Maurice Rocco

Maurice Rocco (born Maurice John Rockhold; June 26, 1915 – March 24, 1976) was an American pianist, singer, and composer known for playing boogie-woogie piano and his disdain for using a piano bench. He was a top nightclub and theater draw in the 1940s, and made several film appearances. He toured the United States, Canada, and Europe before becoming a fixture in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was murdered.

Biography

A biography of Maurice Rocco, written by music scholar Benjamin Tausig, was published by Duke University Press in 2025. Maurice Rockhold was born in 1915 in Oxford, Ohio to a music teacher mother. His mother taught him piano starting at a young age, but did not interfere with his interest in rhythm playing as long as he finished his lessons. He worked for radio station WLW. By the early 1940s he was no longer fronting a band, but was working as a solo act.

Between 1940 and 1941 he cut 14 sides for Decca, He did not join active military service because his poor eyesight classified him as 4-F, and as part of the American Forces Network Jubilee radio program. Rocco spent most of the 1940s headlining at nightclubs and theaters (where his engagements would extend into months) and participating in vaudeville revues. By 1944 he had a US $500,000 insurance policy on his hands. He married a woman named Iantha on July 3 of that year. Later in 1945, he appeared in his most famous role in the film Incendiary Blond. His earnings in 1945 topped U.S. $250,000. Despite all the professional success, this marriage was short lived. Iantha filed for divorce before their first anniversary amid allegations of physical and mental abuse.

In the early 1950s he made tours of Europe and Southeast Asia. Alongside Slim Gaillard, he was in 1953 solicited to play a lead role in a film to be entitled "Two Joes from Georgia". Rocco fell into legal difficulties in the 1950s regarding bad checks: he was jailed over Christmas 1957 in Cleveland, and was accused of the same offense in July 1958. He moved to Europe before spending the last 12–15 years of his life performing in Thailand, where he had a residency at the Bamboo Bar in the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. He was found slashed to death in his apartment. The murder occurred on March 24, 1976. The murder weapon was his own Malaysian knife. Billboard described his playing as "Rocking and Riotous" but panned his singing ability. His nightclub performances were known to be uncommonly boisterous for the period, but Duke Ellington and Mabel Mercer praised his ability to perform in a sophisticated manner. and he was known to favor wearing a pea-green dinner jacket. His performance style is said to have influenced Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Legacy and influence Rocco was a headlining act for much of the 1940s, both in the United States and England. Because of his appearances in Hollywood musicals and "soundies" (musical short films) that were exported to Britain during the Second World War, Rocco's playing style was to influence several European post-war boogie-woogie specialists. and Bobby Short.

Recordings Rocco made his first recordings, for Decca, recording 12 sides in 1940 and 1941. Some of his most popular recordings first appeared on the Guild label, where he recorded 8 sides, with Cozy Cole on drums and Mack Stewart on bass. When this label went out of business, its catalog was sold to Musicraft Records in 1946, which re-issued all 8 of them. He cut 10 new sides for Musicraft in September, 1946, 7 of which were re-issued by Allegro on a vinyl 10-inch LP in 1957. A Musicraft album of 78's numbered 449-452 was issued in 1946.

Discography

Title !! Recording Date !! Issue !! Notes

Begin The Beguine, matrix A.G.633-A recorded by Guild and issued as Guild 102. Re-issued as Musicraft 353 A, some with matrix A.G.633-A and some with just 633-A. Re-recorded by Musicraft, matrix 5390-B, and also issued as 353 A. For both songs, the Musicraft paper labels all say 5390 and 5391, only the matrix numbers on the shellac distinguish the takes. Rocco's Boogie Woogie Tonky Blues Tunke Blues 1938 – 52nd Street – himself 1943 – Rhumboogie (short) – himself 1945 – Incendiary Blonde – himself (waiter/pianist) 1947 – Rocco Blues (short) – himself 1947 – Sunny Side of the Street

Radio Rocco appeared regularly on network radio programs. Besides the usual guest spots, he was featured regularly on Duffy's Tavern and The Radio Hall of Fame.