Claire partners with Boss Vic

Author: Bibsy Carballo
Column: Meanderings

BOSS Vic del Rosario, Viva's head honcho is on a roll.

After his all male group Greatest Hits proved that revivals are here to stay, he went on to set up the Golden Divas with Pilita Corrales, Carmen Pateña, and Carmen Soriano, then the Legends of OPM, then the Great Balladeers. Nothing seems to stop him with his new found stamina and energy.

On March 5th the "Legends of OPM" will return to the PICC to mount a repeat of that very successful December show. The group composed of Rico J. Puno, Nonoy Zuñiga, Rey Valera, Claire de la Fuente, Eva Eugenio, and Joey Albert was chosen by the sheer power of their OPM hits.

More than anything, Boss Vic hasn't lost his touch. Rey Valera calls him "a trendsetter, 20 years ahead of me as far as foresight is concerned. "

For instance, not too many are aware that the Boss has given Claire de la Fuentes another assignment, other than just a performer in "Legends. " Claire is executive producer of the Legends concert, precisely because Boss Vic is impressed by her leadership and administrative abilities.

Claire was 15 when she won grand prize in the first singing contest she joined for The Carpenters' "Love Me For What I Am. " Judge at the Contest George Canseco soon gave her a break as singer in a jingle for a Hope cigarette commercial. It is said that listeners couldn't tell whether a Filipino or a Caucasian was the singer.

After the March 5 concert Claire says she would like to continue promoting the cause of Original Filipino Music. " I would like to entice people to compose again, start another Metropop (a songwriting festival in the 90s of the GMA Metropop Foundation), and convince radio for airplay of OPM songs once again," she says. She knows it will be hard work but somehow she, Boss Vic, and many others feel that the Legends concert has brought back hope for OPM. "Bumalik ang sigla sa industriya," declares this indefatigable business woman president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association, dubbed "the most powerful figure in the Public Transportation Industry. "

Claire is a fast learner, even when she enters a field very different from that she has been used to. At the moment, she owns and operates The Skin Shop beauty parlor, and restaurants Gracielo's and Claire de la Fuente Seafood and Grill.

After the death of her husband of 28 years in 2006, Claire recalls her going to see Boss Vic. "I was looking for something to cling to. Pero marunong ang Diyos. When He closes a door, He opens a window. "

In 2007, Claire met the American producer Christian de Walden and Pamela Philips Oland, lyricist of the Carpenters, met Richard Carpenter at his home, got him to listen to her demo of "Something in your Eyes" which he composed for his dead sister Karen, got his approval to include it in her album with Viva, and got Richard to come over for the launch of the album. No one has had it as good.

"Sabi nila, I have had the biggest come-back ever. Sabi ko sa kanila, malakas ako sa Diyos, but this has given many has-beens the inspiration to continue. "

At this point in her career, she seems to have a good working relationship with the Big Boss at Viva. "I don't really know what will happen, I'm just going with the flow," Claire confesses. "Si Sarah daw ang prinsesa, Ako ang reyna," laughing out loud she must have been heard in the next building.

It is true though, that Claire has returned and done so with such a big bang, it almost didn't seem believable that everything came together for her comeback on the scene. What's next after the Legend's March 5 concert? There will be the "Timeless" album which includes a duet with David Soul, British singer and actor of Starsky and Hutch Television fame. She might even go to London for the recording. Then, there would be a PICC concert in June with Jo Mari Chan and David Soul, a recording of a duet with Michael Bolton, another duet recording with Richard Chamberlain of the television series Dr. Kildare fame, whose latest appearance was in Desperate Housewives. Few know that Richard started on Broadway with musicals like Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music.

"Uso daw sa America na mag-duet ang mga actors with singers from other countries. Parang feel lang nila. "

"Then there is talk of something with David Foster in September, and Boss Vic wants me to have my own talk show, kasi nga madaldal ako, di ba?"

Claire has her calendar full. At the moment, all her albums will be with Viva although she owns the catalogue and the master, and the contract has the 'key man clause' which means that the contract may be cancelled if the original terms are altered or if the label executive leaves the company. Viva holds distribution rights. Clearly, Claire has learned a lot through her years in the business management sector.

But at the moment, the repeat of Legends is her main pre-occupation. She is certain it will be bigger and better this time. In the first concert, when she saw how the audience responded, when the first bars of her hit song "Sayang" was being played and three rows of people in front were already jumping and cheering, she knew that Boss Vic had a winner.

Email me at bibsycarballo@yahoo. com

Source: People's Journal