Photo by Jed Aries Yu
Even at 1 a.m., Jose Mari Chan is still cracking jokes with us.
“What do you call a woman who knows exactly where her husband is at night?” the singer teases.
“A widow.” We no longer know if this is how early he really begins his day or if he does need more than 24 hours before bedtime … or if laughter is, indeed, the best energizer.
“Life is serious. You should always think positive, and then be funny. Laugh at yourself,” he says.
“I keep notes of my jokes.”
It is already past midnight, about three hours after his concert “Celebrate Life: Golden Years of Service and Music” at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug has been culminated on a Thursday in November.
At the end of a long line of fans—of no particular age bracket—meandering from the audience seats all the way up to the stage, Chan is stationed behind a bar table posing for selfies, hugging them and signing autographs of his new album “Going Home to Christmas” sold at the venue.
After 50 years in the music stream, the revivals of his music by this generation’s pop waves have immortalized his entity in the roster of living legends. “Be Careful with My Heart” in 2012 and “A Love to Last” in 2017 are titles of television shows on ABS-CBN lifted from his original compositions.
Celebrities like Kyla, Lea Salonga, Christian Bautista, and Ian Veneracion have also rendered fresh versions of his songs. But a single hit is immune from all these transformations.
Modernism—with its accent on wobbly music taste level—is making us over into keen, mean trend machines.
Unlike the 90s, modernism is not paralleled with disconnected melodies and indecipherable words.
“The type of music they listen to is no longer the type of songs that I write,” he reflects on flourishing for the next five years.
“A good song is like a marriage between husband and wife: The words complement each other.”
Humor is the aegis of his reinvention while we are still figuring out the beguiling existence of a brand, untarnished by the whims of fame and fortune.
And like the burst of joy that comes over you in December, this is the moment of invigoration.
Photo by Jed Aries Yu
Why are there no record producers who attempt to revive “Christmas in Our Hearts” or ask another singer to interpret it?
I do not know. No one has asked me if they could record “Christmas in Our Hearts,” so I guess people want to keep it as father-daughter Jose Mari Chan … maybe.
But a lot of singers recorded “A Perfect Christmas”; a lot of people have covered that song. Although not Christmas songs, I also like Ian Veneracion singing my songs like “Refrain,” “Can’t We Start Over Again,” “No Rewind, No Replay.”
Tell us what inspires you in your latest Christmas album.
The album is called “Going Home to Christmas.” It has 22 songs. As I said, I’ve done concerts all over Europe, in America and throughout Asia to Filipinos and OFW (overseas Filipino workers).
Whether it’s April, June or July, they always ask me to sing “Christmas in Our Hearts.” And when I sing that, I see them teary-eyed because they miss their family; they miss Christmas at home in the Philippines. That’s why I wrote going home to Christmas and to family.
Are you planning to write more songs in the next five years?
I would like to write more songs, but I am afraid the millenials … the type of music they listen to is no longer the type of songs that I write.
But do you listen to this generation’s hits?
Yes, I do. I have to admit I kind-of not really like them. My youngest daughter, she’s 31, and she listens to that music. I really try to make an effort to like them, but I can’t seem to like them. Sorry, but there’s no melody. I can’t understand the words.
If you listen to a song, you can’t relate to it. You have to listen to the words. A good song is like a marriage between husband and wife: the words complement each other.
For 50 years now, your music, especially the holiday songs, is “immortal” in the sense that it has surpassed generations of both listeners and musicians.
Thank you, but you know, I should try to keep pride away from my life because pride is the greatest sin.
When you think that you’re the best, that no one can be better, that’s where Lucifer and the angels’ downfall is.
So you have to be humble because the gift of music is not ours. It is just given to us, and so, you have to share it with the people; share that in a good way.
The Christmas songs will not talk about Santa Claus—it will talk about our Lord Jesus Christ in the manger.
Take us a quick trip to memory lane.
Many of my love songs were inspired by my wife, except for “Beautiful Girl.” The story of a beautiful girl is about a beautiful girl you never met.
“Wherever you are”: It’s an imagination. If you are in a party and you spot a pretty girl, and then you say, I want to meet her. I appreciate beautiful women, but I do not do anything about it because it leads to trouble (laughs).
If the marriage is broken, it’s a failure in his life. He can lose money in business, he can make it again. You can marry again, but iba na.
Are you coming back to Cebu next year with another concert?
I think I have to think of new jokes. Okay, people would want to listen to the songs, but they also want to listen to new jokes to keep them awake. Love songs will send people to sleep (laughs).
Where do jokes come from?
Some of them, I invent myself. I keep notes of my jokes. Give me a topic, and I have a joke for it.
Humor seems to be as important as your musicality. It’s a bonus. I sing my songs, and I tell jokes.
With Cebuana performer Anna Fegi-Brown, Chan’s guest at his “Celebrate Life” concert. Photo by Jed Aries Yu
When did I start injecting humor into my concert?
When I saw people falling asleep (laughs), but no … no … Life is serious. You should always think positive, and then be funny. Laugh at yourself.
What’s your advice to balladeers?
My advice goes to songwriters. God has given you that gift. You have to keep writing even if you write 10 lousy songs before you can write a good one.
Keep writing. I wrote about 40 terrible songs when I was 13 or 14 years old. Many of those melodies were derivative. They sound like the top hits of that time. But I just kept going and going and going.
Do you assist young musicians?
If they ask me, I would be willing to. Many of them will not approach me because they’re afraid of rejection.
They might ask me and I’d say I am busy. But my sons also compose.
I listen to their compositions. I can suggest. For this latest album, they sang with me but not contribute in the composition. In the album “Song of the Firefly,” I sang with my granddaughter.
Do you approve of the “hugot” trend in songs?
Hugot is the one that touches the heart, no? Yes, I like it. It’s a good concept.
Of all the songs, why do you think yours are more featured in some latest teleseryes?
That’s a good question, but I do not know the answer … except na my songs fit their story. During the wedding scene in “Be Careful with My Heart,” they asked me to sing at the church.
After 50 years, is there anything more you want to do?
I would like to make a musical. Not out of my old songs, but new songs.
I already have a storyline and a few melodies. I cannot tell when because sometimes when I start doing it, my work overtakes my schedule.
Work is also as important. I have to be very aggressive. I do not own haciendas in Ilo-Ilo. What I own is a factory that makes sugar.