British with their skiffle music, except that Pinoys sang Elvis's songs, not railroad songs. One of the first popular Filipino rockers was Bobby Gonzales, whose major hit was "Hahabol-Habol". Eddie Mesa, another teen idol from the period, became known as the "Elvis Presley of the Philippines". As in the 1960s, many Filipinos referred then to rock bands as "combos", many of which used nontraditional instruments like floor-bass bongos, maracas, and gas tanks. Easy listening was the popular genre for much of the decade which saw the popularity of Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, and Pat Boone, among others. Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, and Neil Sedaka became teen favorites in the last years of the 1950s. Rock as we know it did not really attract the teen Pinoys' attention until the Ventures and the Shadows came along. 1970s: Manila sound and classic Pinoy rock Into the early 1970s, Filipino music was growing more nationalistic and socio-political in nature, as well as using Tagalog more often. Pop music still dominated the airwaves with disco and funk bands such as Hotdog (band) and APO Hiking Society. Songs like Hotdog's "Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko" ("You're the Miss Universe of My Life") combined Filipino and English (also known as Taglish) within the same song. Rico Puno's cover of "The Way We Were" dominated the airwaves in the mid '70's and slowly but surely, the popularity of Pinoy pop continued till the end of the decade. Coinciding with the slow demise of that genre was the birth and acceptance of OPM rock. This helped innovate the so-called "Manila sound". Coincidentally, punk and grunge music were re-directing musical trends world-wide and Pinoy rockers followed suit in no time with their own original material. At this point in time, emerging social and political consciousness somehow crept into the industry with the traditional allied genres that are folk and rock music. Folk musicians and bands included Freddie Aguilar, Asin, Heber Bartolome and Florante. (In 1978, Freddie Aguilar's debut single, "Anak", became the most commercially successful Filipino recording in history. The song became known also in other Asian countries and in Europe.) Perhaps Asin, an ethnic-folk band, was the first commercial band to successfully bring a pro-environment song to the airwaves with "Masdan Mo ang Kapaligiran". Also famous for providing subtle rebellious (anti-Marcos dictatorship sentiment was growing at that time) and peace messages behind its skillful