The Messengers of Love

My most memorable encounter with The Lettermen is not in any of their many concerts that I’ve watched because all of them are memorable. The group — current members are Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Bobby Poynton — has been around for 55 years. The original group (Tony with Mike Barnett and Talmadge Russell) first appeared in Feb. 1958 on the marquee of the Desert Inn Hotel Resort Showroom in Las Vegas when they performed in the record-shattering revue called Newcomers of 1928. Since then, The Lettermen have undergone several membership changes but have retained their haunting well-loved sound in such immortal songs as, among them, When I Fall In Love, Theme From A Summer Place, Goin’ Out Of My Head, Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing, The Seventh Dawn, Shangri-la and The Way You Look Tonight (the first song they recorded in 1961 for Capitol Records).

Oh yes, my most memorable encounter with The Lettermen, specifically Tony. A few years ago when The Lettermen performed in Iloilo, the promoter, semi-retired singer Aristeo Demavivas (remember his hit So Lucky?), invited my friend Raoul Tidalgo and me to watch the show. We didn’t have a car back to the hotel and, guess what, Tony offered us a ride in the group’s van — and what a memorable ride it was! Tony regaled us with anecdotes along the way, as if he had known Raoul and me for ages!

Last week, I did an exclusive phone Conversation with Tony and, again guess what, he was as engaging as ever, not losing his enthusiasm even if our lines kept getting cut every now and then. I think that besides their love songs, it’s Tony’s infectious genuine warmth that spells The Lettermen magic.

The Conversation was arranged by Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions which is bringing back The Lettermen for a series of concerts (with The Philippine STAR among the sponsors) on Nov. 11 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila, Nov. 12 at the Manila Hotel Tent, Nov. 15 at Dotties Place in Butuan City, and Nov. 16 at Rose Memorial Hall of the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City. (For tickets, call Resorts World Manila at 908-8000 local 7700 or 891-9999/911-5555; Manila Hotel at 527-0001/911-5615; Dotties Place at 0999-3759968/0946-5813354; CPU at 0915-5353873/0932-3290573.)

You’ve been coming and going to Manila. You must love the Philippines so much.

“Oh yes, I love the Philippines so much. So many people don’t realize just how many times The Lettermen have been to your beautiful country.”

Really? How many times so far?

“I’d say between 35 and 40 times.”

In how many years?

“In 44 years. The first time was in 1969 when we were invited by (former First Lady) Imelda Marcos. We did a private show at the Palace. In 1970, we did a show at the Folk Arts Theater and came back a few times. And then in the ’80s, we performed at the Araneta Coliseum several times and after that, we started doing various cities — Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo…at least 12 other different cities in about 35 to 40 trips.”

Of course, aside from Imelda Marcos, I guess you have developed friendship with many other Filipinos.

“Oh sure, many, many, many! There’s Ching Imperial, the show promoter a long time ago, and the songwriter Jose Mari Chan who composed that beautiful song for Philippine Airlines. And Lea Salonga who is married to the son (Rob Chien) whose father has been my good friend for 40 years.”

Tony, do you know that up to now, not many people know why your group is called The Lettermen?

“It’s a long story. You know, when you’re starting a rock band or a singing group, the hardest thing to do is finding a name. In the United States 60 years ago, bands were named after birds — The Skylarks, The Robins and The Orioles. After that, groups started naming themselves after cars and then it became fashionable to use school names such as The Four Freshmen and The Four Preps. We were and when we started our group, we called ourselves The Lettermen. Why? On campus, when you are a popular basketball player or a baseball player or football player, you earned a school letter (initials on sweatshirts), so we called ourselves The Lettermen.”

Very interesting!

“In the early ’60s, the kids changed the style of naming their groups, and we had Iron Butterfly and The Beatles. So we thought that the name Lettermen was pretty square, so we went to Capitol (Records) and suggested that we change our name but they said, ‘No, you can’t because you have four gold albums.’ We thought of the name The Three Ashtrays but at that time the US surgeon-general issued a warning that smoking is bad for your health, so…”

Through the years, there have been several changes of members. What are your criteria in choosing a member?

