Some musicians can only aspire to be rock stars, but Pepe? He was born to be one. His life was the stuff of legends: learned…
Some musicians can only aspire to be rock stars, but Pepe? He was born to be one. His life was the stuff of legends: learned to play drums when he was around 9 years old; started his first band when he was only 11; gigged locally and around Asia pounding the skins for other groups before joining Juan dela Cruz Band in 1970; and eventually, being hailed as the King of Pinoy Rock.
So many bands have been described as “seminal” over the years, it’s become hard to determine which among them really is. But in the case of Juan dela Cruz Band, the word seems to have been put to good use.
Some will beg to disagree. This wasn’t the first bunch of young Filipino men who picked up instruments to play rock music in the 1960s, after all. But Juan dela Cruz Band’s sphere of influence—and subsequently, Pepe’s— reached far beyond the years the band was active or the musicians they lent inspiration to.
The story of how Pepe wrote the lyrics for “Ang Himig Natin” is the sort you’d tell all over and over again. It almost sounds like a myth. Because how the hell does someone complete a song inside a supposedly boarded up ladies’ room minutes before he performs it in a concert for the first time? It must have been luck, or pure genius.
Pepe inspired generation after generation of artists. In the days following his passing on Jan. 28, members of his family, friends, people he has worked with, musicians, journalists, and even people who only knew him briefly or never met him in person at all have been sharing tributes in the form of well-written articles, photos or social media posts, flooding our feeds and our stream of consciousness.
The most poignant pieces were shared by people who knew him well, who had close encounters with the aging rock star. These pieces were either a repertoire of his musical accomplishments, or a personal recollection of Pepe’s every word and every move within less than a foot away.
These tributes were so overwhelming that they almost overshadowed the fact that Pepe was also adored by his fans.
