dickie Rock has announced his retirement from touring music". RSVP Live. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  8. ^ Carter, Erica (20 November 2021). "Showband star Dickie Rock says his career is 'finished' as he's forced to retire". RSVP Live. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  9. ^ Jordan, Ailbhe (10 October 2020). "Dickie Rock shares heartbreak after wife Judy's five week hospital trauma". RSVP Live. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  10. ^ Hyland, Paul (25 April 2022). "Showband legend Dickie Rock 'devastated' after losing beloved wife Judy (75) to Covid". Irish Independent. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Judy Rock, the wife of Irish showband legend Dickie Rock, has passed away in a Dublin hospital. Mrs Rock (75) was being treated at St Vincent's Hospital for several weeks after contracting Covid-19, but she sadly died earlier this evening... It comes as last month both Dickie and Judy contracted Covid-19. Dickie Rock (85) was very unwell and said he was suffering from flu-like symptoms, but he was able to recover at home. However, Judy required hospital treatment and was eventually taken into the intensive care unit.
  11. ^ Collins, Liam (30 April 2022). "'She was our rock': Singer Dickie's late wife Judy remembered as a private person who kept the show on the road". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
Preceded by Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
1966 		Succeeded by
  • v
  • t
  • e
ParticipationArtistsSongs
  • "22"
  • "All Kinds of Everything"
  • "Born to Sing"
  • "Ceol an Ghrá"
  • "Chance of a Lifetime"
  • "Come Back to Stay"
  • "Could It Be That I'm in Love"
  • "Cross Your Heart"
  • "Do I Dream"
  • "Doomsday Blue"
  • "Dreamin'"
  • "Dying to Try"
  • "Et Cetera"
  • "Every Song Is a Cry for Love"
  • "Happy Man"
  • "Heartbeat"
  • "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"
  • "Hold Me Now"
  • "Horoscopes"
  • "If I Could Choose"
  • "If My World Stopped Turning"
  • "In Your Eyes"
  • "Irelande Douze Pointe"
  • "Is Always Over Now?"
  • "It's for You"
  • "It's Nice to Be in Love Again"
  • "Lipstick"
  • "Love?"
  • "Maps"
  • "Millennium of Love"
  • "Mysterious Woman"
  • "One Day Love"
  • "Only Love Survives"
  • "Playing with Numbers"
  • "The Real Me"
  • "Rock 'n' Roll Kids"
  • "Somewhere in Europe"
  • "Story of My Life"
  • "Sunlight"
  • "Take Him Home"
  • "Terminal 3"
  • "That's Rich"
  • "That's What Friends Are For"
  • "They Can't Stop the Spring"
  • "Together"
  • "The Voice"
  • "The Wages of Love"
  • "Wait Until the Weekend Comes"
  • "Walking the Streets in the Rain"
  • "Waterline"
  • "We Are One"
  • "We've Got the World"
  • "What's Another Year"
  • "When"
  • "When You Need Me"
  • "Why Me?"
  • "Without Your Love"
  • "You Can Count On Me"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where Ireland did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Artists
Songs
  • "Bien plus fort"
  • "Brez besed"
  • "Ce soir je t'attendais"
  • "Chez nous"
  • "Come Back to Stay"
  • "Dio, come ti amo"
  • "Ele e ela"
  • "Fernando en Filippo"
  • "Intet er nytt under solen"
  • "A Man Without Love"
  • "Merci, Chérie"
  • "Ne vois-tu pas ?"
  • "Nygammal vals"
  • "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel"
  • "Playboy"
  • "Stop - mens legen er go'"
  • "Yo soy aquél"
  • "Die Zeiger der Uhr"

External links

  • Dickie Rock at IMDb
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • FAST
  • ISNI
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  • VIAF
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National
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  • BnF data
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  • United States
Artists
  • MusicBrainz