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.
In the early 80s, a 16-year-old girl from Ota Ward, Tokyo, tried out for the Nippon TV talent show "Star Tanjo"(スター誕生...A Star Is Born) and was selected for grooming into one of the many aidoru to debut in 1982. And on May 1 of that year, Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜） first single, "Slow Motion" was released, entering the charts at No. 58. Written and composed by the prolific Kisugi siblings (Takao『来生たかお』 and Etsuko『来生えつこ』), the song peaked at No. 30 on Oricon in late July and stayed in the charts for 39 weeks, not too shabby for an aidoru's debut. Since it was her debut, it would be a couple of years at least before her voice matured into that deeper, smokier delivery.
"Slow Motion" was released as one track on her debut album of "Prologue" which was released in July 1982 and reached as high as No. 2 on the album charts.
Composer Takao Kisugi is also a singer himself, and he did his own cover of "Slow Motion" with a City Pop arrangement. Sorry the above is a karaoke version.
Star Tanjou clip where Akina sings Momoe Yamaguchi for record company executives is frequently uploaded and deleted on YouTube. If any viewer is lucky to find it, pay attention to the gentleman MC who is standing next to podium. He is emphatically listening and supporting singer with his moves, and when Akina manages to handle difficult parts, he is smiling broadly. He is none other but Kyu Sakamoto.
Yeah, I've been holding a small competition against the powers-that-be that have been pulling down the videos. I just try to find alternate videos instead.
Kyu Sakamoto, eh? No one can ever forget his smile!
Star Tanjou clip where Akina sings Momoe Yamaguchi for record company executives is frequently uploaded and deleted on YouTube. If any viewer is lucky to find it, pay attention to the gentleman MC who is standing next to podium. He is emphatically listening and supporting singer with his moves, and when Akina manages to handle difficult parts, he is smiling broadly. He is none other but Kyu Sakamoto.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've been holding a small competition against the powers-that-be that have been pulling down the videos. I just try to find alternate videos instead.
ReplyDeleteKyu Sakamoto, eh? No one can ever forget his smile!