The Ilacad brothers and their musical legacy
Because Vicor Music, the record company he founded with his cousin Vic del Rosario Jr., became an incredible success, the name Orly Ilacad has become a byword in the local entertainment scene.
Orly is the oldest son of Jose Ilacad and Carmen del Rosario. It was his mother who played the piano and who came from the musical Del Rosario family of Trebel Pianos who instilled in him a love for music. His uncle Bert del Rosario invented the One-Man-Band.
As a teenager, Orly formed his own band The Ramrods, which became one of the big campus draws during the ‘60s. Aside from gigs, they also went into recording. Orly Ilacad and the Ramrods recorded several albums and made some hits like My Faithful Love and I Love You.
It was this recording experience that encouraged Orly and Vic to become music executives of what became one of the most successful, most influential labels of all time.
As has become common knowledge these past years, Orly and Vic chose to go their separate ways in 1977. Orly established OctoArts International, an entertainment company which numbered artists like Joey Albert, Boyfriends, Eva Eugenio, Francis M, The Dawn, Renz Verano and other big names under contract.
The OctoArts catalogue was later sold to the UK label EMI that was also later sold to Polygram, which became Polyeast out here in the Philippines. Orly switched to producing films and did very well with Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal, Dahil Mahal Kita (The Dolzura Cortez Story), Vic Sotto’s the Enteng series and others. Orly is now semi-retired but would still bankroll a movie, concert or recording should he feel like it.
Those items however are not the end all and be-all of Orly’s life. While all those things were going on, he was helping out while also getting invaluable support from five men, all of them also surnamed Ilacad. Orly has five brothers who on their own have played or continue to play big roles in the local music industry.
Jose Jr., or Sunny. He worked at Vicor handling studio work. He plays piano, keyboards and guitar. He is a producer for artists like Princess Velasco and those ubiquitous Christmas disco albums. He is also a songwriter with Hindi Kami Damong Ligaw by Didith Reyes, Superstar ng Buhay Ko for Cinderella, among his hits.
Eduardo or Guy. He is the bassist in the family and played for bands like the Manila Sound icon Cinderella and the dance band Blackbuster. He also became the go-to guy for concert sounds. He has become a recognizable face nowadays as the father of young actress Alexa Ilacad.
Ramoncito or Chito. He held office as vice president for Vicor and OctoArts. He composed Kapalaran for Rico Puno and Dukha for the band Judas. He co-wrote songs like Superstar ng Buhay Ko for Cinderella with Sunny and Paniwalaan for Bluejeans with Tito Sotto. He was married to the late Cinderella soloist Yolly Samson. They had three children. Unfortunately, Chito passed away last Tuesday, June 11, at the age of 71.
Enrico or Ricky. After gaining experience in the music business at OctoArts, he became managing director of Warner Music and later of the Universal Music Group. He is now semi-retired but continues to do recordings for his boutique label catering to young artists, Off-the-Record.
Arturo or Artie. The youngest Ilacad brother was drummer and background singer for The Boyfriends with hit songs like Dahil Mahal Kita, Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal, Nais Kong Malaman Mo, Sumayaw, Sumunod and others. He was also into cars and real estate. He passed away due to complications after heart surgery last July 30, 2023 at the age of 65.
Chito and Artie are now gone but they are still lovingly remembered. Meanwhile, life goes on in its merry musical way for the rest of the Ilacad brothers.
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