Dickie Rock

Irish singer (1936–2024)

Dickie Rock

Birth name| Richard Rock
Born| (1936-10-10)10 October 1936
Dublin, Ireland
Died| 6 December 2024(2024-12-06) (aged 88)
Dublin, Ireland
Occupations|

* Singer
* songwriter

Instrument| Vocals
Years active| 1963–2021
Spouse|

Judy Murray

(m. 1966; died 2022)​

Musical artist

Richard Rock (10 October 1936 - 6 December 2024) was an Irish singer.[1] Chiefly associated with the era of showbands in Ireland, Rock came to prominence as a member of The Miami Showband in the 1960s, subsequently becoming a solo artist in 1973. He represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966. Rock continued to tour for several decades until his retirement in 2021.[2]

## Early career

[edit]

Rock was born on 10 October 1936[3][4] in the North Strand, Dublin, and raised in Cabra on Dublin's Northside.[5]

Between 1963 and 1972, he was one of the frontmen of the Miami Showband,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] During his time with the Miami Showband, Rock attracted the kind of mass hysteria normally reserved for The Beatles.[8]

In 1966, he sang for Ireland in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, "Come Back to Stay".[5] He entered as a solo artist and finished joint fourth (with Belgium).[9] This song also became a number one hit in Ireland.[10]

## Solo years

[edit]

Rock went solo in 1973, although he still performed occasionally with the Miami Showband after this.[5]

## Later years

[edit]

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.[11] In 2021, at the age of 84, Rock retired from showbusiness, suffering from hearing problems.[12]

## Personal life and death

[edit]

Rock married Judy Murray in 1966.[13] She died in April 2022, several weeks after contracting COVID-19.[14][15]

Rock died at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, on 6 December 2024, at the age of 88.[16][17] He was buried in Cabra on 12 December 2024, after a funeral mass celebrated by Brian D'Arcy at the Church of the Most Precious Blood.[18][19]

## Discography

[edit]

Irish chart singles[20]

* 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

[edit]

1. ^ ""Miriam Meets...", 18 October 2009". Rte.ie. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
2. ^ "Irish singer Dickie Rock dies aged 88". BBC News. 6 December 2024.
3. ^ Nolan, Philip (7 December 2024). "Why iconic entertainer Dickie Rock's death marks the end of a golden era in Irish entertainment". Extra.ie. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
4. ^ Byrne, John (6 December 2024). "Legendary Irish singer Dickie Rock dies aged 88". RTE.ie. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
7. ^ "Irish charts – straight in at No.1". Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Official Eurovision website – 1966". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
10. ^ "Irish singer Dickie Rock dies aged 88". BBC News. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
11. ^ O'Loughlin, Mikie (25 August 2019). "Showband star Dickie Rock has announced his retirement from touring .on the 6 of December 2024 rock passed away.music". RSVP Live. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ 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.
14. ^ 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, his wife required hospital treatment and was eventually taken into the intensive care unit."
15. ^ 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.
16. ^ White, Jack. "Showband singer Dickie Rock dies, aged 88". The Irish Times. No. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
17. ^ O'Loughlin, Ciara (8 December 2024). "Funeral details announced for showband legend Dickie Rock". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
18. ^ "Death Notice of Richard (Dickie) Rock". RIP.ie. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
19. ^ Lynott, Laura (12 December 2024). "Dickie Rock's son performs heartfelt tribute to 'King of Cabra' as showband legend laid to rest". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
20. ^ "Dickie Rock". Irish Showbands. Retrieved 8 December 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Dickie Rock at IMDb
* Dickie Rock discography at Discogs

Preceded by

Butch Moore
with "Walking the Streets in the Rain"

|  Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
1966  | Succeeded by

Sean Dunphy
with "If I Could Choose"

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest

* National selections: Eurosong
* You're a Star (former)

Participation|

* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Artists|

* Bambie Thug
* Black Daisy
* Brooke
* Nicky Byrne
* Can-linn
* Maria Christian
* Kiev Connolly
* Dana
* Muriel Day
* Dervish
* Ryan Dolan
* Donna and Joe
* Chris Doran
* Cathal Dunne
* Sean Dunphy
* The Duskeys
* Dustin the Turkey
* Emmy
* Angela Farrell
* Eddie Friel
* Paul Harrington
* Mickey Harte
* Red Hurley
* Kim Jackson
* Jedward
* Sandie Jones
* Jump the Gun
* Niamh Kavanagh
* Brian Kennedy
* The Lindsays
* Johnny Logan
* Luv Bug
* Dawn Martin
* Linda Martin
* Maxi
* Pat McGeegan
* Charlie McGettigan
* Sarah McTernan
* The Missing Passengers
* Butch Moore
* The Mullans
* Sinéad Mulvey
* Brendan Murray
* Gary O'Shaughnessy
* Ryan O'Shaughnessy
* Eimear Quinn
* Liam Reilly
* Tina Reynolds
* Marc Roberts
* Dickie Rock
* Lesley Roy
* Sheeba
* Kasey Smith
* Molly Sterling
* The Swarbriggs
* Eamonn Toal
* Wild Youth
* Colm C.T. Wilkinson

Songs|

* "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"
* "Laika Party"
* "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. Italics indicate an entry in a future contest.
* See also: Irish Eurovision discography

* v
* t
* e

Eurovision Song Contest 1966

Countries|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Ireland
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Yugoslavia

Artists|

* Berta Ambrož
* Margot Eskens
* Madalena Iglésias
* Udo Jürgens
* Tereza Kesovija
* Åse Kleveland
* Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson
* Kenneth McKellar
* Domenico Modugno
* Ann-Christine Nyström
* Madeleine Pascal
* Raphael
* Dickie Rock
* Milly Scott
* Tonia
* Michèle Torr
* Ulla Pia
* Dominique Walter

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"

Portals:

* Biography
* Music
* Republic of Ireland

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* 2
* 3
* VIAF
* 2
* FAST

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* Yale LUX

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