The name Rachel Anne Wolfe is a familiar one to those who like music and beauty. Born and raised in the Philippines, she made a name quickly courtesy of her stunning grace and beauty. It was no wonder that she won the title of Bb. Young Pilipinas in 1984. But that wasn’t all Rachel was interested in. She was drawn towards music, being the daughter of Annie Brazil, celebrated Queen of Jazz, and sister of Richard Merk, dubbed the Prince of Jazz.
Starting out as a singer in various hotel lounges in Manila and in Tokyo, Rachel at 17 released a first album under Octo Arts, then went on to television and the movies. She recalls having worked with such icons as Fernando Poe Jr., Dolphy, Nora Aunor, Richard Gomez and Vilma Santos. Then, she met and married John Spitalleta, settled in the US and had four sons Max, Trevor, Luke and Jake. We find it an interesting development that while she had all sons, Rachel herself was the only girl among her mother’s children.
In an interview, Rachel talks of living in the USA, being close to her mom, sharing both her happy and sad times. “Yes, I am my mother after all!†Mama has been living in the States since 1993 and their mother-daughter relationship has only gotten stronger over the years. Annie is an integral part in helping Rachel and John raise their four children. They call Annie “Mama†and today Rachel’s kids range from 21 to four years old.
Rachel’s life in the US has been simple and quiet. Although her mom lives in New York, and she in Jersey, there is always time for Rachel to have those daily talks with her mother, from short chats to long deep conversations. One important thing she tries to incorporate each day is to connect with her mom. Rachel realizes that while the kids are growing up fast, her mother is also growing older faster.
Annie underwent a total right hip replacement last year. It was tough for the whole family to decide how to go about the surgery since her lungs are weak from emphysema, and anesthesia was needed during the surgery. We saw Annie during that visit where she performed after the operation and celebrated her 80th birthday. “My mom is 80,†Rachel says, “I wish I could take away all her physical pain and always secure her with my love. So I decided to write a song for her that tells her all that I want her to know.†And this is You Are Part Of My Everything. It is not just a song from me to her, but a song for all of us who would like to express their love and gratitude for their own mothers.
“Whatever I do for my mom is part of our circle of life. My life would not be this colorful without my mother and the songs she sings!â€
Due to the responsibilities of a normal family life, Rachel abandoned her first love of singing and writing songs for raising her kids. But after some years in the US, she had time to reflect on what her foremost passion was.
So, she went back to her first love and learned the principles of songwriting. With many reliable inspirations like her mother, brother, her husband and family, she composed songs whose stories were crying out to be expressed. After her husband listened to her compositions, he arranged for Rachel to work again with the same composer and arranger who worked on her first album, Archimedes Dairocas whom she fondly called Archie.
Rachel is now back in the Philippines more often. She has a new album titled Cool with 10 tracks, produced by Manna Records, distributed under Sony BMG. Among the songs and lyrics Rachel has written are Sweet Smiles, Complicated, In My Heart, Cool, Kahit di Ako, Nothing Lasts Forever, There’s Love, Gotta Get Over You, Be Yourself and Part of Everything.
The iconic family of Annie, Richard and Rachel will be performing in various shows throughout the entire Valentine season, with Julia Fordham, and other artists Robert Seña, Bo Cerrudo, Aicelle Santos and Rafa Siguion- Reyna.
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