THE JOHNNY ROCCO BAND

No-one in this band is named Johnny Rocco - presumably they named themselves after Edward G. Robinson's bad guy in the 1948 film Key Largo. The band was formed in late 1974 with Leo de Castro, on vocals (ex-Friends, King Harvest), Tony Buchanan on saxophone (ex-Thunderbirds, Daly-Wilson Big Band), Russell Dunlop on drums (ex-Aesop's Fables, Levi Smith's Clefs, Mother Earth), Tim Partridge on bass guitar (ex-Clockwork Oringe, King Harvest, Island, Mighty Kong) and Mark Punch on guitar and vocals (ex-Mother Earth). They were "one of the first Australian bands to incorporate funk and soul into the pub-rock forum". In August 1975 they issued a single, "Heading in the Right Direction", which was covered by Renée Geyer after Punch had joined her backing band. He was replaced by Harris Campbell. Buchanan had also departed prior to the recording of their album.

In January 1976 Johnny Rocco Band released their debut album, 'Rocco', on the Ritz Gramophone label, distributed by Festival Records. Tony Catterall of The Canberra Times compared it with American singer, Felix Cavaliere"s second solo album, 'Destiny' (1975). Catterall felt that "while Cavaliere is just as powerful as the Rocco Band's Leo de Castro, he's much sweeter. And his own falsetto, plus the use of female back-up singers, points up the limitations of de Castro's voice." In August that year Catterall previewed a gig by Johnny Rocco Band as "definitely one of the hottest hot-soul bands in the country, featuring the downright "baaaad" voice of Leo de Castro, a legend amongst those who know." The album was released in the USA, Italy and Canada. The Johnny Rocco Band toured the United States east coast in 1976 to promote their album but after finding little success the band broke up. Leo de Castro died in 2019. Tim Partridge died in 2020.

Members

Mark Punch (guitar, vocals), Tony Buchanan (saxophone), Tim Partridge (bass), Russell Dunlop (drums), Leo De Castro (vocals), Mick Kenny (keyboards), Harris Campbell (guitar), Sunil DeSilva (percussion)

                                       

SINGLES 
''Heading In The Right Direction / Funky Max'' 1975 Festival 
''We're Gonna Have A Good Time / Who's This Guy'' 1976 The Ritz Gramophone Company 

ALBUMS 

'Rocco' 1975 The Ritz Gramophone Company

References

https://alchetron.com/Leo-de-Castro