Born on January 15, 1957, in Davao City, Verni Gonzalez, one of the best female singers to come out of Mindanao, started singing at the tender age of four. It was her aunt, Rebecca A. Gonzalez, her father’s elder sister (the main star of ‘Mutya ng Pasig’ (1956), produced by LVN Pictures), who inspired her father to encourage her to sing because she had a beautiful voice.
She naughtily attributed her aunt’s strictness as the reason why she had to practice her songs and hone her craft, which eventually led to greater heights.
Gonzalez’s first public appearance was during a Silver Swan Show in Davao, sponsored no less by the country’s leading soy sauce firm. She studied voice culture at the University of San-to Tomas under mentor Grace Turla Melendrez, and enrolled in English at the Speech Power.
It took a decade before Verni finally got her debut album under Mareco International, a subsidiary of Villar Records. She sang two of Jesse C. Saclo’s compositions, ‘Gapnod,’ flip-sided by ‘Misalop Na Ang Adlaw.’ Years later, she won two gold records for her blockbuster songs ‘Guhit ng Palad’ and ‘Dalawa Kaming Api.’
Meanwhile, her rendition of ‘Lagkaw,’ a Visayan song, became a monstrous hit in the Visa-yas and Mindanao. Her version, according to producer Emil Loseñada of Apple Music, reached the Platinum sales level nine times over.
She also recorded ‘Maligayang Pasko’ and ‘Merry Christmas,’ which were included in the Universal Records’ (formerly WEA Records) Various Artist Christmas Album, a highly suc-cessful cut that featured Gary Valenciano, Apo Hiking Society, Subas Herrero and Noel Trini-dad, Celeste Legaspi, Marco Sison, Ivy Violan, Florante, Paul Toledo, Leo Valdez, Janet Basco, and Dulce.
Vir Mateo, in a 1982 article (‘Verni Gonzalez: In a State of Shock Nang Maging Jukebox Queen’), reported that her declaration as jukebox queen for 1983 was made at the ballroom of the Regent of Manila on November 22, 1982, during the Sining Himig Annual Award. Pro-claimed as ‘jukebox king 1983’ was Zeno ‘Nonoy’ Zuñiga, along with other recipients, namely: Gigi Magno, most promising female singer of the year; Danny Abella, most promising amateur male singer; Juan Carlos Bonnin, most promising young actor; and Paul Toledo, king of rock, among others.
Prior to this, a controversy erupted. In a mini-press conference, Cynthia Garcia, another promising singer who recorded the songs ‘Magbalik Na Sa Akin’ and ‘Pag-ibig Ko Maghihintay’ for Apple Music, was ominously proclaimed ‘jukebox queen.’ Earlier, on August 28, 1982, the same title was already publicly announced with Gonzalez as the official awardee.
Outside recording songs, Gonzalez’s roster of presentations abroad included stints in high-ly popular Japanese gigs like Eterna Jazz Club, Asakusa and Bel-ami Theatre in Kyoto, and hotel performances in Tamuning, Guam; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Heliopolis, Egypt; and Tel Aviv Israel.
At home, she graced rated local entertainment. She was a regular of GMA-7’s Davao Sun-day show, ‘Kuyaw Dabaw,’ a segment of POP Sensation Showdown, in 2007-08, where she acted as one of the judges along with Nestor Horfilla and Dave Fortuna.
In the highly successful 2009 Davao stage play, ‘Ay, Quile, the Musical,’ she played the lead role. The production was produced by singer-composer Gauss Obenza, directed by Horfilla, the 2020 Gawad CCP Para sa Sining 2020 for Cultural Work and Research, and di-rected by playwright Arnel Mardoquio, a Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards recipient.
In private, already retired from the trappings of professional engagements, Gonzalez, a widow, is the mother to two sons, grandmother to four children, and now a resident of Binugao, Toril District, Davao City. (Source: Verni Gonzalez’s email, 27 April 2023)
