American Colonialism: Pinoy Rock
American Colonialism began in 1898 and officially ended in 1946. However, American pop culture heavily influenced Filipino pop culture.
One of the most notable groups of this time period was The Rocky Fellers. The Rocky Fellers was a quintet composed of four Filipino brothers and their father. They rose to fame in 1963 and had one hit single, “Killer Joe,” which managed to reach No.6 in America. The song definitely has American influences. Hear the song below!
American rock and pop continued to dominate the Philippine airwaves until 1973, when Joey Smith of the Juan de la Cruz band started using Tagalog lyrics. Thus began the genre, Pinoy Rock.
Pinoy rock was still very much western sounding. The music itself was influenced by American rock and pop, however the lyrics were in Tagalog and spoke of Filipino life. This was considered revolutionary because most of the songs played at the time were all sung in English.
Juan de la Cruz Band’s 2nd Album, Himig Natin, is one of the founding albums of Pinoy Rock. Take a listen below!
Pinoy rock, like American rock, has branched into different types of categories such as alternative, punk, heavy metal, etc. However, these subgenres developed at a later date. Watch out for next week’s post to hear what Filipino music sounds like today!
Sources: Fernandez, Doreen G. “Mass Culture and Cultural Policy: The Philippine Experience”. Philippine Studies 37.4 (1989): 488–502. Web.
Fernandez, Doreen G. “Philippine Popular Culture: Dimensions and Directions the State of Research in Philippine Popular Culture”. Philippine Studies 29.1 (1981): 26–44. Web.
"The Rocky Fellers." All Music. Complex Music. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.