“Yes, of course, a member must have that distinct Lettermen sound. You see, the audience is very sensitive and, like the Filipinos, they could tell if we have that sound. You can’t fake it by putting on a smile. The current members are the best that there can be. Donovan Tea and Bobby Poynton are the most sincere and intelligent men I’ve ever met.”

Oh yes, and how we Filipinos love you and your songs, including the Tagalog ones.

“Now we have four: Dahil Sa’yo, Ikaw, Sapagkat Kami Ay Tao Lamang and Hindi Kita Malimot. We just did our fifth Tagalog song and we’re going to sing it as a surprise number during our concerts there.”

You’ve survived trends and the influx of other groups. What’s the “secret” of your durability?

“I think the secret is that The Lettermen sing beautiful, romantic ballads. Other groups come in — pop rock, acid rock, folk rock, hip-hop, rap, etc. They just come and go. Why do we remain steady? Because we sing of love and anywhere you go people love to fall in love and they enjoy listening to love songs. We sing only about positive, beautiful love; we don’t sing about politics, about heartbreak, we don’t sing about drugs, about murder, about weapons…we just sing about rainbows and flowers and love.”

You must be a very romantic person, Tony.

“You know, the Japanese have a very good name for us. They don’t have ‘letter’ men in schools; they don’t have guys wearing sweatshirts with a capital letter at the back. Four years ago when we were in Japan, we asked the audience, ‘How do you translate The Lettermen into Japanese?’ One guy said, ‘I have it, ‘The Lettermen translates into Messengers of Love.’ Nice translation, isn’t it?”

The Lettermen are famous and well-loved for your “clean-cut, no-drugs” image. How are you able to sustain that image?

“Well, I guess that I’m very, very blessed. I am Catholic and I feel very close to my religion. Drugs have never been part of my vocabulary; I have no part of it. I never smoked nor did drugs in my life. I do drink a glass of wine because wine is good for your health. I get a goodnight’s sleep and eat good food, and that helps you keep your voice very healthy. We are very blessed because we never play small hotels; we perform only in class places.”

Through the years, you have done hundreds of performances. What would you consider the most memorable?

“Well, I would say when we sang at the Malacañang Palace for Imelda. Another one was in Miami Beach (Florida) where we performed for 104,000 people. And also, at the Folk Arts Theater in Manila where we performed for thousands upon thousands of people. There were so many people that, on the first night, the authorities wanted us to be escorted by police cars and motorcycles, but we said, ‘No, no, no, we don’t want to do that.’ We walked from the parking area to the theater which was full of people. They had to set up loudspeakers outside of the theater for those who couldn’t get inside. They sat on the grass and listened to our songs.”

Are you inviting Imelda Marcos to your concert in Manila next month?

“Hahahahaha! I tell you what…When we did a private show at the ballroom of the Manila Hotel, Imelda got up onstage and sang with us. So sure, if she’s around during our concert, we can ask her to join us onstage and sing with us. She’s got a good voice.”

What is your favorite Lettermen song, the one that comes close to describing the essential Tony Butala?

“One of them is The Way You Look Tonight which is my sentimental favorite because it’s our very first record.” (Proceeds to sing). “Someday when I’m awfully low and the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you and the way you look tonight. Isn’t it a perfect song to sing for the woman you love in a romantic setting?”

I guess when you hear that song you remember your beautiful wife. How are you as a family man?

“My wife and I have four children — Anthony, Rebecca, Liza and Gina — and we have five grandchildren and we love everyone of them.”

What do you consider the song of your life?

“At the end of our shows, The Lettermen usually sing You’ll Never Walk Alone. I love that one, too, because it’s a very inspirational song. We also sing I Believe in three-part harmony a cappella for three minutes with no band, just our voices. The lyrics are so beautiful. They’re not about Jesus, they’re not about Muhammad, it’s not about Buddha…it’s about God.” (Proceeds to sing again) “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows. Every time I hear a new born baby cry, or touch a leaf, or see the sky, then I know why I believe…” 

Thank you, Tony, please stay. Don’t ever retire.

“I’m not going to retire because I’m having so much fun.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)