Jose Mari Chan was born and raised in Iloilo City. While still in elementary school, he worked as a radio deejay on weekends. He had a natural talent for music which was further honed during his high school days at St. Clement's in Iloilo where he learned about rhyme and meter. He also perfected his English there, thanks to his participation in dramatics and to the Irish priests who exposed the students to the works of great English writers and poets. He majored in Economics at Ateneo de Manila University but still found time for music, writing songs and performing in a combo. He also emceed local concerts at other universities and soon received an offer to be an emcee on ABS-CBN's youth-oriented "Nineteeners" show.
Besides emceeing he also got the chance to sing some of his songs on TV. Before long he received an offer to record his composition "Afterglow" as a 45 RPM single. The success of this song attracted the attention of Dyna Records, which soon released a full 12-cut album of Joe Mari's music. The title single, the now-classic "Deep in My Heart," was a number one hit all over the Philippines in 1968.
In 1970 he married Mary Ann Ansaldo and for the first year of their marriage the couple worked as missionaries in Japan. Three years later they got the chance to revisit Japan when Joe Mari's song "Can We Stop and Talk Awhile" was selected as the Philippine entry to an international music festival held in Tokyo. The song became a big hit for him back home and led to his being offered his first TV special. In the 1970s he also composed music scores for the movies of many of the Philippines' top directors, a taxing job which did not pay very well.
In addition to his music career Joe Mari also worked for his father at the family's large sugar company. In 1972 when martial law was declared by President Ferdinand Marcos, the sugar industry became a government monopoly and the elder Chan advised his son to try the business out in the US, since they could no longer trade in their own country. So the family relocated to New York where they stayed for eleven years, returning home each July and August.
After the Marcoses were forced out, Joe decided to move his family back home. With the sugar industry having been returned to the private sector by President Corazon Aquino, he was assigned to run a sugar central recently acquired by his family in Negros Occidental,. At the same time he became more successful than ever with his music. He released "Christmas in Our Hearts," which became the all-time best-selling Christmas album in the Philippines. The popular title tune, a duet with daughter Liza, won the Awit Trophy for Best Christmas Recording, an honor he would receive again several years later for "Christmas Past."
In the early 1990s Jose's album "Constant Change" was released, and became a runaway bestseller. It contained several big hits including "Beautiful Girl," "Can't We Start Over Again," "Please Be Careful With My Heart" (duet with Regine Velaquez), "My Girl, My Woman, My Friend" (duet with Janet Basco) and the title song. Some os the songs became hits in other Asian countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. His next album, "Souvenirs" was a departure from his usual fare in that it mostly featured renditions of favorite songs written by other composers, from Glenn Miller to Burt Bacharach to Neil Sedaka.
In 2000 Jose Mari Chan released "Words and Music," a songbook containing the lyrics, guitar chords and piano music for 21 of his best-loved compositions, plus the story behind each song. His hope is that putting the music down on paper will enable his songs to be enjoyed by future generations. "The hope of every composer is for his songs to outlive him and to be sung long after he's gone," he said. The book was very well-received and in 2003 a second volume was released, with 24 more songs.
His latest album, "A Heart's Journey," won the 2003 Awit Award for Album of the Year. The songs have a recurrent theme of love won and lost. Joe Mari's introduction on the album liner notes says, "In this album, I take you down the winding path of a heart's journey. From love's first awakening to the joy of young love, from the thrill of romance to the pain of love lost, all in a heart's journey." Among the highlights: the catchy carrier single "Easier Said Than Done," "A Day in the Life of a Song," which is a new composition that uses titles of Beatle songs, and two versions of "I Have Found My World In You," one sung by daughter Liza, the other by Joe himself.
Unfortunately the wonderful songs of Jose Mari Chan have not yet been discovered by most US music fans except for Fil-Ams. One can only hope that somewhere along the line, some studio musician or record producer familiar with Joe Mari's work will introduce his music to one or more top US recording artists. Surely "Beautiful Girl" recorded by the likes of Ryan Cabrera or Clay Aiken would climb rapidly up the charts! Without a doubt, "Christmas Past" or "A Wish on Christmas Night," if given airplay on US radio stations during the holiday season, could easily become Yuletide favorites in America. It would not be hard to imagine Hilary Duff and a young male costar singing "Please Be Careful with My Heart" to each other in a contemporary movie. Hopefully someday, these scenarios can be more than wishful thinking!
It is now more than 40 years since Jose Mari Chan wrote his first song. His eleven albums have earned him, at last count, 37 platinum and two diamond awards, plus many other honors. He has given concerts all over the world, entertaining Filipinos everywhere with his gentle voice, tuneful melodies, and simple but heartfelt lyrics that the average person can easily identify with. His songs have been performed by almost every top artist in the Philippines as well as by artists in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and other countries. He continues to be a successful entrepreneur in the sugar industry and, more recently, in the hotel business. Yet with all he has accomplished, he remains humble and unassuming, a devoted family man with a strong religious faith. He believes that his music is a gift from God. In the foreword of his Words and Music songbook, Vol. 1, he writes, "It is God who makes the music. Because of this, I cannot lay claim to have 'created' the songs just as I cannot lay claim to have given the breath of life of any of my children. Each child is unique and important just as each song is special and distinct. The songs were born out of different circumstances, created out of different inspiration and each one bears a different fruit."
Joe Mari and four of his five children recently returned from Japan where they gave a series of concerts to benefit the Filipino-Japanese Youth Foundation. The family combo featured son Joe on bass and Michael on piano, with Franco playing the guitar in addition to singing with Liza and their father.
