Friday, May 21, 2004
One of Lobo's songs also was considered the sixth best song ever in Germany.
By BRAD KAVA
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
His 1971 hit "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" is largely forgotten in the United States. If it's mentioned at all, it's more likely as an example of the worst pop songs recorded, not the best.
But in Vietnam -- and among many Vietnamese in the United States -- the 60-year-old Florida artist known as Lobo is a mega star. He's as big or bigger there than Elton John, the Bee Gees and the Carpenters, who are some of the other top English-language favorites in the country of 80 million.
"Every Vietnamese performer, if they sing a song in English, they have to do one by Lobo," says San Fransicsco promoter Do Van Tron, who recently booked the singer -- born Kent LaVoie -- to perform at a Vietnamese pop concert in San Jose, Calif. "Every day in cafes and clubs, you'll hear his songs."
A one-hit wonder in the United States, LaVoie is a keen example of how some artists have lengthened their careers by going to other parts of the world.
LaVoie's story, though, is one of staying power. Long after his sales dried up stateside, he developed and continues to have a huge following all over Asia, with his syrupy, melodic love songs.
He gave the biggest concert ever in Ho Chi Minh City, playing for 5,000 people at an amphitheater, with just as many outside, trying to get in.
The appeal
So, what was it that made Lobo so appealing? LaVoie said he thinks his music strikes a chord abroad because it was so simple, basic and written from his heart.
The songs "reflect the truth of who I am," he says. And the people "sense that in the melodies, even if they don't speak English."
Kim Nguyen Phoung has been listening to Lobo since 1970, five years before she arrived in the United States and learned English.
"The music gave me chills," says the San Jose mortgage broker, in her 40s. "The ballads were lovely. Then when you understand the words, it's even better. He says a lot about the loving relationship between a man and a woman. I'm a sucker for romance."
"Boo," which LaVoie admits is constantly on "worst-of" lists, wasn't the big seller in Asia. Rather it was three songs that made the charts in the United States but didn't make it all the way to the top.
"I'd Love You to Want Me" was No. 1 everywhere in the world, except Japan and the United States, in 1972. It was No. 2 here, kept down by Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now."
"How Can I Tell Her" has become a Vietnamese standard, after reaching No. 22 on the U.S. charts in 1973, as has "Stoney," an album track that never charted here.
Fans in Germany
Three German film crews recently flew to LaVoie's island home near Fort Myers to tape a segment on "I'd Love You to Want Me," which was considered the sixth best song ever released in that country.
"Sixth best as in forever and ever and ever ..." says LaVoie. "That's really eerie to me. I don't think of it in those terms anymore."
LaVoie, a father of four grown children, says he lives a simple, but comfortable life now, usually far away from the live music scene. He took on the name Lobo after writing his song about the dog Boo, because he didn't want to be pigeonholed as a novelty songwriter. At the time, people assumed Lobo was a band.
He and guitar player Billy Aerts first went to Asia in 1977. The success has continued over the years, although LaVoie only occasionally tours abroad.
These days he tours with only Aerts, a Nashville musician who recently wrote Kenny Chesney's hit, "Everywhere We Go." Otherwise, he prefers working in the studio, or playing golf.
"I'm really grateful for what's happened to me," LaVoie said. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time. People call me all the time and tell me that my song was on the list of worst songs. It's so bad, it put my kids through college."