Celebrated composer and musical director Louie Ocampo marks a major milestone in his illustrious career with a two-night concert (February 4 and 5) at The Theater at Solaire in Parañaque’s Entertainment City.
Produced by Viva Live and billed as Composer Ka Lang, Ocampo will be joined by the country’s top performance artists who have also become his friends over his 45 years in the music industry. Some of the singers who have accepted the invitation to join this special show are Basil Valdez, Sharon Cuneta, Sarah Geronimo, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Marco Sison, the APO’s Jim Paredes and Boboy Garovillo, Regine Velasquez, and his dear friend Martin Nievera who calls him Louie O.
The title of the concert was inspired by the comment of a losing contestant in a local television singing search who posted those three words on social media the day she lost because Ocampo apparently did not vote for her. The post went viral for a few days, and the amateur singer eventually apologized to the composer.
Ocampo is aware that as an artist, it is impossible to please everyone. “Even as a songwriter, one is never too sure if his composition will be recorded or received well. There is really no formula to guarantee a hit song and in the same manner, there are also a lot of factors why a song becomes a hit.”
The 62-year-old composer, lyricist and arranger remains highly admired, and is also much sought-after in the concert circuit as a music director. Take these titles of his timeless hits and the singers who collaborated with Ocampo: “Kahit Isang Saglit” (Verni Varga), “Say That You Love Me” (Basil Valdez), “You are My Song” (Martin Nievera), “So Many Questions” (Side A), “Ikaw” (Sharon Cuneta), “Don’t Say Goodbye” (Pops Fernandez), “Closer You and I” (Gino Padilla) and “Ewan” (The Apo Hiking Society).
There is one name though who is always brought up every time talks shift to Ocampo and his colorful romantic life: Joey Albert. The singer, who is now based in Canada, once played beautiful music with Ocampo, and the romance led to many unforgettable songs like “Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin,” “Yakapin Mo Ako,” “It’s Over Now,” “You Threw it All Away” and perhaps the best of the lot: “Tell Me,” which became a monster hit in 1984.
This Ocampo composition established Albert as a major player in the already-crowded music industry at the time, and even won for her both the Best New Artist and the Best Female Artist at the Cecil Awards the following year.
Ocampo recalled that he wrote the song after a major heartbreak with a lady named Anna who broke up with him before he flew back to Manila after a gig in the United States.
“While I was doing the tour, I called Anna every day. When the group was about to fly home, and we were already at the airport in San Francisco, I rang her to tell her that I miss her and that I was going to see her soon. Then I said, ‘I love you, like I always do,’ but she was just silent. I asked her why she was quiet and she replied, ‘I don’t love you anymore.’ My world stopped. I was crying throughout the flight.”
As soon as the plane landed, Ocampo went straight to Anna’s house. “Upon seeing her, I said exactly, “Tell me. Where did I go wrong? What did I do? How can you change your mind just like that when you said that this [would] be forever?””
He continued, “She did not want to talk to me. She did not answer me so I left. I was in pain, so devastated. Then I started writing a song which would become ‘Tell Me.’ The rest, as they say, is history.”
Ocampo’s other songs also have unforgettable back stories, and for sure he will share these during his two-night concert. We were told tickets are already selling like hotcakes, because this show of Louie O. is expected to be one for the books.