Check our Carousel Pinoy Events Page from time to time to see if Jose Mari Chan has any upcoming concerts in the US or Canada!
Besides emceeing he also got the chance to sing some of his songs on TV. Before long he received an offer to record his composition "Afterglow" as a 45 RPM single. The success of this song attracted the attention of Dyna Records, which soon released a full 12-cut album of Joe Mari's music. The title single, the now-classic "Deep in My Heart," was a number one hit all over the Philippines in 1968.
In 1970 he married Mary Ann Ansaldo and for the first year of their marriage the couple worked as missionaries in Japan. Three years later they got the chance to revisit Japan when Joe Mari's song "Can We Stop and Talk Awhile" was selected as the Philippine entry to an international music festival held in Tokyo. The song became a big hit for him back home and led to his being offered his first TV special. In the 1970s he also composed music scores for the movies of many of the Philippines' top directors, a taxing job which did not pay very well.
In addition to his music career Joe Mari also worked for his father at the family's large sugar company. In 1972 when martial law was declared by President Ferdinand Marcos, the sugar industry became a government monopoly and the elder Chan advised his son to try the business out in the US, since they could no longer trade in their own country. So the family relocated to New York where they stayed for eleven years, returning home each July and August.
After the Marcoses were forced out, Joe decided to move his family back home. With the sugar industry having been returned to the private sector by President Corazon Aquino, he was assigned to run a sugar central recently acquired by his family in Negros Occidental,. At the same time he became more successful than ever with his music. He released "Christmas in Our Hearts," which became the all-time best-selling Christmas album in the Philippines. The popular title tune, a duet with daughter Liza, won the Awit Trophy for Best Christmas Recording, an honor he would receive again several years later for "Christmas Past."
In the early 1990s Jose's album "Constant Change" was released, and became a runaway bestseller. It contained several big hits including "Beautiful Girl," "Can't We Start Over Again," "Please Be Careful With My Heart" (duet with Regine Velaquez), "My Girl, My Woman, My Friend" (duet with Janet Basco) and the title song. Some os the songs became hits in other Asian countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. His next album, "Souvenirs" was a departure from his usual fare in that it mostly featured renditions of favorite songs written by other composers, from Glenn Miller to Burt Bacharach to Neil Sedaka.
In 2000 Jose Mari Chan released "Words and Music," a songbook containing the lyrics, guitar chords and piano music for 21 of his best-loved compositions, plus the story behind each song. His hope is that putting the music down on paper will enable his songs to be enjoyed by future generations. "The hope of every composer is for his songs to outlive him and to be sung long after he's gone," he said. The book was very well-received and in 2003 a second volume was released, with 24 more songs.
His latest album, "A Heart's Journey," won the 2003 Awit Award for Album of the Year. The songs have a recurrent theme of love won and lost. Joe Mari's introduction on the album liner notes says, "In this album, I take you down the winding path of a heart's journey. From love's first awakening to the joy of young love, from the thrill of romance to the pain of love lost, all in a heart's journey." Among the highlights: the catchy carrier single "Easier Said Than Done," "A Day in the Life of a Song," which is a new composition that uses titles of Beatle songs, and two versions of "I Have Found My World In You," one sung by daughter Liza, the other by Joe himself.
Unfortunately the wonderful songs of Jose Mari Chan have not yet been discovered by most US music fans except for Fil-Ams. One can only hope that somewhere along the line, some studio musician or record producer familiar with Joe Mari's work will introduce his music to one or more top US recording artists. Surely "Beautiful Girl" recorded by the likes of Ryan Cabrera or Clay Aiken would climb rapidly up the charts! Without a doubt, "Christmas Past" or "A Wish on Christmas Night," if given airplay on US radio stations during the holiday season, could easily become Yuletide favorites in America. It would not be hard to imagine Hilary Duff and a young male costar singing "Please Be Careful with My Heart" to each other in a contemporary movie. Hopefully someday, these scenarios can be more than wishful thinking!
It is now more than 40 years since Jose Mari Chan wrote his first song. His eleven albums have earned him, at last count, 37 platinum and two diamond awards, plus many other honors. He has given concerts all over the world, entertaining Filipinos everywhere with his gentle voice, tuneful melodies, and simple but heartfelt lyrics that the average person can easily identify with. His songs have been performed by almost every top artist in the Philippines as well as by artists in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and other countries. He continues to be a successful entrepreneur in the sugar industry and, more recently, in the hotel business. Yet with all he has accomplished, he remains humble and unassuming, a devoted family man with a strong religious faith. He believes that his music is a gift from God. In the foreword of his Words and Music songbook, Vol. 1, he writes, "It is God who makes the music. Because of this, I cannot lay claim to have 'created' the songs just as I cannot lay claim to have given the breath of life of any of my children. Each child is unique and important just as each song is special and distinct. The songs were born out of different circumstances, created out of different inspiration and each one bears a different fruit."
Joe Mari and four of his five children recently returned from Japan where they gave a series of concerts to benefit the Filipino-Japanese Youth Foundation. The family combo featured son Joe on bass and Michael on piano, with Franco playing the guitar in addition to singing with Liza and their father.
Check our Carousel Pinoy Events Page from time to time to see if Jose Mari Chan has any upcoming concerts in the US or Canada!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
フィリピンのホセマリーチャン 更新情報
-
最新のイベント
-
まだ何もありません
-
-
最新のアンケート
-
まだ何もありません
-
フィリピンのホセマリーチャンのメンバーはこんなコミュニティにも参加しています
人気コミュニティランキング
- 1位
- お洒落な女の子が好き
- 90040人
- 2位
- 大人のmixi【おとミク】
- 6420人
- 3位
- 独り言
- 9045人