RJ’s Orig Sari-Sari Store album

Successful songwriters may give different answers when asked about the secrets to their success. But there is always one thing they all seem to agree on. They write all the time. Bad times or good times? They keep writing. It can be just a verse or some changes in the structure or some editing on a word or two. But not a day goes by that they do not spend some time working on their songs. 

This came to mind when I got my copy of RJ Orig, a new album of all original songs by Ramon Jacinto. And I thought, writing songs every day is probably what he does. You all know RJ. Familiarly he is RJ, the guitar man who rocks. Truth is, he is mainly a busy businessman with his hands on steel, roofing, radio and TV stations, guitars, music production and probably lots of other ventures I have not heard of. Yet, despite what must be a huge workload, he finds time for his music and performs his beloved rock ‘n roll whenever he can. He not only sings, he also plays a really mean guitar.

Only a few months ago, RJ, as the rock impresario made Pinoy rock history with the Icons of Pinoy Rock gathering that was held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. He staged the concert that got together the biggest names of Pinoy rock to perform in this show that celebrated their significant contributions to Filipino music. The proceeds benefitted the Pinoy Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame. 

RJ also writes songs. And judging from the contents of RJ Orig, he does this a lot. Take note that RJ has been in the music business for 55 years and that includes time spent in exile in the US of A during the Martial Law period in the Philippines. His first composition and also his first big hit was Weightless which he wrote, performed and recorded in 1961 when he was only 15 years old. This was an instrumental number done in the style of the legendary band Ventures which was very popular during the pre-Beatles time of the ‘60s.

Weightless was followed by other works and RJ has since then written over 100 songs recorded in some 20 albums. One of the most notable was Trip To Manila in 1962. This was the first rock ‘n roll song with English lyrics by a Filipino songwriter. Bit of trivia here. Note that the first Filipino rock ‘n roll song was in Tagalog. This was Hahabol-habol, which was composed by Phil Delfino and recorded by Bobby Gonzales in 1956. Back to RJ. He also composed Muli, Sugat Ng Puso, Pasko Na Naman, Philippines My Philippines and others in the years that followed. 

The latter, like Trip To Manila, is one of what I like to call, the patriotic songs that RJ likes to compose from time to time. These are mostly about his country, its people and its places. He likes presenting the Philippines as a great place to have a good time in his songs. Also among these are tunes with titles like Boracay, Bulacan, Makati Avenue, Pilipinas, Cagayan de Oro, Ilo-ilo Nights, Baguio Here We Come and Quezon City. Some of these are included in RJ Orig, which has nine new originals and new versions of seven RJ oldies. 

The first cut Ano Ka Ba sets the pace of the album. It is also the song that I like best. This one is done in the typical RJ style and echoes his biggest hit Muli. It is a light rock tune with a lilting fun melody and conversational lyrics. Also included are Bakit Ba, Ngayon, Sa Umaga, Sana Sa Langit, Anita, Lubid, Ang, Advertising Man, Tomorrow and Hoy Inday.  

RJ played all guitars, bass and most of the keyboards for the album. Backing vocals, percussion, bass in Advertising Man, plus recording, engineering and mastering by Jonathan Catacutan. Blues harp in Cagayan de Oro by Tom Calvin. RJ Pineda played piano on Ano Ka Ba and Sa Umaga with Monching de Guzman on sax solo. Alexi Corvilla did the keyboard for Ang and Lubid and the brass on Ilo-ilo Nights. The artwork on the cute album cover featuring the RJ Orig Sari-Sari Store is by Jacklyn Wong and Sheila Sevilla.