Hideaki Tokunaga（徳永英明） was a regular fixture on those tapes of music shows that my family had rented from Nippon Video all those years ago. This song was one of the reasons. The first few words of "Kagayaki Nagara"(While You're Shining), "Sugao ni melody...." can almost be like the ultimate clarion call from Tokunaga; whenever his name comes to mind, those lyrics quickly follow.
Tokunaga's ode was released in July 1987 as his 4th single, and was created by Akira Ohtsu and Kisaburo Suzuki（大津あきら・鈴木キサブロ）. I think the key attraction to him has been those light but penetrating vocals of his. That dreamy and creamy delivery probably struck a lot of girls' hearts like curare-tipped arrows, and it also didn't hurt that he had that sad puppy dog expression whenever he showed up on shows like "The Top Ten".
Who was the girl in the video?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. However, a lot of comments on Yahoo Japan were inquiring about what the relationship was between her and Tokunaga.
DeleteThis was the first Tokunaga song I listened to and the first song I learned on the piano, but I have to say that I don't really like the original arrangement. Not really a fan of how the song suddenly starts and how the synths are kind of loud.
ReplyDeleteHello, Rezende. To be honest, it's not my favourite Tokunaga song either; there are quite a few others above "Kagayaki Nagara" for me such as "Yume wo Shinjite" and "Rainy Blue". By the way, if you were rearranging this one, how would you improve upon it?
DeleteHi, J-Canuck. Firstly, I must say that I was surprised to see my videos in the No-Sleeve no Christmas and Natsu no Radio posts. I've been collecting Tokunaga videos for almost 10 years since he is my favorite singer.
Delete"Yume wo Shinjite" is such a fun song, and the sax is really enjoyable to listen to. It's a shame we haven't gotten a sax in live concerts since 2001.
About "Kagayakinagara", I've heard about four different intros for the song, and I think the best one, and the one that would fit better in the album, is the BIRDS/DEAR tour intro. There is a guitar almost imperceptible playing in the background, and I would make it louder and turn down the synths.
Hi, Rezende. I hope you haven't minded having your videos placed onto the blog. I just look for any video that represents the song since I know how quickly they can be taken down by the powers-that-be.
DeleteI've known about Tokunaga since his debut when I first saw his appearances on "The Best 10" via VHS videotape but "Yume wo Shinjite" is the first song by him that I heard after arriving in Japan to work and live. And it's the first really upbeat tune by him to hear. Usually it's been about the love ballad about him up to then.
Recently, I've been hearing orchestral versions of Japanese pop music at the singers' beckoning. I wonder how that treatment would suit "Kagayakinagara"?
"The Best 10", "Uta no Top 10" and "Yoru no Hit Studio" were such cool shows with many Tokunaga appearances, but I wasn't even alive at that time. I remember seeing Tokunaga for the first time in a YouTube video singing "Kagayakinagara" in a Christmas special of "MUSIC FAIR".
DeleteWhen you have the time, take a look at this "Kagayakinagara" performance with orchestral arrangements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeaXVp-wb4A&ab_channel=MELODYLELOU
Yeah, I remember all those shows as well...and I was strangely alive at that time. :) I think what also helped sell Tokunaga along with his voice, was that hang-dog expressions and those puppy dog eyes. Some of us in Japanese language school knew a guy like that and the running gag was that we would hypnotized into doing something nice for him out of sympathy.
DeleteThanks for the link to the orchestral version of "Kagayaki Nagara". It sounds like the perfect performance to give before retiring from music.