THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,370) The Rokes — “When the Wind Arises”
This ’68 B-side, by a British group that made it big in Italy, is a dramatic, brooding and “splendid example of early psychedelic pop” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-live-for-today-the-rokes-in-english-1966-1968-mw0000800756), and the group’s “most impressive recording”. (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Real Life Permanent Dreams: a Cornucopia of British Psychedelia 1965-1970) It is actually based on an Italian song, “Il Vento” (“The Wind”, of course), that had shortly before been released as a much more subdued and reflective A-side by the Italian group Dik Dik, and later in a more rocking version by its co-songwriter Lucio Battisti.
Bruce Eder:
[The Rokes] They never sold many records in England, or any in America, but they were a major act in Italy and also managed to make an extraordinary, albeit indirect, impact on the 1960s with a song that they originally premiered in Italian. London-born Shel Shapiro . . . had broken into music as a guitarist and singer with Rob Storm & the Whispers (later the Rob Storme Group) and subsequently backed Gene Vincent during a tour of England. He played in Hamburg as a member of the Shel Carson Combo and then became a member of the band backing Colin Hicks, the brother of Tommy Steele, on an extended tour of Italy in 1963. This group, who later recorded with Hicks, took the name of the Cabin Boys . . . . The[y] came to the attention of a manager in Italy who got them to sever their ties to Hicks and rename themselves the Rokes. They started out playing on stage behind a female singer named Rita Pavone but were signed to Italian RCA on their own. Their debut release under their new name was a single of “Shake, Rattle and Roll” that failed to sell. Another recording effort, this time in Italian, failed, but their future releases would all be in Italian, with English-language versions issued overseas. The group cut a version of Clint Ballard’s “I’m Alive” under the title “Grazie a Te” and Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room” as “C’e Una Strana Espressione Nei Tuoi Occhi” in 1965 that reached numbers 12 and 11 in Italy, respectively. These two hits were followed by their debut album and they had further Top 20 successes in 1966 with “Che Colp Abbiamo Noi” and “E La Pioggia Che Va.” That same year, the Rokes also won second place in a poll of the most popular beat groups in Italy. Their big success and their major impact on the world of rock & roll beyond Italy, however, came when Shapiro co-authored a song called “Piangi Con Me,” a hit for the group in Italy and later released in England by the group as “Let’s Live for Today.” The Rokes’ version was relatively subdued and reflective. It was first covered by a band called the Living Daylights, but it was when the song was picked up by the Grassroots in America and recorded in a more defiant and dramatic fashion than the Rokes’ original . . . that it made a permanent impact on music and American popular culture. That record not only sold more than two million copies, but became one of the most enduring hit singles of its period . . . . The Rokes never benefited from the song’s success in America. Despite releasing several singles in English in England and evolving new sounds with the times, including moving into psychedelia with “When the Wind Arises,” they never charted there. They remained an Italian phenomenon, scoring a number two hit in 1967. They remained in vogue in Italy . . . and continued to chart records there into 1969. By then, the public taste for pop/rock in Italy was changing and the group broke up during the summer of 1970.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-rokes-mn0000306929#biography
As to Dik Dik, Craig Harris writes that:
American and British pop tunes have been translated into Italian and successfully re-recorded by Milan-based band, Dik Dik. Their many hits included Italian versions of the Mamas And The Papas’ “California Dreaming”, Tim Hardin’s “If I Were A Carpenter” and the Turtles’ “Happy Together”. Taking their name from an African gazelle, known for its jumping ability, Dik Dik was briefly known, in the early-1960s, as Dreamers and Squali. . . . Dik Dik scored an Italian hit with their debut Beatle-esque single, “1-2-3”, in 1966. Although they maintained a low profile in the late-70s and ‘80s, Dik Dik re-surfaced with a hit single, “Isole In Viaggio”, in 1997.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dik-dik-mn0000256592#biography
“Il Vento” was written by Lucio Battisti and Mogol (Giulio Rapetti). Of Battisti, Greg Prato tells us:
Italian singer/songwriter Lucio Battisti . . . was considered among the most legendary and influential musicians and songwriters in Italian rock and pop. . . . Interested in pursuing a career in music, Battisti relocated to Milan (Italy’s musical headquarters), where he sought the aid of a French talent scout, Christine Leroux. Leroux took Battisti under her wing, and he penned three sizeable hits in 1966 for other artists (“Per Una Lira” for Ribelli, “Dolce di Giorno” for Dik Dik, and “Uno in Più” for Riki Maiocchi). Battisti continued to write tunes for others in the late ’60s, as well as issuing his inaugural solo singles. During this time, the U.S. rock group the Grass Roots scored a hit stateside with one of Battisti’s compositions, “Balla Linda.” 1969 saw another one of Battisti’s compositions, “Il Paradiso (If Paradise Is Half as Nice),” become a hit in the U.K. when covered by the group Amen Corner, hitting the number one spot on the singles chart. Bolstered by his songwriting success, Battisti issued his 1969 self-titled debut album, which spawned the Italian hits “Acqua Azzurra, Acqua Chiara” and “Mi Ritorni in Mente.” Battisti continued to release solo albums on a regular basis throughout the ’70s.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lucio-battisti-mn0000252021#biography
Here is Dik Dik:
Here is Dik Dik live:
Here is Lucio Battisti’s version:
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