Jose Mari Chan 曾煥福[1]
Chan in 2024
Background information
Birth name	José Mari Chan y Lim
Also known as	Joe Mari Chan, Mr. Music Man
Born	(1945-03-11) March 11, 1945 (age 81) Iloilo City, Philippine Commonwealth
Origin	Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Genres	Adult contemporary, easy listening, pop, Christmas
Instruments	Vocals (male alto - tenor), piano, guitar
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Top Tunes[2] Universal Records Signature Music Inc.
Website	josemarichan.com
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Jose Mari Lim Chan, born as José Mari Chan y Lim; March 11, 1945), is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He is known as one of the Philippines' best ballad artists. He is also known as the "King of Philippine Christmas Carols". Chan has sold two million albums and has had 37 platinum records from 2001, becoming one of the most-selling Filipino artists. He is known for his song "Christmas in Our Hearts", which is the biggest selling Filipino Christmas song.

Chan began a career in 1967 and released his first album Deep in My Heart in 1969. After, he has released 14 studio albums. His most popular albums are Constant Change (1989) and Christmas in Our Hearts (1990). The two albums were the biggest for Chan and were given double Diamond by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. They also became two of the best-selling albums in the Philippines. With a long career, he has gained many awards.

Chan was born José Mari Chan y Lim on March 11, 1945, in Iloilo City^[3] and was the first child of Antonio Chan and Florencia Lim.^[4] His father was born in Fujian, China and he went to the Philippines at age 13^[5] and started a sugar trading company in Bacolod.^[6] Chan's mother was the only child of a Chinese Filipino couple.^[5]

Chan liked music when he was a child with his grandmother from Cebu playing music at their house. His mother was also a pianist. He graduated from Sacred Heart School-Jesuit. He was also taken by the family's house helper to participate in the radio program Children's Hour on DYRI where children performed the piano, sang, and said poetry.^[5] At school he was selected to perform in school programs all the time. Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka are the songwriters which inspired Chan in his childhood. Chan wrote his first song at age 13.^[5]

1. ↑ "Jose Mari Chan（曾焕福）将返桑梓为家乡小学新楼剪彩-菲信网". Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
2. ↑ "International Talent Directory" (PDF). Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Company. December 28, 1968. p. 164. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
3. ↑ "Jose Mari Chan: King of Christmas Carols". 96.3 Easy Rock. December 5, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
4. ↑ Logarta, Margie (February 28, 2018). "Sugar in his hearts". Manila Times. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Ortiga, Kari (December 19, 2016). "Jose Mari Chan". Esquire. Retrieved September 2, 2019. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "esquire1" defined multiple times with different content.
6. ↑ Guadalquiver, Nanette (February 16, 2018). "Jose Mari Chan offers accolade to Chinese immigrant father". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved September 2, 2019.