A Habit of Success for Music (Part 1 of 6)
Photo from the official website of Jose Mari Chan: http://josemarichan.com/
“Success is not given, it is earned.” A slogan we often hear in our society but is always taken for granted. Of course, success is not achieved without hard work, and one of the most hardworking Filipinos in our country today is no other than Jose Mari Chan. Chan was born in Iloilo City on March 11, 1945. Aside from being a successful businessman in the sugar industry though, he is also a well-known singer and songwriter.
Before anything else, we take a look back at the early roots of Jose Mari Chan prior to the success that started to fill in his life. Chan studied in Ateneo de Manila University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. In 1966, he appeared on TV in the popular show of ABS-CBN called “9 Teeners,” he was the host and singer of that show. His first single Afterglow, released in 1967 was a big hit, despite the monopoly of foreign acts such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys in the Philippine music industry. [1]
His first album, “Deep in My Heart,” was released in 1969 and Filipinos across the country got a held of it. His following albums, namely; “Can We Just Stop and Talk a While,” “Afterthoughts” and “Here and Now” soon came after in the following years. [2] Then he made more than twenty signature songs for films, winning him a few nominations at the FAMAS Awards for four straight years. However, he did not stop at that.
Chan migrated to New York in 1975, there he continued to write songs, which were used by various artists for television specials, while managing his sugar trading business for 11 years. Then in 1989, he had a great accomplishment, when his album Constant Change was not just named Album of the Year by the Awit Awards but also achieved Diamond Record as far as sales; it was also highlighted in support for global nations, the likes of Malaysia and Indonesia. [3] The following year, his first Christmas album, “Christmas In our Hearts” reached triple platinum. The carrier single of that album won Best Christmas Recording and Best Album Package in the Awit Awards, making him the groundbreaking holder of the Double Diamond Record Award from the music industry. [4] He composed "We're All Just One" as the signature song of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.
In 2007, he put together twenty-one of his favorite songs in an album called “Love Letters and Other Souvenirs” to commemorate the 40th year of his career. Then in 2011, he released his thirteenth full-length collection The Manhattan Connection: The Songs of Jose Mari Chan, delivered by Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel. The tunes were rethought by music producer Yaron Gershovsky. [5] Some of his other music accolades include the following: Ten Young Oustanding Young Men of the Philippines for the Arts, Ten Outstanding Young Men Awards in 1974, Lifetime Achievement Award and Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino Award of the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry (PARI), Antonio C. Barreiro Lifetime Achievement Award of Metro Pop Foundation Dangal ng OPM Award, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) in 2011, and so on.
Jose Mari Chan is not only a brilliant songwriter/ composer and film scorer, he is the epitome of hard work and perseverance in which is evident of a Filipino. He is to be mentioned and honored in the likes of Angel Pena and Fr. Horacio Dela Costa. For just like them, he also paved the way for music to flourish in our country. His accomplishments and awards inspires and at the same time, challenges the youth of the future generation to strive in the development of music here in the Philippines. He is a "living legend" and in fact, proof that success can be practiced in the field of music.
[1] "Jose Mari Chan." Philippine Music Registry. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://philippinemusicregistry.com.ph/main/artist/view/162.
[2] "Jose Mari Chan." Jose Mari Chan. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://josemarichan.com/?page_id=5215
[3] "Jose Mari Chan." Philippine Music Registry. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://philippinemusicregistry.com.ph/main/artist/view/162.
[4] "Jose Mari Chan." Jose Mari Chan. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://josemarichan.com/?page_id=5215
[5] Ibid
[6] "Jose Mari Chan." Jose Mari Chan. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://josemarichan.com/?page_id=5215