[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     ROCCO SCOTTI--A GREAT AMERICAN

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise to recognize tonight Rocco Scotti, 
a talented and patriotic singer from my home State of Ohio, who is a 
fixture in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, northeast Ohio, a fixture at 
Cleveland Indians baseball games and just about any public event in our 
community that matters.
  Rocco, because of the countless times he has sung our national anthem 
at local, national, and international events, has truly earned the 
title of ``Star-Spangled Banner Singer of the Millennium.''
  Rocco, an Italian American whose family is from Italy's east coast, 
grew up in Cleveland and started his vocal training in opera. He first 
performed the national anthem publicly in 1974 at an Indians-Orioles 
game.
  Since that time, he has become a regularly featured national anthem 
singer for both American and National League baseball games, games 
played in Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York, for the Baltimore Orioles, 
Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, LA Dodgers. The 
list goes on and on. Rocco has also had the honor of performing the 
national anthem for Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
  Rocco's list of accomplishments doesn't end there. He was awarded the 
United States civilian Purple Heart for inspiring patriotism for his 
exceptional performance of the national anthem, and he has performed 
the anthem on national television for events such as the NBC game of 
the week, an American League playoff game, the 1981 All Star game, and 
countless other televised sporting events. Dubbed by People's magazine 
as one of the best anthem singers in America, he is the first singer to 
perform the national anthem for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 
Cooperstown, NY. He is a featured singer for the Indians, Cleveland 
Cavaliers, and Cleveland Force, and he is the permanent singer of the 
anthem for the Football Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, OH.
  While Rocco is most known for his rendition of the national anthem, 
he is also a featured singer of other nations' anthems. He has sung the 
Polish national anthem for Polish boxing team matches, the Hungarian 
national anthem for Hungarian basketball games, the Italian national 
anthem for Italian soccer team contests, and the Israeli national 
anthem for the appearance of the Assistant Prime Minister of Israel in 
Cleveland.
  Needless to say, Rocco Scotti is an American icon. His voice, indeed, 
is a national treasure. What impresses me most about Rocco isn't so 
much his beautiful voice, although it is beautiful, but his amazing 
attitude about his heritage, his life here in this great country. Rocco 
said the following to me once:

       I am very, very proud that with my Italian heritage, God 
     has given me the honor of performing our country's greatest 
     and most meaningful song.

  For that kind of patriotism, love of country, I wish to say thank you 
to Rocco. I am proud to call him the Star-Spangled Banner Singer of the 
Millennium.

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