Kentaro Shimizu -- Shitsuren Resutoran (失恋レストラン）

Kentaro Shimizu（清水健太郎） started out as an actor and tarento when he got his big musical break with "Shitsuren Resutoran"(Heartbreak Restaurant). Written and composed by R&B singer Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ） (he was the deep voice at the very beginning of Akemi Ishii's 1986 hit "Cha-Cha-Cha"), the song is a kayo kyoku funk classic with all of the Fender Rhodes piano and guitar and horns....just has that cool urban sound that I enjoyed in 70s Japanese pop.

Released in November 1976, Shimizu's debut single was a monster hit which spent a month at the top of the Oricon charts in 1977, and became the 9th-ranking song of that year. He also won the Newcomer's Award at the Japan Record Awards and an invitation to perform at that year's Kohaku Utagassen.