Judy Ongg -- Miserarete （魅せられて）

"Wind is blowing from the Aegean...."

That lyric, plus her billowing winged dress, are my memories of Judy Ongg. The Taiwanese native had been releasing records since 1966, but her big hit finally hit in February 1979, with "Miserarete"(Love Is Talking To Me) her 28th single. And yeah, it was big all right....over 2 million records sold and Oricon No. 1 standing from April 16 to June 11. Plus, there was the Japan Record Award and her very first appearance on that year's Kohaku. This song, plus Saki Kubota's（久保田早紀） Ihojin（異邦人）, released later in October, were the two standout exotic-sounding pop tunes. I wonder if it was the Greek bouzouki or tambouras that had been played.　In any case, "Miserarete"became the 2nd-most successful single of the year. Incidentally, it was given words by Yoko Aki（阿木耀子）, who had written a number of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）hits.

Apparently, this song was also used for a Wacoal underwear commercial. I guess billowy winged dresses kinda brings up that feeling of freshness.

I just had to show that dress in action. It certainly made an impression. I was at a karaoke contest in a Japanese bar in downtown Toronto nearly 20 years ago when one fellow came onstage in that dress to sing that number. Made all of our days.