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.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Machiko Watanabe -- Kuchibiru yo, Atsuku Kimi wo Katare (唇よ、熱く君を語れ）


My first Machiko Watanabe（渡辺真知子） song was this one....a cheerful, breezy number whose title seems to translate as "Hey Lips, Talk Passionately About Yourselves". Watanabe hails from Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture and debuted in 1977 with "Mayoi Michi"（迷い道...Lost Way）, a mix of kayo kyoku and New Music. "Kuchibiru yo" is even more in the New Music/City Pop vein. Her 7th single was released in January 1980 and peaked at No. 4 on the Oricon weeklies, eventually becoming the 24th-ranked single of the year. It was also a track on Watanabe's 5th album, "Libra" which was released in August 1980.


Composed by Watanabe herself and written by Ryo Shoji (東海林良）, it was picked up as a commercial jingle for Kanebo Cosmetics. For me, it struck me as being a very car radio-friendly tune to be played in the summer.



Here is the video with Watanabe and Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）performing the signature song together.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 11, 2012 at 4:07 PM

    She was perhaps my favorite aritist while I lived in Japan from 1977 to 1982. Kamomegatondahi first caught my attention but I would say Mayoimichi is my favorite single followed by Kuchibiru yo...

    I happen to be returning for a reunion this month and am researching songs should the karaoke opportunity present itself (most probably).

    ReplyDelete
  2. J-CanuckJuly 11, 2012 at 11:06 PM

    Hi there, and thanks for the comment. I think you were right there when City Pop and the 2nd big aidoru boom just got off the launch pad. "Mayoi Michi" is a lovely song and I'm gonna have to cover that one as well soon.

    Yup, it wouldn't be a reunion without karaoke. Just curious but what is your No. 18(十八番)...your go-to song at the karaoke box or bar? For me, it will always be Yukiguni by Yoshi Ikuzo and then Takashi Hosokawa's Kita Sakaba. If I go into a pop direction, I usually go for Anzen Chitai or Mariko Takahashi.

    Take care,
    J-Canuck

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)