Jose Mari Chan

Jose Mari Lim Chan (Tagalog: [hoˈse mɐˈɾi ˈtʃan]; born José Mari Chan y Lim; March 11, 1945), is a Filipino singer and songwriter. Regarded as one of the country's most renowned balladeers and composers, he is popularly dubbed as the "King of Philippine Christmas Carols". As of 2001, Chan has sold two million albums and has garnered 37 platinum records to his credit, becoming one of the best-selling Filipino recording artists of all time. He is best known for his signature song "Christmas in Our Hearts", which is the biggest selling Filipino Christmas song in history, including hits such as "A Perfect Christmas", "Beautiful Girl" and "Please Be Careful with My Heart".

Chan began a career in 1967 and released his debut album Deep in My Heart in 1969. He has since released 14 studio albums, most notable being Constant Change (1989) and Christmas in Our Hearts (1990). The two albums became major successes for Chan, both were certified double Diamond by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry and becoming two of the best-selling albums in the Philippines. With a career spanning five decades, he has been honored by various award-giving bodies such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from PMPC Star Awards for Music, and two "Album of the Year" from Awit Awards.

Chan was born José Mari Chan y Lim on March 11, 1945, in Iloilo City and was the first-born child of Antonio Chan and Florencia Lim. His father was an immigrant from Fujian, China who came to the Philippines at age 13 and started a sugar trading company in Bacolod. Chan's mother was the only child of a Chinese-Filipino couple.

Chan was exposed to music in his childhood with his maternal grandmother from Cebu often playing music at their house and his mother being a pianist. He was an alumnus of Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (the now Ateneo de Cebu). He was also accompanied by the family's house helper to participate in the radio program Children's Hour on DYRI where children performed the piano, sang, and recited poetry. At school he was often selected to perform in school programs. Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka are among the songwriters which served as his inspiration in his childhood. Chan wrote his first song at age 13.

Chan's father was supportive of his involvement in Children's Hour but was reluctant of supporting his music career by the time he was age 14 or 15 when he began composing songs. His father was concerned their Chinese background would put Chan at a disadvantage in the music industry and encouraged him to relegate his music pursuits as a hobby and to pursue a business career instead. When Chan reminded the older gentleman that he did have a flair for composing, he was told that that particular field "would not be enough to support a family".

He attended the Ateneo de Manila University where he met fellow musician Ramon Jacinto of RJ & the Riots. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics in 1967.

Chan first appeared on the local scene as a guest on Pilita Corrales's program An Evening with Pilita in 1965. The next year, he became the host and singer of a television show called 9 Teeners of ABS-CBN 3 (now ABS-CBN 2) which aired on weekdays and Saturday in 1966. Since he was a junior student at that time at Ateneo and he was being encouraged to become a businessman, his father only consented his involvement if he was not paid salary for the stint. His first single "Afterglow" was released in 1967. He would release his first album two years later after he was approached by an independent record producer.

His first long playing album Deep in My Heart was issued in 1969. In 1973, he represented the Philippines in at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo where his song "Can We Just Stop And Talk Awhile" went into the final entries. For more or less than four years from 1970 to 1974, Jose Mari Chan was able to compose more than 20 songs for movies and earned him different recognitions and nominations at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS Awards). He also wrote several well-loved commercial jingles, among which are the Philippine Airlines' "Love at Thirty Thousand Feet", the Knorr Chinese Soup jingle, and the Alaska Milk jingle. Between 1974 and 1975 he was the Star of a series of Television Network Specials spotlighting his words and music.