The revival of the King

That much publicized Graceland tour by US President George Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Jonichiro Koizumi should finally settle any doubt that Elvis Presley is indeed the undisputed "King of rock ‘n’ roll" even nearly 30 years after his death. Just imagine, the president of the most powerful nation on earth and the Prime Minister of an economically powerful country paying homage to Elvis and his legacy. The Japanese Prime Minister is unabashedly an Elvis fan, crooning "Love me tender…" during the Graceland sojourn with no less than sole Presley heiress Lisa Marie and her mother Priscilla showing him and Bush around Graceland Mansion — a two-storey colonial structure designated recently as a national historical landmark.

Not that Koizumi’s display of a "star struck" mentality is a surprise. He has long been known to be an Elvis fan. Back in 1987, he raised funds to put up an Elvis statue to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his idol’s death. He even went to the extent of releasing a limited-edition CD compilation of 25 Elvis songs in 2002 to raise funds for charity. "Jonichiro Koizumi Presents: My Favorite Elvis Songs" quickly became a hit and was sold out. Koizumi is set to retire in September, and his visit to the United States, dubbed as the "sayonara summit," saw the discussion of serious issues like North Korean missiles, Iraq, and US beef exports.

But it was undoubtedly the half-day stop at the King’s estate that became a diplomatic coup for Koizumi, who shares the January 8 birthday of his music hero. Koizumi endeared himself to Americans particularly the baby boomers, many of whom are influential today. Former president Bill Clinton is a baby boomer, and so are a host of politicians, well-known actors, artists and business tycoons now approaching their sixties.

Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of baby boomers including myself. We are entering the last quarter of our lives and we all look back to those glorious days of Elvis Presley and his rock ‘n’ roll. The King was so popular, and I remember listening to those Elvis hits during parties was such a thrill. The Philippines even had its own version of Elvis Presley with actor/singer Eddie Mesa. The most famous of them all during our days at the Ateneo was RJ and the Riots. RJ of course is Ramon Jacinto of RJ Bistro and BossRadio fame – a certifiable Pinoy rock ‘n’ roll icon.

A personal friend, American Michael Smith, describes RJ as a national treasure. Mike is indisputably an RJ groupie, listening to DZRJ every week with those rock ‘n’ roll revival hits blaring in his house, following RJ and all his gigs. I myself idolized Ramon Jacinto, who was a classmate of my brother at the Ateneo. He was an icon, rocking school parties with the Music of RJ and the Riots, playing Bill Haley, Paul Anka, The Ventures, and of course, Elvis Presley hits. RJ released two albums and 40 hit singles, among them Weightless and Mashi-Mashi, a smashing guitar instrumental. He had a lot of followers, and it was RJ’s influence that later on spawned the birth of garage bands playing Beatles, Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly. RJ also helped popularize Pinoy rock ‘n’ roll with DZRJ, a radio station he set up in the backyard of his parents’ home.

In fact, Gloria Macapagal and Mike Arroyo were groupies of Ramon Jacinto. First Gentleman Mike was even the publisher of Teenstone, RJ’s magazine. RJ is now in his sixties but he is still as young looking as always, as energetic as ever and definitely not through playing his guitar. As he once famously said, "Rock ‘n’ roll will never die" — at least, not while baby boomers are still around.

No doubt, the King of rock ‘n’ roll Elvis Presley’s legacy is here to stay, judging from the new-found popularity of music from the ’50s down to the ’60s, with bands like the popular Spirit of 67 playing old rock revivals up to this day. The Spirits have numerous gigs at hotel lounges, bars and restaurants, and they are definitely the "it" band among baby boomers. The Spirit of 67 has received a number of Aliw Awards through the years as the "Best Group" in hotels, music lounges and bars. Some of the band members are good friends of mine like vocalists Johnny Velasquez and Bimbo Santiago. The band plays music from the ’60s and even to the ’90s, and you could see all the baby boomers enjoying themselves, especially the ladies who would literally swoon every time those old ’60s tunes are played. Johnny Velasquez is still described by most of these women as the "crush ng bayan."

We all look back to those days when life was much simpler and as teens, hang around each other’s houses, ride around town and swing to the music during those class parties. It was great then, and they were good old clean fun days. We long for those carefree days in school, when the way of life was much easier and less stressful with the population only at 36 million. As we look back to those memorable days and the music of Elvis Presley, The Ventures, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, the Beatles and the Beach Boys — one cannot help but feel hope deep inside, and how much we all long for the revival of this nation, the revival of the spirit of nationalism and unity, and the revival of those old Filipino traits of respect, generosity, kindness and community spirit.

This is the kind of revival that most of us, including myself, long for and still hope to see during our lifetime. Hope, indeed, springs eternal.

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