The return of the music of Tito, Vic & Joey

The daily noontime TV show Eat, Bulaga! is where one can find the famous trio of Sen. Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon (TVJ). But they are also involved in a lot of other preoccupations. And here are what makes up the over 40-year-old TVJ.

Tito or Vicente Sotto III is a musician, front man of the ’60s-era combo Tiltdownmen; songwriter of Magkaisa, Balatkayo; music producer of Anthony Castelo, Sharon Cuneta; comedian, TV host in Iskul Bukol, Eat, Bulaga!; sportsman excelling in bowling and golf; and politician. He was formerly vice mayor  of Quezon City and is now running for another Senate term.

Vic or Marvic Sotto is Tito’s younger brother. He is a singer (Ipagpatawad Mo); musician and songwriter VST& Co. (Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal); TV host (Eat, Bulaga! Who Wants To Be A Millionaire); actor (OK Ka Fairy Ko); Box-office King (Enteng Kabisote); and sportsman who also excels in golf and bowling. Many have tried to also make him a politician but he has every time declined the invitation.

Joey took up Architecture in college but instead became a radio disc jockey; writer, he has a weekly column at The Philippine STAR; actor (Starzan); singer (Itaktak Mo); impersonator (Inday Badidoy); TV host (Eat, Bulaga!, The Sharon Cuneta Show); and songwriter (Disco Fever, Ang Boyfriend Kong Baduy).

Tito, Vic and Joey have indeed become so successful in their various undertakings that for a time, it looked like people have forgotten that all that they have become started with the music. It was through music that they got together and it was music that gave them the strength to fly higher with other things.

It was in 1975 when Tito was offered the position of vice president for Artist and Repertoire of Vicor Music Corp. He was well-acquainted with the owners Vic del Rosario and Orly Ilacad from his days with the group Tiltdownmen, which was the local version of the Dave Clark Five. Orly, during that time, also led his own combo The Ramrods.

Vic was then only 16 years old and would often come to the office to see Tito after school. Joey, who was known as the David Cassidy of radio, was a frequent visitor who enjoyed delighting the secretaries around with his puns. Vic could sing and Del Rosario put him under contract with Vicor. His self-titled solo album was one of Tito’s first projects.

The result was so good that an enticing offer came from a major foreign label to put Vic under contract and build him up as a pop idol in Asia. It was not meant to be. Dr. Herminia Sotto, Tito and Vic’s mother, put her foot down. Vic was underage and the deal required him to relocate to Indonesia. Still, it was clear that even then Vic already had the makings of a star.

It was also around this time that the comedy trio of Tito, Vic and Joey (who had become close friends with the brothers) was taking shape. They were cast in the gag show OK Lang where they would from time to time do parodies of current hits. This later became a regular part of the show Discorama, that Joey was hosting and to which he invited Tito and Vic. Joey titled the segment Tough Hits. And when something is that popular, can recording be far behind?

Tito, Vic and Joey were soon recording what would be the first in a series of 10 Tough Hits albums. Intellectual property rights was not yet strictly enforced in those days and no foreign hit song was spared by the wacky trio. Nobody knew it then, but Tough Hits was the birth of three of local showbiz’s most successful comedians who would dominate films and TV in the years to come.

Alongside Tough Hits came VST&Co. It was just meant to be a Bee Gees rip-off. Back then, music producers were quick to jump on popular trends. This was what Vicor did when Danny Subido’s Flippers had a massive hit with Pangako. They formed a band led by Tito and Vic called Blue Jeans which had a hit with the song Paniwalaan. So they had VST&Co with Vic again singing lead.

That rip-off became a classic dance album that remains unequalled to this day. The studio band made up of the Sotto brothers, Val and Maru also joined in, session musicians and plain friends produced the enduring hits, Awitin Mo At Isasayaw Ko, Disco Fever, Kiss Kiss, Etcetera, Rock Baby Rock, May I Have This Dance, Step No Step Yes and many others, including the ballads Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal and Ipagpatawad Mo.

Now successful men in their 60s who are at the peaks of their careers, Tito, Vic and Joey work solely for pleasure. They have not had a hit song in a while but I will not discount the possibility that they might come up with one or two one of these days. Besides, who needs one when some of their classics have become omnipresent again on TV, commercials, the Net, everywhere. Their Ipagpatawad Mo, Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal and Paniwalaan are the songs in those popular AlDub commercials for McDonald’s.