Rico J. Puno’s passing lands in New York Times

The passing of OPM legend Rico J. Puno has landed in the New York Times. He was hailed as a soul music pioneer in the Philippines.

The article posted in the obituaries section of nytimes.com said Puno
channeled American superstars to forge a distinctive brand of local soul music.

"Mr. Puno became famous in the 1970s by covering American hits — including Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” and Marvin Gaye’s “Baby I’m For Real” — in a mix of English and Tagalog, the country’s dominant language," the article read.

"Those recordings put him in the vanguard of The Manila Sound, Filipino popular music from roughly the mid-1970s through the end of the Ferdinand Marcos era in 1986," it added.

Puno passed away before dawn on Tuesday.

Malacañang expressed its condolences, saying "he has contributed a lot in the music industry.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Puno's songs and albums paved the way for the Filipino artist to be accepted in high society.

Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, remembered Puno tagging along her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr., to serenade her mother, Susan Roces.

Celebrities, among them Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, and Aiai delas Alas, expressed their sadness on social media at the death of Puno. —NB/KG, GMA News