THE "SMALL BROTHER"

JINGLE Songhits -- the "small brother" of JINGLE Chordbook -- was a big hit when it came out in the late 70's. Michael Jackson graced the cover of the first issue and all copies were sold out. Its circulation was about 80,000 copies.

It became our No. 1 bestseller, even eclipsing its "big brother" by the thousands, up until the 80's and early 90's.

The idea was to come up with a reasonably-priced publication that will cater to the masses. And lo and behold...it didn't disapppoint.

Since its inception, I have been its idiotor, este editor pala. Baby ko ito noon pa. Monthly ang labas nito nung una...pero naging twice a month na later on. Lyrics ng songs ang karamihang nakalagay dun. Meron ding piling most requested hits with chords.

Editorial, Penpals, Dedications, Friends at Jingle, occasional spot cartoons (by DengCoy Miel, Romy Buen and Norman Buena), featured greatest hits, Roxlee's fullpage rated R cartoon (Kid Roxlee) located at the back of the index (na nasa last page), etc. ang regular fares nito.

With the help of our then head artist Noli Villar(+), who did the logo, Hexel Hernando (music director), Jomar Salabit (layout artist), Mang Joe Aglipay and later on Annie Espiritu (IBM typesetters), Mang Ben(+) and Obet Pamintuan(+) (camera work/stripping), Phillip Tiongson (circulation), Gemma, Lita(+), Emy, Elo, Lydia (admin staff) and Ate Luring (HR), my elder brother Raul Guillermo and Lily Nicolas(+) (plant managers) and Emily Guillermo (overall manager) together with my brother-in-law Kuya Leo at siyempre yours truly-- we churned out quality issues of JINGLE Songhits during the martial rule and way beyond it. 

Most small brothers are naughty but mostly nice. Makulit bulilit -- tiny tots -- they bring tons of joy to the family.

This one kept us alive...mabenta eh.

👈👈👉👉

Nice to hear from a JINGLE Songhits fan whose loyalty has outlived the "Small Brother".

To ALF LAGRISOLA: Thank you for sharing your collection. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for keeping the kiddo alive all these years!👍😉