I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
I wasn't around when Elvis Presley had been enjoying his first several years of fame and fortune before he was drafted by Uncle Sam into the army. Can only imagine how many women screamed in despair at their idol becoming a military man, but he didn't do too badly at all. "G.I. Blues" the 1960 movie was one result.
I remember Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）mostly for his grand contributions to anison for epics such as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, so it was with some surprise years later that when the Tokyo native had first started out, he was all about his rockabilly, and as much as I have dubbed the lyricist to "Yamato", the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）, as the Irving Berlin of kayo kyoku, Sasaki was once given the nickname of the Japanese Elvis Presley.
Case in point: one of his earliest singles was his cover of "G.I. Blues" which came out in 1961. He doesn't do too badly and he actually does sound like Elvis if he had been fluent in Japanese. Let's try to imagine Elvis singing "Star Blazers". Unfortunately, I couldn't track down who came up with the Japanese lyrics.
It was probably one of the few times that "Uta Con"（うたコン）showed an episode tonight which didn't have a particular theme for the first fifteen minutes or so. However, one highlight was seeing 60s aidoru Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）and Mie Nakao（中尾ミエ）appear. Those two and Mari Sono（園まり）had formed one of the earliest kayo kyoku Gosanke（御三家）,the Spark Sannin Musume（スパーク3人娘）, in that decade. And unfortunately, the reason that Sono herself didn't show up with her former comrades is that the singer had passed away on July 26th this year at the age of 80 from heart failure.
The Spark Sannin Musume were scheduled to do a medley of their hits. However, a clumsy scene cut and the one performance of "Aitakute, Aitakute"（逢いたくて逢いたくて）by the remaining members tonight and Sono herself via vintage footage made it pretty clear that Jme had to cut out the rest of the medley in the high likelihood that those songs were Japanese covers of American hit tunes (due to the usual copyright issues). A lot of pop singers back then were doing those as much as they were doing original Japanese kayo.
Well, for my own tribute to Sono, I've decided to feature her January 1964 single"Kiichatta! Utacchata! Naichatta!" (I Heard It! I Sang It! I Cried to It!). It's an original Japanese tune done in a doo-wop rock n' roll style with Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）handling the music while Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）took care of the lyrics. It's pretty darn slick enough so that perhaps even fans of the old American pop from the 50s and 60s might wonder if it had been a cover of something by Connie Francis.
Sono may have had the A-side but both Nakao and Ito also sang the song as B-sides to their own January 1964 singles, "Onna no Ko damon"（おんなのこだもん...Cause I'm a Girl） for Nakao (above) and "Uta wo Oshiete"（歌をおしえて...Teach Me a Song） for Ito (below), with fairly different arrangements.
My belated condolences to Sono's family, friends and fans...and also to her Gosanke mates, Ito and Nakao.
Just for fun...and for the fact that I have just completed posting the lineup (for now) for the 75th edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen, I thought that this particular entry for the AI Gallery can include a few songs from the very first Kohaku that I got to watch as a teenager, the 32nd edition on New Year's Eve 1981. Enjoy!
I figured that since we've passed the midway mark of November, it would be time for the lineup announcement for the Red and White teams for this year's edition of NHK's annual Kohaku Utagassen. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, the lineup had come out. By the way, the Kohaku will be televised from 7:20 pm JST on December 31st at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Red Team
Aiko (15th appearance)
Aimyon (6)
Illit (1)
Sayuri Ishikawa (47)
Iruka (2)
HY (3)
Fuyumi Sakamoto (36)
Sakurazaka 46 (4)
Ringo Shiina (9)
Superfly (8)
Mariko Takahashi (6)
tuki. (1)
Yoshimi Tendo (29)
Twice (5)
Nogizaka 46 (10)
Me:I (1)
Misia (9)
Kaori Mizumori (22)
Ryokuoushoku Shakai (3)
Le Sserafim (3)
White Team
Omoinotake (1)
Creepy Nuts (1)
GLAY (4)
Hiromi Go (37)
Kocchi no Kento (1)
The Alfee (2)
JO1 (3)
Junretsu (7)
Da-iCE (1)
Together x Together (1)
Number_i (1)
Leon Niihama (1)
Be:First (2)
Masaharu Fukuyama (17)
Fujii Kaze (3)
Gen Hoshino (10)
Mrs. Green Apple (2)
Minami Kosetsu (6)
Hiroshi Miyama (10)
Keisuke Yamauchi (10)
Special Guest -- Kiyoshi Hiyama (24)
Your congenial hosts will be comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）, actress Kanna Hashimoto（橋本環奈）, actress Sairi Ito（伊藤沙莉）and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki（鈴木奈穂子）.
