It was created in 1959 by Takao Saeki and Tadashi Yoshida(佐伯孝夫・吉田正), the same pair behind the 1962 hit duet tune, "Itsudemo Yume wo"(いつでも夢を). As I've mentioned, singers across the decades have sung this prime example of the Mood Kayo genre, but it's always been the first pairing of Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo (フランク永井・松尾和子)that has been connected with "Tokyo Nightclub". And in fact, the two would appear together often over the years on the Kohaku and various other music programs to perform it.
Composed for the express purpose of illustrating the atmosphere of nightlife in the big city, the melody sounds like something played during a quiet interlude at a Latin nightclub. The video above has Nagai and Matsuo singing their most famous song together. Lyrically, the two are exchanging flirtatious teases as if they've already had a few tumblers of that special whiskey. I think part of the song's initial success lied in the fact that it gave listeners a vicarious image of what the good life was like.
The staying power of this song has been amazing. If the Oricon rankings had been established at the time of the original's release, it probably would have been at the No. 1 spot for weeks if not months.
One of my own pictures from Akasaka. Lots of Tokyo Nightclubs there. |
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