| Ramon Jacinto | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ramon Pereyra Jacinto |
| Also known as | The Main Man |
| Born | June 3, 1945 |
| Origin | Makati City, Philippines |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | RJ Records, Warner Music Philippines |
| Associated acts | Sitti, Nyoy Volante, Hotdog, The Electromaniacs |
| Website | www.dzRJTV.com www.RJplanet.com |
Ramon Pereyra Jacinto (born June 3, 1945) is a Filipino musician and entrepreneur. He is more commonly referred as RJ Jacinto. He is the founder of the legendary radio station, DZRJ and the proprietor of the Rajah Broadcasting Network.
Contents |
Jacinto is the third of the eight children of Don Fernando Jacinto, founding father of the steel industry in the country. His grandfather, on the other hand, was one of the founding fathers of Philippine banking.
Jacinto attended the Ateneo de Manila University and graduated with honors in Economics. To further his studies and took up law at the University of Sto. Tomas while working for his father's steel company, Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, Inc.
Jacinto has always tried to put music and business together. He started entrepreneuring at the young age of 15. He set up his first enterprise called RJ Enterprises, a company which dealt with producing and release records. RJ Enterprises pioneered multi-track recording in the country and eventually became the primary studio choice for many artists and advertising agencies at that time. Two years later, Jacinto ventured to establish what would become a legendary radio station in the Philippine broadcasting industry – DZRJ. It served as a venue for on-air experiments of radio concepts which were never heard before in Philippine entertainment history. Manned by students, mostly coming from Jacinto's high school class, the radio station introduced alternative music to the Filipino youth. It was the first station to play songs from rock legends such as the Beatles, the Ventures and the Beachboys. The radio station also gave emphasis on playing the music of local talent. Apart from DZRJ, Jacinto also established the now defunct, DZUW.
While manning his own radio station, RJ was also the Senior Vice-President of their family business, with 2,500 employees reporting to him. During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the Jacinto family's assets were forcibly seized and placed under military control and executives of the company were jailed with no charges filed. The sequestered assets included Jacinto's two radio stations. At that time, Jacinto was in the United States and opted to stay there in exile for 14 years to save himself from being jailed. During his exile, RJ recorded songs together with other Filipinos and secretly sent them to the Philippines for airplay. The songs “Muli” and “Don't Let Go” became hits but the composers and singers were not named in order to avoid military sanctions.
On March 5, 1986, Juan Ponce Enrile, who was then the Defense Minister, returned the radio stations and some of their family's steel mills to the Jacintos. DZRJ was finally transferred from military administration on June 1986 and Jacinto began to make DZRJ, the leader in retro wave by playing music from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
On July 25, 1986, Jacinto set up Bistro RJ, a rock and roll music lounge and restaurant which became famous for those who were into singing and dancing. At that time, live bands traveled abroad to make a living and the night circuit in Manila depended on piano bars and discos. Jacinto decided to hire live bands to provide financial opportunities as well as to revive the night life in the Philippines through live music.
Jacinto developed an interest in music and he was particularly inclined to one instrument – the guitar. While performing in his bistro, Jacinto felt exasperated about switching between a Fender Jazzmaster and a Gibson Les Paul. He decided to approach Rudy Discipulo to make a guitar versatile enough to produce all the sounds he needed. Impressed by Discipulo's workmanship, Jacinto embarked on putting up a guitar manufacturing business. At present, there are 10 RJ Guitar Centers in the Philippines, providing world-class RJ Guitar models and distributing Taylor guitars and Belcat products from abroad.
Jacinto continues to manage his many businesses and to perform weekly at his bar. Due to his accomplishments and contributions to Philippine society, Jacinto was part of the Philippine Tatler's “Who's Who of the Philippines” list.
| Year | Album details | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | RJ Back From Exile
|
|
| 1988 | Pasko Na Naman
|
|
| 1990 | The Guitarman
|
|
| 1991 | Giliw
|
|
| 1992 | The Guitarman II
|
|
| 1994 | Pasko Na Naman (Repackaged 1994)
|
| Year | Album details | Certifications |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | RJ Best of Original Hits
|
|
| 2005 | The Very Best of RJ
|
|
Rock 'n Roll Classics
|
||
| 2006 | Muli
|
| Year | Album details | Certifications |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Ultimate RJ Bistro Collection Vol. 1
|
|
| 2000 | The Ultimate RJ Bistro Collection Vol. 2
|
|
| 2005 | RJ Symphony Rock
|
<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mbplatg; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text