Some thoughts from me:
1) I kinda figured that either or both Creepy Nuts and Kocchi no Kento（こっちのけんと）would be showing up because of their catchy songs and dances. We might get everyone in NHK Hall participating during their performances. Not sure if the liniment or Salon-Pas will be available, though.
2) I had read a few days ago from the not-most-reliable source in Japan that no act associated with SMILE-UP (formerly Johnny's Entertainment) would be appearing on the Kohaku for the second year in a row, but it has now been confirmed. However, Number_i consists of three former members of King and Prince though this group is now under the TOBE Music label.
3) Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）, Minami Kosetsu（南こうせつ）, The Alfee and Iruka（イルカ）are returning which warms my old kayo kyoku heart. Almost all of them have roots in folk music so will we be getting some of their 1970s material? The Alfee is appearing for just their second time on the Kohaku; the first time they appeared was on the 34th edition back in 1983 which was one of the earliest times that I ever watched the show. Maybe they'll take another swing at "MARIE-ANNE".
4) Of course, there will be the panel of celebrity judges. Will baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani（大谷翔平）be one of them?
What everyone will be singing probably won't be announced until December. And as has often been the case, there will be changes in the lineup through additions most likely. Any announcements on these changes will be posted below over the coming days and weeks leading up to New Year's Eve. You can also take a look at the Wikipedia article on No. 75.
Seeing that my last article's song had some bossa nova interwoven into its tapestry. why not go for a bigger dose of the Brazilian genre today?
Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）2nd original album,"Mind Drops", from June 1977 has given me an impression that it is one of the major releases within that gelatinous region of New Music and City Pop, so perhaps I should give the entire album its own article someday. However, in the meantime, I'll stick with the first track on "Mind Drops", the calm blue ocean of "Taiyo no Hitorigoto" (Soliloquy of the Sun) which was written and composed by the singer.
The arrangement by Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）takes us into cocktail-sipping bossa nova territory although the opening scat of "dabba dabba da..." has me thinking of good ol' kayo kyoku as well. But it isn't Yuming's（ユーミン）husband helping out with the duet here. It's actually Sumio Akutagawa（芥川澄夫）behind the mike. At the time, he was a director at Toshiba EMI and had once been a guitarist for the folk group Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モワ）earlier in the decade.
Speaking of "Mind Drops", you can also take a gander at another track from the album, "Hatsukoi no Toori Ame"（初恋の通り雨）.
It was exactly a couple of months ago that I posted about Towa Tei's"GBI (German Bold Italic)" from 1997 and its fairly outré music video featuring Kylie Minogue. I would say that Tei's earlier creation "Technova" from his October 1994 debut album"Future Listening!" also has its own bizarre elements in the music video as well including a cute self-parody of how Tei has enjoyed putting up that thinking pose.
Generally though, the song itself is pretty chill although assuming that "Technova" is a Tei-created portmanteau of techno and bossa nova, I'd have to disagree with him slightly since I think it's more dance club-friendly Shibuya-kei mixed with the bossa nova. It's just that Shibunova isn't quite as neat and concise-sounding. In any case, "Technova" was released as a single as well later in March 1995 since it was also used in a commercial for the apparel company Onward. Vocal contribution to "Technova" was provided by Bebel Gilberto, the Brazilian pop singer who is also the daughter of the pioneer of bossa nova João Gilberto.
Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎) recorded a lot of cover songs, ranging from Meiji-Taisho enka to early Showa kayo to 1980s pop enka. It's thanks to these covers that I got to learn a fair amount about a wide array of songs, some of which becoming personal favourites.
But did you know, that the concept of covering pop songs, produced by record companies, wasn't as commonplace as it is now prior to the late 1960s? Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but based on my understanding of sources like Yusuke Wajima's (輪島裕介) "Tsukurareta 'Nihon no Kokoro' Shinwa" (創られた「日本の心」神話) (2010), it was due to the old record company contract system from the late 1920s.
