Tomoko Soryo（惣領智子）may have started becoming more well known with the City Pop boom worldwide in the late 2010s and certainly on this blog, her material covered has been along those urban contemporary lines. However, I did find one song by her recently which has nothing to do with skyscrapers and cocktail-serving bars.
In fact, I'd say that her July 1978 single "Owari no nai Uta" (A Song with No End) is more like a breath of cold and refreshing country air. Written by Kohei Oikawa（及川恒平）and composed/arranged by her then-husband Yasunori Soryo（惣領泰則）is a proud folksy ballad that brings to mind some of those grand love songs by female singers that I used to hear on AM radio when I was an elementary school kid. Not sure if it had ever been used for a commercial, but if it had been used for an ad, I could imagine it being for a car driving those long distances in the countryside. As it is, though, "Owari no nai Uta" was Soryo's biggest hit as a solo singer, peaking at No. 21 on Oricon.
This song is amazing, I wonder if it riffed off an unknown American song. It sounds early to mid 1970s Americana to me.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if it did, Robert. There is something very American 70s pop about it.
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