Not too sure how this partnership got together, but they look pretty cute together in a parent-child sort of way. I first saw and heard this song on a broadcast of The Tunnels' Thursday night comedy-variety series on Fuji-TV years and years ago. Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ） was one of the guests/victims, and I distinctly remember the skit in which the crazier Tunnel, Takaaki Ishibashi, got Go to wake up from bed by tickling his "twig and berries"(I kid you not). Some minutes later, Ishibashi took on Kiki's role to perform this somewhat nutso ditty with Go about ghosts and rock music...with choreography.
The original version was released in September 1977, and I got to see the 22-year-old Go and the 34-year-old comical actress (and future mother-in-law of former aidoru/actor Motohiro Motoki), Kirin Kiki（樹木希林）, mix it up on an old retrospective show. Created by husband/wife songwriting team, Ryudo Uzaki and Yoko Aki（宇崎竜童・阿木曜子）(who whipped up a number of Momoe Yamaguchi's later hits), "Obake no Rock"(Ghost Rock) is about a ghost just moving into the neighbourhood and falling for a living girl coming into the local cafe (wonder if a show was produced out of this). Along with all of the cute silliness, the other notable thing about the performance is the intensity of the choreography which could almost rival that of the average Pink Lady song. I could've done without Go's ghost vocal effects which sounded like something from a lecherous dolphin.
Go's 23rd single was another feather in his cap as it peaked at No. 2 on Oricon (according to J-Wiki, although the above video has it being ranked at No. 1) and became the 29th-ranked song of 1977, selling around 400,000 records.
(September 16 2018: Kirin Kiki sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 75. "Obake no Rock" was featured during the NHK announcement this morning.)
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