Etsuko Sai and Toshinobu Kubota -- Eien no Morning Moon (永遠のモーニング・ムーン）

Hmmmm....how do I start this? Well...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

First off, my first duet entry.

"Eien no Morning Moon"(Eternal Morning Moon) is notable in that it brings together two singers from urban music genres in Japan: soul/R&B for Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸） and City Pop for Etsuko Sai（彩恵津子）.Kubota had just debuted as a singer when he composed this tune with Sai partially taking care of the lyrics. The song was released as part of Sai's 4th original album, "Passio"in October 1986. It's a cool nighttime song, to be sure.

But then, going back to my starting statement, listen to this tune.

This is "Take Good Care Of My Heart" by the late Whitney Houston and Jermaine Jackson from Whitney's first album in 1985. Another fun song to listen to, and one that I had never heard until tonight since it had never been released as a single (I just have her BEST album which doesn't include the number). Man, I love my 80s R&B! But the 800-lb elephant in the room is just how similar the songs are. Not exactly identical twins, but....

This isn't the first case of highly similar pairings between songs from Japan and the West. I have heard a Yoko Oginome（荻野目洋子）song borrow....liberally...from British funk band Level 42's "Lessons In Love", and I'm sure there are other examples out there. But y'know what? It's initially annoying to hear, but I'm not a lawyer representing either side here, and heck, I'm just happy that I can listen to these two songs, despite how similar they sound. Then again, I've always wondered if attorneys representing Jackson and Houston had ever heard "Eien no Morning Moon."

However, Ray Parker Jr. may be kicking himself if he ever visits this entry...heh heh.