More enchanted evenings with The Lettermen in Jan. 2007

The last performance in the Philippines of The Lettermen, the legendary vocal group hailed as "the most romantic singing group of the ’60s," was held last January, but the memories of that musical event continue to be cherished and treasured by thousands of fans it could very well have set a milestone as revival concert of the year.

Indeed, who can ever forget that Jan. 28 SRO concert at the Araneta Coliseum which highlighted the group’s five-city tour when the trio of Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Mark Preston immediately brought the house down with its inspired rendition of classic hits like The Way You Look Tonight, When I Fall In Love, The Seventh Dawn, Theme from ‘A Summer Place’, among many others?

For two solid hours, the gig was transformed into a virtual musicfest of timeless love songs and romantic ballads that extolled the virtues of eternal love and undying devotion before a sea of appreciative fans who punctuated each familiar number with thunderous applause and resounding cheers.

Funfare got an eyewitness testimony on the show from someone who was there that Saturday night – our good friend, Dr. Vivian Sarabia, Eyewear Stylist to the Stars and a confirmed Lettermen fan, who sent us intermittent text messages from her choice seat at the Big Dome for a blow-by-blow account of what was happening inside – from the entry of the artists to the rousing applause after each number.

Another Lettermen admirer, Star columnist Butch Dalisay, joined the chorus of happy concert-goers as he enthused in a stirring lead item in his Penman column entitled Three-Part Harmony: "The Lettermen brought us back to a time when songs could be sung – not just by your lonesome, but with your shing-a-ling-loving posse, in three-part harmony." (The Philippine Star, Feb. 6, 2006)

"But a good time was had by all, thanks to the trio’s superb showmanship and our own revered memories," he concluded as he described, in his elegant prose, that the show ended "with the velvet darkness spangled by a thousand points of light (a.k.a. cell phones) swaying in the kind of Kumbaya-inspired arc that would make my rocker-friend Fidel (who might similarly wax nostalgic over Metallica) positively gag."

Typical fans’ reactions during The Lettermen’s provincial jaunts (Cebu City, Iloilo City and Davao City) were no less enthusiastic and inspiring, and which Funfare had the chance to witness for ourselves when we joined the Iloilo City leg of the tour upon the invitation of Aris Demavivas, who co-produced the show in the Queen City of the South with some friends.

At the Rose Memorial Auditorium of Central Philippine University, where the gig was held, we saw up close – and listened to – the reason why this ageless and talented vocal group continues to be an irresistible magnet to millions of music enthusiasts of all ages and generations.

Aside from performing the very songs the audience loved to hear, The Lettermen lived up to its billing as terrific entertainers and showmen by tirelessly working up the Ilonggo fans who were thrilled no end when they were greeted, hugged, kissed and – for some lucky souls – serenaded by their idols.

If anything, such memorable experience was a further affirmation of a strong and solid fan base for the type of popular music that is not fleeting or ephemeral but enduring and timeless, the kind of songs music enthusiasts cannot seem to have enough of and keep clamoring for more.

And the good thing about this is that more of The Lettermen local fans will get early next year.

Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions has confirmed to Funfare that The Lettermen will return to Manila next January to spend several enchanted evenings with their thousands of Pinoy fans during a seven-city tour that will be highlighted by a big concert on Jan. 12, 2007 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Aptly billed as The Lettermen... More!, the concert series to be mounted by Ovation Productions, will kick off with a dinner-show on Jan. 11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel that will also feature John Lesaca and Tots Tolentino as guests.

Other performances are slated on Jan. 13 at Clark Expo, Pampanga; Jan. 14, Bacolod City; Jan. 15, Cebu City; Jan. 16, Davao City; and Jan. 17, Cagayan de Oro City.

The 2007 tour of The Lettermen – its fifth since 1991 (it also performed here in 1992 and 1996) – is expected to usher in another exciting concert season featuring foreign acts of the ’60s and ’70s, a musical phenomenon that started last year and which saw the influx of top artists and performers like The Beach Boys, The Zombies, Gregg Rolie of Santana, Manhattan Transfer and INXS, among many others.

As a backgrounder, The Lettermen was formed more than 45 years ago in Hollywood by Tony Butala as a vocal group of "three very strong soloists who also had the ability and showmanship to perform and entertain an audience, but who also had the discipline needed to be group singers."

Since then, it has established a brilliant record as singers, entertainers, recording artists and concert performers who have captivated millions worldwide with their endearing music that features a mix of the sound of big band vocal groups and early rock groups.

The group continued to dominate the music charts in the ’60s and early ’70s as it scored over 25 hit singles, including Theme From ‘A Summer Place,’ (No. 16, 1965, from the Sandra Dee/Troy Donahue film of the same title), Goin’ Out of My Head/Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (No. 7, 1968, the first hit record ever to completely integrate two songs as one) and Hurt So Bad (No. 12, 1969).

Its signature sound led by Butala’s distinctively breathy vocals also made romantic standards of songs such as Smile, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, Shangri-la, Love, and many more.

As performers, The Lettermen has toured with George Burns, Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Bill Cosby and performed on bills with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante, Debbie Reynolds, Sam Cooke and Sammy Davis Jr. It has also appeared several times on The Ed Sullivan Show while its members were regulars on The Red Skelton Show and The Hollywood Palace.

The present members of The Lettermen are Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Mark Preston.

(Tickets for the Araneta Coliseum concert on Jan. 12 are priced at P3,500, P3,000, P2,500, P1,500, P800 and P300 and are available at Ticketnet outlets at SM Department Stores or call Ticketnet at 911-5555.)

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