Go, Johnny, Go!
Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo
It’ll be a hopping good time when musician Johnny Valentine joins Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra for its Kaimana HapaSymphony series.
If there is a true musical chameleon in the islands, it’s gotta be Johnny Valentine. His ability to seamlessly segue from one genre to another — be it pop, rock, R&B, classical, opera or disco — is why he remains one of the most sought-after singers and guitarists around.
During a career that’s spanned more than four decades, Valentine has shared the stage and loaned his talents to a number of big-name acts — among them, Bruno Mars, Arnel Pineda, Regina Belle, Martin Nievera, Henry Kapono and Kalapana.
Along the way, he’s found joy in bringing smiles to so many fans’ faces. His exuberance is likely born from “the fact that I play music for a living and it just brings so many people together (and) that people actually check my Google calendar to schedule their vacation when they come here, so they’re going to see me.”
Now, Valentine has something else on tap that figures to keep him and the musical masses happy.
His next show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Hawai‘i Theatre Center. There, he will share the stage with Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra and perform both original compositions and cover songs from artists such as Bread and The Rascals — all as part of the kickoff to the 2024-25 Kaimana HapaSymphony series.
“We’re going to take (people) on a musical journey, one that celebrates the sound and spirit of Hawai‘i and one that made me successful,” he says.
He looks forward to working with HSO music director/conductor Dane Lam and composer-in-residence Michael-Thomas Foumai, and is also excited to be collaborating with members of his family. His wife, Chris, penned the lyrics to For Just a Moment, which Valentine plans to premiere at the show. The couple’s two sons, Jesse and Daniel, will also have a part in the performance.
“(Daniel) has written and arranged an original song for us to perform with the symphony together,” the musician notes. “And my older son, Jesse, is playing lead guitar.”
Songstress Jessica Sands Hoffmann will be joining him on stage to perform The Prayer. She’ll handle the Celine Dion portion of the song while Valentine plans to sing Andrea Bocelli’s part.
It’s shaping up to be a very special night in November.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to perform with the symphony. It is like the biggest concert I’ve ever had to plan for,” says Valentine, the winner of the 2018 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Favorite Entertainer Award. “I just hope to see more people at the concert hall and inspire a love for orchestral music for those who may not have experienced a genre like this before.”
Much like his nephew, Bruno Mars, Valentine is known to most by his stage name. He was born John Bayot and eventually moved, along with his parents and siblings, from the Philippines to Hawai‘i in search of a better life. Predictably, music made up a significant part of his younger years.
“My brothers used to play a lot of Beatles when I was 6 years old, and my dad knew there was something going on with me because I would walk around the house and I had songs memorized while pretending that I was strumming a guitar,” Valentine remembers. “So, he made me a fake plywood guitar with rubber bands and I just played that until it broke.”
By the time he was about 9, Valentine was playing the ‘ukulele; by 11, he was banging away on the drums.
“I got pretty good at it, but it was my brother’s drum set and he sold it,” he recalls. “So, I picked up the acoustic guitar at age 12 or 13, and from then on I was learning a bunch of Kalapana tunes, and The Beatles, America and The Doobie Brothers.”
After graduating from Farrington High School, he wound up attending Leeward Community College on a music scholarship.
“During that time, the teacher asked me to tutor classical music because I was already reading music. I taught myself when I was 14,” explains Valentine, adding that he learned to sing arias from music professor Marilyn Kim.
By his second year of college, he was working as a full-time musician and, as a result, dropped out of school.
In the 1980s, he formed the band Night Splendor Duo with Pat Miguel. The duo was discovered by Jerry Martini, the saxophonist for funk band Sly and the Family Stone, who was so impressed by their sound that he started booking them on regular gigs. Eventually, Night Splendor joined the Polynesian Show and the Dick Jensen Show at Hula Hut, where Valentine also did impersonations of Elvis, Michael Jackson and other celebrities.
From 1987 to 1993, Valentine was also a member of The Love Notes, which included Mars’ father, Peter Hernandez. The group released several albums and enjoyed a three-month engagement in the then-newly built showroom at Tokyo Sheraton.
“They didn’t want us to leave,” recalls Valentine. “It was supposed to be just three weeks.”
The Sheraton, however, kept extending the band’s performances and wound up doubling the members’ pay.
“So, we brought (in) my mother, my sister, Bruno, all the kids,” Valentine recalls. “That’s when I started having Bruno perform as Elvis. He would watch the show every night, and in the daytime, I would babysit him. He was only 3 years old and I would teach him all the Elvis moves.”
By the time they returned to Hawai‘i, Bruno had mastered his role as a young Elvis impersonator and immediately began making his way into the group’s shows.
“He was a big hit, and that’s how he got addicted to performing live,” says Valentine, who currently plays with the tribute band Nightbirds. “That’s how it started and then by high school, he used to catch the bus to my house and take voice lessons, guitar lessons and stuff.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and live shows were shut down, Valentine turned his attention to daily performances on Facebook Live, and subsequently gained a global fan base called “Johnny’s Angels.” To these admirers, his music was therapeutic and vital in keeping them connected with others.
“I have a stack of letters (saying) that I’ve pulled people out of depression and loneliness during the pandemic,” Valentine adds.
His capacity to lift others’ spirits was already apparent during a monthlong series of performances in 2018. One of the attendees was a boy with a rare genetic disorder (Angelman syndrome) who enjoyed listening to Valentine’s music so much that he would spontaneously run to the stage and start dancing.
Impressed by the boy’s joyous reactions, his family flew Valentine to Malibu, California, to perform at the youngster’s 16th birthday party.
Only later did Valentine realize the boy was actor Colin Farrell’s son.
“The whole time I performed, he just stood in front of me and danced for two hours straight. That was so heartwarming,” Valentine says.
Even when he’s not on stage, Valentine is generous with his time and eager to help others. For example, he helped organize a fundraiser concert for a close friend, Lauretta Sewake, when her Wahiawā home burned down. He also gathered several top acts to play at the event, then picked up his guitar, cleared his throat and went to work on stage.
For Hawai‘i’s musical chameleon, it’s just what he does.
“If you come and see me, it’s always different,” he says.