What this system entailed was that a songwriter or singer, bound to a particular record company by contract, could not provide songs for a different company/sing songs made by a different company. There was also this concept of the mochi uta, where a song made for a singer was theirs and theirs only; to cover another's song (officially) was, I quote from venerable lyricist Kikutaro Takahashi (高橋掬太郎), "akin to betrayal", even if they were from the same company. For instance, Akira Matsudaira (松平晃) would not be able to cover Tadaharu Nakano's (中野忠晴)"China Tango" under most circumstances, even though they were both from Columbia Records. Or Columbia's Mr. Nakano would not have been able to cover King Records' Isao Hayashi's (林伊佐緒) "Kiso Bushi Bolero" (木曽節ボレロ). Rather limiting stuff.
Miura, Hachi, Yukiko Nomura From "Shinobu"
Of course, there were multiple exceptions and there were instances of insane loophole gymnastics. And one of these loopholes would change the record industry game for the better. This watershed moment that got rid of this limiting restriction was Shinichi Mori's (森進一) (Victor) cover album of Masao Koga's (古賀政男) (Columbia) works, "Kage wo Shitaite"(影を慕いて), from 1968. Initially seen as inconceivable, composer Kosho Inomata (猪俣公章) who was the album's director managed to do some insane contract red tape gymnastics and dodging Koga Sensei's initial wrath to get it done. This involved picking only the Koga Melody that did not "belong" to Columbia Records, i.e. those that were from the legendary composer's early Victor and Golden Age Teichiku days. The album's resounding success threw out the stigma around covers and cross-company collaborations. So much so that now it's essentially a given in at least the enka world. I'd go so far as to say that some past kayo have become "must covers"/a rite of passage for any modern day enka singer. Oddly enough, one of these enka rites of passages is doing a Koga Melody cover.
In terms of same company covers, assuming the producers at King Records weren't being hyperbolic, the first full-on same company artist collab album was Hachi and his junior Michiya Mihashi's (三橋美智也)"Ougon no Utagoe" (黄金の歌声) from 1970. That was where both artists covered about 14 of each others' mochi uta. I believe it was also in 1970 when Kasuga began recording cover songs in earnest.
Anyways, this brief Japanese record industry history tidbit leads me to what I want to feature for my Hachi Centenary Project article: Hachi's cover songs I enjoy. I've always been picky about original singers, but sometimes covers just hit different, sometimes with better arrangements or better vocals. It's with these factors in mind that I share my picks of Hachi covers. At the same time, perhaps these songs may introduce you to some Taisho and Showa era classics, as they did for me. As a side note, I will also mention some of the albums each song is in.
This song is difficult with some intense peaks and dips, but Hachi maneuvers them so effortlessly and smoothly in this classic nagashi/sasurai mono. Maybe folks are right in saying that Hachi is just good at these sort of enka style kayo.
Albums: Showa no Enka Kasuga Hachiro Fukyu no Meisaku wo Utau (昭和の艶歌 春日八郎不朽の名作を歌う) (1971), Kasuga Hachiro Enka Hyaku Sen (春日八郎 演歌百選) (1973)
Hachi said that jazz doesn't fit him and some have said that he couldn't express that jazz feeling. I have to admit that there are some number where I felt that the jazz feeling was lacking a little. But not with this one. Also, it may be a hot take to fans of early Showa Japanese jazz, but this is the best version of "Dotonbori Koshinkyoku" with the best arrangement. I will die on this hill.
A point to note is that Hachi re-recorded this in his 1975 "Kasuga Hachiro no Osaka Jocho" (春日八郎の大阪情緒), but its arrangement was not as raw and... jazzy. The original cover from the 1962 "Taisho/Showa Hayari-uta" (春日八郎の大正・昭和はやり唄) album is the one I'm for.
Albums: Kasuga Hachiro no Taisho/Showa Hayari-uta, Kasuga Hachiro no Osaka Jocho, Kasuga Hachiro Osaka wo Utau (春日八郎 大阪を歌う) (2011)
I praise the creative decision to have Hachi sing the chorus, "Batten Nagasaki __ no machi, mimase yokatoko yori masse" (But Nagasaki's the city of__, c'mon over and check out this fine place... The line is in the Nagasaki/Kyushu dialect), unlike Higuchi's original. Higuchi's wasn't bad, but it just felt lacking to have just the back-up singers handle that crucial bit.
