'60s Filipino pop music

Like other Asian nations, much of the ‘60s pop music (and many of the ‘60s pop music personalities) of the Philippines came from the country’s own stylized version of Western cinema. Still, as far as the pop music scene of ‘60s Metro Manila goes, it’s rock ‘n’ roll records that I think of as the galvanizing force. Imported by US servicemen stationed at Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Station, and played on Armed Forces radio, I imagine the impression such records might have made on the Filipino teenager, and I imagine, too, a city a bit like the pre-Beatles Liverpool of the late ‘50s. The records were hard to come by, the musical instruments were impossible to come by, and, by virtue of its scarcity and the music’s exotic energy and excitement, the fascination with rock ‘n’ roll was born.

Commensurate with a rising wave of activism and civil unrest in the Philippines - and a growing awareness of Filipino cultural identity - rock ‘n’ roll assumed more countercultural tones as the 1960s wore on, coalescing finally as Pinoy Rock in the late '60s. It’s the earlier forms of '60s Filipino pop music that are surveyed (very, very noncomprehensively) this week on Office Naps, though.

The amazing Pinoy Classic Rock site was indispensable in writing this week’s post.

1. Eddie Peregrina & The Blinkers, Blue Eyes (D’Swan)
Singer Eddie Peregrina seems to be best remembered for his tearjerking ballads; here with his ragtag band the Blinkers, however, the poppy harmonies, stinging fuzz tone distortion, and rough ‘n’ tumble production are nothing if not reminiscent of a mid-‘60s American garage band doing their Yardbirds impression. It’s the kind of convoluted cultural exchange that makes my head hurt; it occurs to me that, in a weird, metaphysical way, their “Blue Eyes” is the culmination of 5000 years of Western and Eastern civilization. You won’t see NASA launching this record on a Voyager mission any time soon, though.

The Blinkers were Salvador "Buddy" Yap (bass), Edgardo "Bee" Morelos (rhythm guitar), Max "Boy" Alcaide (drums), and Edgard "Eddie" Peregrina (vocals, lead guitar, and organ). I would guess that they recorded “Blue Eyes” in 1968.

Eddie Peregrina apparently died in a car accident at age thirty, sadly.

2. Vilma Valera, I Got You (I Feel Good) (Jonal)
It seems to have been generally understood in Philippines show business that, as an actress in the movies, you would also sing in the movies. Ms. Valera still deserves some sort of special spirit award for having the audacity to rework this early James Brown dance floor hit, however. I suspect the producers at Jonal studios decided that Quezon City was just far enough away from American copyright law (and James Brown himself) to act with impunity. Besides, if anyone ever came around to hassle them, they'd be ready with their fuzzbox.

A popular actress of ‘60s Filipino cinema, Vilma Valera performed this as part of Boogaloo, a movie made in 1968 - a moment in Phillipines history that, if nothing else, had fully embraced mascara. Check out this fantastic lobby poster for it.

Vilma Valera recorded several albums before her retirement from show business (and marriage to American Air Force commander Darrell Arthur Morrow) in the early ‘70s. She now resides in Sacramento, California.

3. Helen Gamboa, Shing-A-Ling Time (Jonal)
It’s a cover version of the Liberty Belles’ girl-group soul anthem, it’s a big, brassy, thumping discotheque bombshell, and it’s all powered by the five thousand horsepower bouffant of Ms. Gamboa, Filipino show biz superstar.

"Shing-A-Ling Time" was performed for 1968’s Shing-A-Ling-A-Loo - one of a suite of pictures starring Ms. Gamboa that year. The prospect of titles like Boogaloo (with Vilma Valera, above), Bang-shang-a-lang, Let's Go Hippie, and Operation: Discotheque kind of makes my eyes glaze over; they’re movies that are probably better in concept than they are in reality but, still, you’re glad that they got made.

As with her colleague Vilma Valera’s “I Got You,” the arranging and conducting was handled by the enigmatic D’Amarillo, who, if these two selections are representative, seems to have been the Philippines’ equivalent of hip ‘60s soundtrack composers like Lalo Schifrin and Quincy Jones.

Gamboa later married Vicente Tito Sotto, popular Filipino congressman and himself a former film and music personality.

Please take time today to reflect upon the vertiginous glory of Ms. Gamboa’s hair.

4. Ronnie Villar & The Firedons, El Tomador (Mabuhay)
England’s Cliff Richard was one of the first Western rock ‘n’ rollers to break into the Asian pop markets, albeit with a polished form of the music. The Shadows, Richard’s backing band, recorded separately as an instrumental combo, and they, like their American counterparts the Ventures, were quite the pop phenomenon in Asia as well. It's their enduring “Apache” which is rendered here in a gloriously dramatic derivation by Ronnie Villar & the Firedons. The Firedons have that same sense of melody and precision, but carry the characteristic “wet” echo sound of the Shadows to extremes; they play as if a dry basement was their mortal enemy. Even the echo seems to have echo on it.

In addition to vocalist Ronnie Villar (who evidently did not appear on this), the Firedons included Willy Villar (lead guitar), David Llorente (rhythm guitar), Cesar Llorente (bass), and Waldy Cruz (drums). I’d guess that "El Tomador" was recorded around 1963.