Jose Mari Chan recalls milestones, reflects on his success
After 27 years, ‘Christmas In Our Hearts’ is still like a gift to me. It keeps giving, year after year after year. I’ve been blessed with that song and every day, I thank God for the gift of music.
‘After 27 years, ‘Christmas In Our Hearts’ is still like a gift to me. It keeps giving, year after year after year. I’ve been blessed with that song and every day, I thank God for the gift of music.’
Pinoy Christmas won’t be complete without Jose Mari Chan’s “Christmas In Our Hearts” and “Perfect Christmas” playing in shopping malls, sari-sari stores, public transport, and even in the house next door every 30 minutes or so.
Grateful to have been immortalized by those, as well as his pop hits from decades ago, Jose Mari Chan took a trip down memory lane recently with
Bulletin Entertainment in tow. In 1965, when Jomari was still a student in Ateneo, a producer from ABS-CBN asked him to host a daily TV show called “9 Teeners.”
“But they had to ask my dad’s permission first. So they went to our home and my father asked them, ‘Is it once a week?’ They answered, ‘No sir, it’s every day?’“Jomari recalled.
The father said yes on one condition: Jomari should not get any salary from it.
“I grew up with a businessman father and he always trains me to take over his business. I think, at that time, he didn’t want me to stay away from the path that he wanted me to follow. He saw kasi na I’m enjoying singing and composing and if I got paid doing something I love, I will no longer work with him.”
His love for music remained strong which resulted to his first single, “Afterglow,” followed by his debut LP, “Deep In My Heart.” Decades and several more hits later, Jomari released “Beautiful Girl,” “Please Be Careful With My Heart,” and “Can’t We Start Over Again,” just to name a few, from the “Constant Change” album.
In 1990, Jomari revealed it was Bella Tan, the late managing director of Universal Records, who suggested that he record a Christmas album.
“Christmas In Our Hearts” was a mega hit upon release – despite that Jomari only had a few weeks to write the songs. “When Bella Tan suggested it to me,
sabi ko ‘Oo nga no! I’d never thought of doing a Christmas album.’ So the first thing I did was to gather some Christmas songs on my childhood like ‘Little Christmas Tree,’” he disclosed. “But of course, it will not be complete without an original composition so I wrote ‘Christmas In Our Hearts.’”
“I presented the song to her but she said that it sounds like a Christian song and she doesn’t think radio would play it. But I told her, ‘Well that’s the meaning of Christmas’ but she insisted that I come up with a more romantic type so I wrote ‘Perfect Christmas.’ But you know what, the radio stations chose not ‘Perfect Christmas’ but ‘Christmas In Our Hearts,’” he added, smiling.
“The hand of the Holy Spirit was there from the very beginning. After 27 years, ‘Christmas In Our Hearts’ is still like a gift to me. It keeps giving, year after year after year. I’ve been blessed with that song and every day, I thank God for the gift of music.”
Beyond blessed
Jomari, at 72, still has clean and mesmerizing singing voice. The secret? His healthy lifestyle.
The crooner doesn’t drink alcohol. He doesn’t smoke and he tries to get right amount of sleep as much as possible. “Alcohol is very bad for the vocal cords. I only take wine or champagne but in moderation. I try not to make puyat because that will really kill your voice,” he said.
Jomari is happily married to wife of 47 years, Mary Ann Ansaldo. He has five children and eight grandchildren. His daughter, Liza, has been featured in several duets with him. His son, Michael is also a singer and guitarist.
“I’m very blessed. Thank God for the gift of Mary Ann,” he said, adding that the line “I was expressing millions of faces cutting gold but there’s no one like her” from “Refrain” is about her.
‘Don’t stop’
Jomari has written almost a hundred commercial jingles in his career, most of which he can still sing from memory (and most of which are featured in his 1997 compilation “Strictly Commercial.”)
Jomari admitted it’s tough to be a songwriter these days, especially that technology has seemingly overtaken the industry.
“CD sales are down dramatically. When ‘Beautiful Girl’ came out, at that time, the industry standard for gold is 20 (thousand) sales,” he recalled. “Nowadays, nobody buys CDs anymore, sound stores have shut down. People just share the music through the Internet or they burn it on a CD or store in USB.”
He hasn’t lost faith. Jomari’s advice to aspiring artists is to keep writing songs and save it until these find their market.
“The recording companies are not eager to produce new material and so I’m worried about the future generations like what songs will they sing to. But for songwriters and artists, just don’t stop (writing). Keep it until you find your time to release it.”
Carols
Jomari has kept the spirit of Christmas alive by releasing his 2nd Christmas album “Going Home To Christmas” in 2012.
It is consists of 20 original compositions penned by Jomari, himself.
The singer dedicates “Going Home To Christmas” to Filipino Overseas Workers, quoting the lyrics: “I missed our simple celebration/The home cook meal that’s always such a treat/ The laughter and the cheerful conversation that makes the season so complete” during the interview. “In my concerts abroad, whenever I sing for OFWs….Every time I sing ‘Christmas In Our Hearts,’ be it on the month of April or June, I always see them crying,” he disclosed. “The album is about them, how they miss their family especially on how they miss the spirit of Christmas.” Despite coming from a wealthy family, Jomari has his finger on the pulse of Pinoy music lovers. “I always relate myself to every people, heart-to-heart,” he said, smiling. As part of his 50th anniversary celebration, Jomari will release “The Manhattan Connection 2,” a sequel to 2011’s “The Manhattan Connection.” “The Manhattan Connection” and its sequel are a series of albums produced by Janis Siegel and Yaron Gershovsky featuring some of Jomari’s lesser known songs. With his numerous compositions, the singer shuns the idea of choosing a favorite one saying, every song is unique and equal. “They are all special to me even though some didn’t become a hit. They are all like my child,” he said.
Tribute
To usher in the holiday season this year, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra will play the music of Jomari in a special concert at The Theatre at Solaire Resort and Casino on Dec. 16.
Under the baton of guest conductor Louie Ocampo, the orchestra will perform some of the most memorable music that Jomari composed throughout the years.
Audiences will get to hear live performances of his hits like “A Love To Last,” and “Can We Just Stop And Talk a While,” to be sung by the singer and guest artists Jona, Bituin Escalante, Juris, Markki Stroem, Acapellago, Migz Haleco and Vocal Synergy.
The program will naturally include some of his original Christmas carols like “Christmas In Our Hearts,” “Christmas Children,” and “A Wish On Christmas Night.”
“This is my first time to perform with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s really an honor. I’m very humbled by, thankful and grateful for it,” he said.