Jose Mari Chan ayaw sa titulong ‘Father of Filipino Christmas Songs, mas OK daw tawaging ‘Chan-ta-Claus’
Jose Mari Chan, Roselle Nava at Christian Bautista
HANGGA’T maaari ay ayaw pala ng award-winning veteran singer-songwriter na si Jose Mari Chan na tawagin siyang Father of Filipino Christmas Songs.
In fairness naman kasi kay Jose Mari Chan, siya talaga ang mukha ng Paskong Pinoy sa loob ng mahabang panahon dahil ang mga Christmas songs na pinasikat niya ang nagiging hudyat na parating na ang Kapaskuhan.
Ang kanta niyang “Christmas In Our Hearts” ang unang-unang pinatutugtong pagsapit pa lang ng September na siyang simula ng holiday season sa Pilipinas.
“I don’t want to be called the Father of Filipino Christmas songs. I am not. Long before I was born, there were already many Christmas songs composed by Filipino artists,” ang pahayag ni JMC nang makachikahan namin at ng ilang piling members ng entertainment media last Friday, November 3, sa presscon ng benefit Christmas concert na “YuleStars” na magaganap sa Samsung Performing Arts Theater sa Circuit, Makati City.
Pagpapatuloy ni Jose Mari Chan, “Some kids, they don’t want to call me Christmas king. They’d rather call me ‘Chan-ta-Claus.’ I’m happy to share my blessings.”
Parang hiyang-hiya pa nga si Tito Joe kapag sinasabing siya talaga ang mukha ng Paskong Pinoy sa loob ng maraming taon. Bukod dito, binansagan din siyang King of Pinoy Christmas Memes dahil sa dami ng mga art cards na naglalabasan sa social media pagsapit ng “Ber months.”
Samantala, natanong din si JMC kung ano nga ba ang kanyang secret dahil parang hindi siya tumatanda at sa edad na 78 at tila napakalakas at napakasigla pa rin niya.
Sagot ng OPM legend, isa raw sa mga sikreto ay ang pagsasama nila ng kanyang wifey na si Maryann na umabot na sa 53 years.
“She has given me a lot of wonderful moments together. We’ve shared beautiful experiences. That’s the secret of the joy in my heart, being married to the right woman all my life.
“We’ve been blessed with five children and nine grandchildren. And I always love making my children and grandchildren laugh,” sabi pa niya.
Pero aminado naman si Tito Joe na medyo hirap na rin siyang kumanta ngayon dahil sa kanyang edad kaya naman medyo binawasan daw ang key ng mga kanta niya sa ginagamit niyang minus-one sa mga shows.
“When I bring my minus one to do shows, I have to lower the key because I could no longer reach the original key. I have to be realistic.
“Whenever I do shows, whether it’s Christmas or not, invariably, I start singing my songs from the ‘50s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s. Just like last week, I was in Cebu and I was surprised the audience still remembered Deep In My Heart from 1968.
“I accommodated Deep In My Heart and it was a good thing we brought the minus one of that song. The audience was singing along. It brought me tears of joy. My songs are like my children. Each one is different.
Baka Bet Mo: Jose Mari Chan ibinunyag ang proseso sa paggawa ng kanta, payo sa mga batang musikero: Don’t lose it completely…
“When a song like Deep In My Heart is remembered, it’s like having a child growing up to become president of the bank or admiral of the Philippine Navy. That’s an accomplishment I considered for myself,” ang nakangiting pagbabahagi pa ni Jose Mari Chan.
Kaya sa lahat ng mga supporters ni JMC, maaari n’yo uli siyang mapanood nang live kasama sina Christian Bautista at Roselle Nava sa benefit Christmas concert nilang “YuleStars” concert series, sa December 1, at Samsung Performing Arts Theater, mula sa direksyon ni Calvin Murphy Neria.
Pero bago ito, mauuna munang mag-peform sa “YuleStars” concert series sina Joey Generoso at Angeline Quinto sa November 30, habang sa December 2 naman sina Ogie Alcasid at Nina.
Si Ice Seguerra ang magiging special guests sa November 30 at December 2 shows. Ang proceeds ng tatlong concert ay for the benefit of Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association, Inc. (PMAAAI).
Sabi pa ni Tito Joe, “I want to come out with more albums but the platform has changed. Now, nobody buys CDs anymore. Tower Records is gone. They go to YouTube and download the songs for free. That’s unfortunate.
“Doing concerts is a wonderful opportunity whereby we can sing our songs, our new songs and old ones, to share with our audience.
“I’m very happy that God is using Christian, Roselle and me as tools of love and music to give to our audience. Long live OPM!” ang mensahe pa ni Jose Mari Chan.
Mabibili ang tickets para sa “YuleStars” via Ticketworld.com.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.