Chage and Aska -- Say Yes

1991 was a bumper crop year for Fuji-TV as far as its Monday night dramas at 9 were concerned. The first drama of the year "Tokyo Love Story" was not only an eventual ratings blockbuster but its theme song "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni"（ラブ・ストーリは突然に...Suddenly A Love Story) would become Kazumasa Oda's（小田和正） first million-seller and the top Oricon single of the year.

Then, later in the summer came another popular drama, "Hyakuikkaime no Propose"（１０１回目のプロポーズ....The 101st Proposal), a story of a salary-making nebbish who improbably courts a cool beauty. The theme song was sung by Chage & Aska, a duo which debuted back in 1979 with the single "Hitori Saki"（ひとり咲き....One Blossom). Shuuji Shibata（柴田秀之） and Shigeaki Miyazaki （宮崎重明）were high school friends in their native Fukuoka who, though they were in different bands at the time, eventually paired up and took on the name Chage & Aska. In a way, they share a parallel with the American duo Hall & Oates: the taller, more handsome partner with the shorter sidekick singing ballads and uptempo pop.

Over the years, they've had their hits but the heartfelt "Say Yes" was their biggest success. Selling close to 3 million discs, it is currently the 7th-best-selling single in Oricon history and was the 2nd-ranked song of the year, just behind Oda's "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni". It was in the top spot for 13 consecutive weeks, from early August to late October after first being released as the duo's 27th single in July 1991.

This is the full version from Chage & Aska. In terms of karaoke, although Oda's magnum opus is an epic, I think "Say Yes" is probably a more approachable song to sing.