Albums: Kasuga Hachiro no Nagasaki no Jocho (春日八郎の長崎情緒) (1976), Kasuga Hachiro Showa Kayo wo Utau (春日八郎 昭和歌謡を歌う) (2010)
Karisome no Koi (かりそめの恋) (1949) -- Machiko Sanjo (三条町子)
Fun fact: I believe this was one of the songs Hachi saw/hear Mrs. Kasuga, Keiko Watabe (渡部恵子), sing while she was working as a part-time singer at the same restaurant as him back in the day. On a side note, I feel that Hachi's soft, forlorn-tinged voice fits this sort of blues/Mood Kayo-like songs to a T.
Album: Nihon no Uta Meiji/Taisho/Showa Hayari-uta (日本の歌 明治・大正・昭和はやりうた) (1977)
Onna no Kaikyu (女の階級) (1936) -- Shigeo Kusunoki (楠木繁夫)
Of all the songs on this is one of the rare numbers where I enjoy both the original and the cover in equal measure. Anyways, I've read that Koga Sensei wanted "Onna no Kaikyu" to be of a slower pace, contrary to the brisk pace of Kusunoki's original. I think it's in covers like Hachi's where you can hear the composer's intended vision.
Albums: Kasuga Hachiro Koga Melody wo Utau (春日八郎 古賀メロディーを歌う) (1971/1975/1992), Kasuga Hachiro Koga Masao wo Utau (春日八郎 古賀政男を歌う) (1974), Showa no Enka Kasuga Hachiro Fukyu no Meisaku wo Utau, Kasuga Hachiro Enka Hyaku Sen
Palau Koishiya (パラオ恋しや) (1941) -- Haruo Oka (岡晴夫)
Hachi's smooth delivery makes Okapparu's mochi uta more polished, and I think you can feel it in a relaxed tropical island number like "Palau Koishiya". Interestingly enough, even though Kasuga recorded this cover, it wasn't included in his 1977 Oka cover album, "Kasuga Hachiro Oka Haruo wo Utau" (春日八郎 岡晴夫を歌う). Rather it seems to have only been released decades later in 2010 via "Showa Kayo wo Utau". Perhaps they'd already hit the song limit for the 1977 one, so "Palau Koishiya" got dropped.
Fun fact: Okapparu, known for that strident and nasally delivery with large lung capacity, was said to have developed these attributes during his days as an enka shi/nagashi (street musician). Because of the cigarette smog in bars, he learned to sing in this manner to reduce the need for inhaling the smoke and damaging his vocals.
Albums: Kasuga Hachiro Showa Kayo wo Utau
Hoshi no Nagare ni(星の流れに) (1947) -- Akiko Kikuchi (菊池章子)
The hardship of immediate postwar Japan can be felt in this song about the realities of many women who had to turn to working the night to survive. Perhaps it would be more appropriate sung by a woman, but Hachi's voice is more filled with a pained longing than heavy melancholy, which fits the emotions expressed in this song.
Albums: Enka to wa Nandarou Kasuga Hachiro Show (演歌とは何だろう〈春日八郎ショー〉)(1973), Kasuga Hachiro Enka Hyaku Sen, Kasuga Hachiro Showa Kayo wo Utau
Epilogue
Something I noticed when studying the covers Hachi recorded was that he never covered any (Ryoichi) Hattori (服部良一) Melody save for one: Mieko Takamine's (高峰三枝子) "Kohan no Yado" (湖畔の宿) - correct me if I'm wrong. I wonder if it's because R. Hatter was known for jazz and "pop", and thus not fitting with the enka rhetoric in the 70s and 80s.
On a different note, among the other fellas I love, Hachi has covered Akira-san's, Bin Uehara's (上原敏), and Yoshio Tabata's (田端義夫) stuff. As I've said, I can be very picky with covers. As much as I love Hachi, originals win here, especially for Bin-san and Batayan. I'm more forgiving with the Akira-san covers, though. This is because Hachi and Akira-san vaguely share a similar vocal quality in that they are great at conveying forlornness - the difference is that Hachi sounds empathetic while Akira-san sounds needy (purely subjective). So, I thought the former's covers of the latter's hits, "Isoge Horo Basha" (急げ幌馬車) and "Circus no Uta" (サーカスの唄), were pretty good, but the arrangements just fell short.
"Isoge Horo Basha"
But, y'know, a dream Hachi cover of mine is "China Tango". I know I'll regret it because, while I know it'll be good, Hachi has nowhere near the same level of sex appeal as Mr. Nakano to pull it off. But I just want to hear it. Not because it'll be hot, but because I think it'll be kinda funny.
