Alice -- Fuyu no Inazuma （冬の稲妻）

My first Alice entry, "Fuyu no Inazuma"(Winter Lightning) was the 70s folk/rock duo's first Top 10 hit, getting up to the No. 8 spot, after being released in October 1977. Their 11th single is one of the more toe-tappingly uptempo folk songs I've heard, notable for the repeated lyric, "You're rolling thunder" and then a breathy exhalation. It probably brings a lot of smiles even now especially to folks in their late 40s.

Alice consists of Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司） (lead vocals, guitar), Takao Horiuchi（堀内 孝雄）(vocals, guitar) and Tohru Yazawa（矢沢透）(drums). Back in 1970 during a concert tour in the United States, Tanimura, who had been the leader of an Osaka folk group, The Rock Candies, first met Yazawa who had been the guest drummer of another touring Tokyo soul band, Brown Rice. The two struck up a friendship and promised to go pro and set up their own band when they returned to Japan. Some time later, Tanimura would meet his future singing partner, Horiuchi, through a Kobe music appreciation club. Horiuchi himself was a vocal for a band with the imaginative name of Foolish Brother's Foot. Alice was born on Xmas Day 1971 in a room at a business hotel known as the Osaka Imperial.

Tanimura took care of the lyrics for "Fuyu no Inazuma", while Horiuchi composed the song. Both would later have successful solo careers with the former specializing in ballads while the latter would go into a mix of folk and enka. Tanimura also has had a songwriting career for other singers as well, with probably his proudest moment being the artist behind "Ii Hi Tabidachi"（いい日旅立ち）, one of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）greatest songs.

"Fuyu no Inazuma" can also be found on the album "ALICE VI", released in April 1978 and also a No. 1 record.