Earlier today, I met up with some friends for some refreshing hiyashi chuuka at Kinton (and no, the above photo is not it...that's some Spicy Miso Ramen from Santouka in 2023) since we're talking summer here. It was good to have the professional stuff once more.
As such, it was time once more to search for another ramen-based song somewhere out there that I had yet to cover. It didn't take too long to find this one by singer-songwriter Toshihide Baba（馬場俊英）from Saitama Prefecture called simply "Ramen no Uta" (The Ramen Song). Sounding amiably like a mix of the works of early Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, the song is a beautifully wistful piano and Baba's inviting vocals (before the rock rolls right in) taking us on through a young life from childhood to adulthood via visits to the beloved ramshackle ramen shop. The ramen isn't super fancy...it's just the usual bowl topped with cha-siu and menma that feeds body and soul. "Ramen no Uta" was part of Baba's 22nd single "Ep. 3 ~ Yowai Mushi"（EP3～弱い虫...Weak Bugs） from November 2012. It peaked at No. 27.
Born in 1967, Baba has been playing the guitar since elementary school and got into the folk songs of Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）and Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）as well as the rock from Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）and RC Succession（RCサクセション）. His music career began in 1983 as a high school student who formed his own indies band Sun's Train（サンズトレイン）which lasted until 1992 with two albums coming out of that experience. His first major single was released in 1996 and since then, he's put out close to thirty singles along with over twenty studio and live albums up to 2024.
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