Thursday, March 13, 2008 Ariola: Talking to Claire By Jose Paolo Ariola I Still Walk The Line
REMEMBER way back in the 70's when there was this singer with a husky voice who sang that now immortal song entitled "Sayang", a poignant story about two star-crossed lovers and a love which came a little too late? Yes, Todits, I'm talking about Claire de la Fuente, a.k.a. the "Karen Carpenter of the Philippines." As a pubescent high school student in the 70's I was enamored by the lyrics of that song. Who wouldn't? It was a monster OPM hit of that decade and which has transmogrified into a classic through the years. I still have my old cassette tape of Claire's original album which included her other songs such as "Pag-ibig Mo Langit Ko" and "Nakaw Na Pag-ibig" among others, which mostly dealt about lost and forbidden loves. Claire, together with her contemporaries Imelda Papin and Eva Eugenio, defined the "Golden Age" of the "Jukebox" also dominated then by the likes of Eddie Peregrina and Victor Wood. Ironically, however, the jukebox tunes were then predominantly patronized only by those identified with the so-called "bakya crowd." Oh well, "bakya na kung bakya." But as for me, what country music is to America, jukebox tunes are to the Philippines. And I thank God that I'm a country boy.
As I grew older, the jukebox eventually became extinct through the years. And with the advent of the computer age, the cassette tape (which also killed the LP and the 45 rpm vinyl records) was eventually replaced by the CD, MP3, Ipod, and what have you. But I held on to those old cassette tapes of mine although some of them have lost their original sound quality through extended play over the years or due to molds. As for Claire, she went on to other fields of endeavor such as transportation and beauty enhancement. Once in a while, I'd see her on TV performing together with Imelda and Eva on noontime shows or more often in the news whenever there'd be something a-brewing in the transport sector being the Queen of the Metro Manila Bus Operators Association. Sayang (it's a pity; [pun intended]), but she never had another hit of Sayang's magnitude. At least as far as I can remember.
So how did I got to talk to Claire? It's a long and circuitous journey that took almost three decades to make the connection. A high school classmate of mine, Alan Ang, dropped by my office late last year to ask for my help regarding some legal problem of his younger sister, Elsie, who was then about to marry a foreigner, who I later came to know as Mr. Christian de Walden, President and CEO of DMI a music publishing firm based in California. At that time, the latter's name didn't ring a bell to me. But my classmate Alan told me that his future brother-in-law, was handling the promotions of big time international recording artists and that he is presently producing and promoting Claire's latest CD which includes the carrier single "Something In Your Eyes" composed by Richard Carpenter. At first, my reaction was that of a skeptic. Then I told Alan that I'd really love to have a copy of Claire's latest CD because I've been a fan of hers since way back in high school. And he told me he'll see what he can do.
I completely forgot about that Claire CD. But to my surprise, Alan dropped by my office last month with his brother-in-law Chris to personally thank me for my help. And in the course of our conversation, Chris took out his cellphone and called someone who turned out to be - yup, you guessed it right - Claire herself. And in a booming voice, Chris told Claire that he's got someone he would like her to talk to and then he gave me his cellphone. At first, I was tongue-tied. I've never talked to a celebrity before. For the likes of me, I couldn't believe then that I was talking to the "Karen Carpenter of the Philippines" - Claire de la Fuente herself. While she was talking to me over the phone, she sounded as if she knew who I was. Then she told me that, as requested, she will be sending me a autographed copy of her latest CD. Why she even invited me to have dinner with her if I ever I'm in Manila. Boy, was I floored by her generosity.
Well, it turns out that my classmate Alan told his brother-in-law Chris, who in turn told Claire about me and my request for a copy of her latest CD. I guess it's true what they say - when it rains, it pours - because I got more than what I've asked for. Life is indeed full of surprises. Right now, I'm having a ball listening to all the songs contained in the album especially Richard Carpenter's composition "Something In Your Eyes" which I read in Ricky Lo's column that it was kept by the former for a long time until the right singer came along to record it. As for Chris, well, he left me his card with his own invitation that if ever I got to L.A. (as in Los Angeles) he'd be happy to have me as his guest. Oh well, LA can wait for a while since I haven't got even a passport for myself. In the meantime, may be I'd settle for Claire's invitation because I might just be in Manila in the near future in case we have another seminar or conference under the auspices of the Supreme Court. Who knows? But wait, I don't have Claire's contact number. It appears that she forgot to write it down in the CD she gave me. Oh, shucks! Sayang!!!
