The term “refers usually to young and rising movie teen stars, but what was wonderful about Rico J., as he was called, was that he impishly appropriated it,” said Patricio Abinales, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “So he was not only the ‘ultimate macho,’ but he was also ‘little handsome,’ which endeared him to younger women.”

Enrico De Jesus Puno was born on Feb. 13, 1953, and grew up in Manila, according to a short biography posted on his website. After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he tried to find work as a bell boy. But when he failed to get the job, he ended up singing folk songs in Manila nightclubs.

Mr. Puno’s big break — a deal with Vicor Records — was precipitated by an encounter in the 1970s with the Motown band the Temptations at the Palazzi, a club where Mr. Puno played regularly. It was during this period that he recorded his signature version of “The Way We Were,” among other popular American songs.

Mr. Puno made American music his own by adding bawdy lyrics and banter in Tagalog. One of his best-known covers, for example, was “You Don’t Have to Be a Star,” by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. And he embellished it with this line: “Even if you’re ugly, I still need you.”

Over the years, Mr. Puno performed solo and with the Hitmakers, a group that included the Filipino musicians Rey Valera and Hajji Alejandro.

“Rico, Valera and Hajji were three of the biggest stars of the glory days of Filipino music,” the music columnist Baby A. Gil wrote in The Philippine Star in 2002. “It is to their credit that they have retained the same vast degree of talent, unique performing style and the capability to excite an audience over nearly 30 years.”