Pal/Ichiro Araki -- Yoake My Way（夜明けのマイウェイ）

 

Although I got into Japanese variety shows and all of those music ranking programs from the 1970s, the typical drama was something that I never really got into. However, the above show "Chotto My Way"（ちょっとマイウェイ...My Little Own Way） which was broadcast as a comedy-drama based on life in a Tokyo restaurant on NTV between October 1979 and March 1980 on Saturday nights caught my eye because of the cast consisting of people who are now considered to be veteran thespians and/or legends such as Naoko Ken（研ナオコ）and Kaori Momoi（桃井かおり）.

What caught my ear as well was the theme song by the vocal group Pal（パル）. The last time I posted about this band which lasted between 1977 and 1982 was back in December 2023, and they have been notable in their presence on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for the fact that each of their songs here have been given different genres, so they were certainly variable in the type of music they sang.

In any case, the theme song for "Chotto My Way" was "Yoake My Way" (Daybreak My Way) which has a half-grand/half-disco opening and ending on the same level as a theme tune for an American prime-time drama in the 1970s. In between though, the song (and words) by Ichiro Araki（荒木一郎）sticks to a jaunty pop arrangement that fits the typical sitcom style in Japan, and as I hinted above, it's the first time that I've used the pop label to describe a Pal song. And this time, it's obvious that the main vocalist is Kayo Watanabe（渡辺香世）. 

The J-Wiki article on Pal is a relatively short one but it does have a section on "Yoake My Way" itself since it did get its own single release in October 1979 and became a hit for the band. It scored a No. 18 ranking on Oricon (ending up as the No. 80 single of the year), selling 400,000 records.

There were a few other artists who covered "Yoake My Way" including the original songwriter Araki himself. His version showed up on his April 1981 album "Concertrick" and it's a more laidback and groovier take.