Mula sa Himig ni Pepe Smith: A song written in a women's restroom arguably started Pinoy rock music
Issue #18
[Author’s Note]
Hello fellow Filipiniana fans,
Today’s post is a “Betamax” reference. If you’ve been following this newsletter or our socials for a while, you might have already known that a post about that popular song by Sandwich was one of my earliest. I love that song. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I think OPM fans should have it on their list of greatest Filipino songs. I think it’s the ultimate love letter to Philippine music.
Today’s post is the first in a series featuring all the music references in that song.
Halina!
-Roi
PS: We compiled the songs referenced in Sandwich’s “Betamax” in a YouTube playlist. You can gain access to the playlist by inviting at least 2 friends to subscribe to our newsletter. Click here for the instructions or simply click “Refer a friend” below.
[🎶Music] Mula sa Himig ni Pepe Smith: A song written in a women’s restroom arguably started Pinoy rock music
“Himig Natin” is a 1973 hit single by the powerhouse group Juan de la Cruz Band composed of Pepe Smith, Wally Gonzalez and Mike Hanopol. Released as part of their album of the same name, the song is often credited as the spark that started Pinoy rock.
Its legacy and influence is even more impressive considering its quite spontaneous origin.
Pepe Smith: “I was in Japan [when I wrote Himig Natin], I was in Tokyo, 1972. I was lucky enough, I was strumming the guitar one day, I chanced on the chords, then I said, “Hey, that’s a cool chord.” Then I kept on doing the chords. Then I had to come back here [Philippines]. I met up with Wally, and we did one of the first concerts we had here in Manila. It was even titled, “Ang Himig Natin The Concert,” down at the observatory, yung Luneta? So I was [dashed] on acid, and I was looking for a place to write that song. I had to come up with the lyrics because I didn’t have any lyrics yet. So I went around [but] I couldn’t find a decent place to write the lyrics, so I went to the men’s room. Walking out, I noticed the next door was the ladies room, and it was closed. There were nails and some planks, and so we were just pushing it and it opened. We went in there, a friend of mine had a camera and he was taking photos. And then I just wrote those lyrics. Then exactly after about 30 minutes, somebody was yelling, “Joey! Where are you? You’re about to go in 10-15 minutes.” So it was a good thing I wrote the lyrics on Marlboro packs. So I wrote it down there and just put it in front of my microphone. So we sang it the whole night and everybody liked that song.”
The song also has an underrated guitar solo played by Gonzalez, unfortunately often cut from the radio edit during its time. JV Ordonez, writing for Esquire Philippines, described it as “haunting and eerie.” It “keeps a steady and smooth journey up and down the scales instead of mind-numbing shredding. The soulful symphony of hammer-ons and pull-offs of the lead guitar accentuates Pepe Smith’s raw vocals, sucking you into a call to belongingness from a bygone era.”
See our related posts on this topic on our socials (Instagram, TikTok).
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