When the '70s began, the cousins were doing quite well in their business with their stable of recording artists, when suddenly there was a revolution of sorts. From out of nowhere came a surge of adulation for a new box-office queen, a singer named Nora Aunor, fondly called Guy by her adoring Noranians.
It was phenomenal. From Helen Gamboa who was tall, slim, fair, and sexy, all eyes suddenly shifted to a short, not particularly attractive singer-actress who was signed up at a rival recording company. So del Rosario did the next best thing. He signed up her love team, Tirso Cruz III, also known as Pip. That was the start of the Guy and Pip, Vi and Bot love team rivalry. He also went a step further. He released an album of recordings supposedly recorded by a doll named Maria Leonora Teresa, shared by Cruz and Aunor. No matter how bizarre the idea was, their fans snapped it up.
Still, the cousins were looking for a new female talent to challenge the superstar Aunor. In 1972, they found her in Florence Aguilar. Have you heard of her? Likely not.
"Florence was a very pretty girl, much prettier than Nora. Young and innocent. We named her Florence after Florence Nightingale, simpatico. We were going to make her big, very big," says del Rosario. "We gave her a billboard on Lacson Street in Sta. Cruz. It was the first time for a singer to be on a billboard. Before that it was just actors and actresses who were on billboards.
"Aguilar was launched with a full orchestra at the Pilipinas hotel. She was made up to look like a kabuki. She wowed the crowd. It was a huge launch. Bongga. We planned a huge launch in Cebu as well. We were going to make her a superstar, says del Rosario.
"On our way to the airport, I turned on the car radio, and there was no more music on the radio. Just dead air. When we got to the airport, there were tanks on the runway. We were told no one was going to be flying because Martial Law had been declared. We weren’t able to fly out and the Cebu launch was cancelled. We weren’t able to get her songs on the radio because the government took over the airwaves."
That was how Florence Aguilar, the singer who may have rivaled Nora Aunor, is but a dot in the annals of Philippine musical history.
With Martial Law, however, came the rise of Original Pilipino Music.
“Kambio na kami. We had more of a nationalistic sentiment. Pilita Corrales had been known for singing Spanish songs. We got her to sing old classics but with a modern twist. Then came the Apo Hiking Society, Sampaguita, the Manila Sound."
Vicor's discography reads like a Who's Who in OPM: VST & Co., Asin, Marco Sison, Celeste Legspi, Anthony Castelo, Sampaguita. In the 80s, there were Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Kuh Ledesma, and Regine Velasquez.
