Toshinobu Kubota -- Ryuusei no Saddle (流星のサドル）

I first came across Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸） in 1989 when I was teaching at my larger junior high school in Gunma Prefecture. The 3rd-year girls at the school were rehearsing their group dance for the annual Culture Festival, and they happened to choose "Ryuusei no Saddle"(Meteor Saddle), Kubota's kinetic and funky first track from his 1986 debut album, "Shake It Paradise". Now, the kids didn't exactly bust a move to the song....as I remember it, it was more of a hurried military march. Still, the song stayed in my head far longer than the 3rd years' performance and I ended up getting Kubota's first Best album, "The Baddest".

I'm not sure if I would be right in saying that Kubota is the Father of J-R&B, but he is at least one of its pioneers. Since his debut as a spiky-haired Michael Jackson wannabe, he's gone on to explore a number of genres such as blues, soul and reggae over the last quarter-century. And he's composed tunes for artists ranging from 70s aidoru-turned-80s chanteuse Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美） to fellow J-R&B singer Misia. Along with Michael Jackson, Kubota has listed Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye among others as his inspirations.