George Canseco

George Canseco (April 23, 1934 – November 19, 2004) was a leading Filipino song composer. Considered by some to be one of the most sentimental men of his time, Canseco gave birth to songs that allowed hearts to heal over cathartic bliss in the hundreds of songs he wrote. He left behind a pop-culture legacy unmatched by many of his peers. From Canseco's pen came eternal Original Pilipino Music, most of which were interpreted by the country's ace balladeer, Basil Valdez, whose career as a solo artist took fortunate turns when he recorded "Ngayon at Kailanman" in 1978. The songs "Kapantay Ay Langit," "Ikaw", "Gaano Kadalas Ang Minsan", "Paano", "Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan", "Hiram", "Kahapon Lamang", "Ako Ay Pilipino", and "Dito Ba?" are but a few of Canseco's 300 compositions, all bannering what kind of classic hits mean to the Filipino heart and soul.

Biography

Born George Masangkay Canseco on April 23, 1934, he studied at the Naic Elementary School and Jose Abad Santos High School before taking up liberal arts at University of the East. Aside from being a journalist, he also worked as a part-time scriptwriter for the Manila Broadcasting Co. and news director at Eagle Broadcasting. Canseco began devoting himself to writing music when Martial Law broke out, in 1972, seeing that press freedom was being contained in that time.

Canseco would not be denied of his craft when it comes to pop music as he wrote for the Megastar Sharon Cuneta the song "High School (Life)" and "Langis at Tubig" in the 1980s.

Unlike most masters of music, Canseco did not train in formal schools of music. Instead, he self studied piano and learned to interpret, write and compose notes at a very early age. His parents weren't into music as well. His father Jose Canseco was a doctor while mother Cerafina, a mathematician. Canseco was the youngest of three children.

Canseco's songs caused some of our most talented performers rise to fame. With songs hitting where it really hurts or loving where there's already love, Canseco's songs defined a part in the lives of Regine Velasquez, Zsazsa Padilla, Pilita Corrales, Dulce, Kuh Ledesma aside from Basil Valdez and Sharon Cuneta.

Canseco's last recorded love song made its way to Martin Nievera's 2002 album.

His manner of writing songs was as unusual as his gift as he can draw bittersweet emotion from some imagined experience, play it over and over his head before he would concretize melodies on paper.

Canseco finished journalism at the University of the East and even worked as one for the Philippines Herald and Associated Press where he was an editor. But his passion could only be sustained by one artform, and that?s music. He had the chance when film producer and Vicor Music owner Vic del Rosario discovered him along with cousin Orly Ilacad and they became the best of friends until Canseco's last days. The composer went on to work as vice president of Vicor Music in the 60s and 70s.

Canseco would always tell journalists that del Rosario "Gave me my biggest break in the music industry." The producer's faith in Canseco's craft had never worn out as Canseco was even able to fill in lyrics for other composers like Willy Cruz, Homer Flores and Ryan Cayabyab, thus he went further from his own compositions and joined expert hands with other composers throughout his time.

Canseco became the president of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or FILSCAP in 1973. He won by a landslide in 1988 as a councilor in the fourth district of Quezon City.

His very first composition was "I'll Never Be Yours." He translated his second composition, "You're All I Love" into Tagalog which became the theme song for the Eddie Rodriguez movie "Kapantay Ay Langit," the song that brought Canseco to immense popularity. Canseco chose Cebuana singer Amapola Cabase to sing the theme to the motion picture. The following year, Canseco won the Manila Filmfest award for Best Song Of The Year. Identical trophies were awarded to George Canseco and singer Amapola Cabase from Cebu City.

From there, Canseco wrote "Rain," "Kailangan Kita," "Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo," "Kastilyong Buhangin," "Dito Ba," and "Langis at Tubig."

From Canseco's pen came eternal Original Pilipino Music, most of which interpreted by the country's ace balladeer, Basil Valdez, whose career as a solo artist took fortunate turns when he recorded "Ngayon at Kailanman" in 1978.

In movies, Canseco became musical director for films like "Burlesk Queen," "Pagputi ng Uwak, Pag-itim ng Tagak," "Atsay," and "Miss X"; and wrote the most unforgettable movie theme songs in "Kapantay ay Langit," which was named best theme song in 1971.

The following compositions all won best theme songs for Canseco from the FAMAS awards

* "Imortal" (for the 1989 Metro Manila Film Fesrival)
* "Langis at Tubig" (1980)
* "Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan?" (1982)
* "Paano Ba ang Mangarap?" (1983)
* "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin?" (1984)
* "Hihintayin Kita sa Langit" (1991)

Other songs that earned him best-theme trophies are "Hiram" and "Sinasamba Kita," the latter of which was co-written by Rey Valera (Canseco for the music, Valera for the lyrics).

When Martial Law was "officially" lifted in 1981, his composition "Ako ay Pilipino" ("I Am A Filipino") as interpreted by singer Kuh Ledesma was used as a theme song for the occasion. The song has since gained popularity especially among Marcos loyalists and to some extent considered as comparable to a national anthem (or a patriotic song)among Filipinos.

His English track "True Love Came Too Late" was named Awit Awards song of the year in 1984, while Dulce's rendition of "Ako ang Nagwagi, Ako ang Nasawi" bagged the grand prize in 1979 at the World Song Festival in Hong Kong, after which "Ngayon," another song interpreted by Basil Valdez, earned the grand nod from Likha Awit Pambata Songwriting Contest and Artistic Achievement Award at the Pacific Song Contests in Sydney, Australia.

References

* "George Canseco's Immortal Music", Manila Bulletin Online http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2004/11/25/ENTR2004112523157.html