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.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Rumiko Koyanagi -- Imasara Jiro (今さらジロー)


As I hinted in the article for Rumiko Koyanagi's(小柳ルミ子)"Ohisashiburi ne"(お久しぶりね), there was quite the change between the singer-actress' early 1970s innocent country girl persona and the super-confident maneater that she showed from the early 1980s. Obviously, a decade is more than enough time for anyone to metamorphose, but still it was like seeing Olivia Newton-John's Sandy character from "Grease" making that switch from Sandra Dee into that leather-clad vamp at the end of the movie.

"Ohisashiburi ne" was performed by Koyanagi at the Kohaku Utagassen of 1983, and I got to see the new playgirl side to the singer then. The next year, she came out with her follow-up single, her 38th, "Imasara Jiro" (Too Little Too Late Jiro). Written and composed by the same fellow behind "Ohisashiburi ne", Masato Sugimoto(杉本真人), "Imasara Jiro" had Koyanagi feeling even brasher and more ravenous on the stage with another harem of good-looking fellows tripping the light fantastic with her. Of course, there was another appearance at NHK Hall at the end of 1984.

The singer took on the gleeful role of a spurned vengeful lover as she took the screws to a fellow who had dumped her a few years back, only for the heel to come crawling back for a second chance. Not this time, Jack...or Jiro. The lass has got some new plans and none of them include the guy, since she probably has a whole ton of guys now at her beck and call.


"Imasara Jiro" was released in May 1984. It didn't do quite as well as the previous single, only peaking at No. 66. But that's OK...I'm sure Koyanagi didn't really mind too much with all those fellows around her. The interesting thing is that in the J-Wiki article for the song, it was labeled as an "aidoru" tune! She may have started out as one back in the 1970s, but I think she certainly graduated from that era by the time this song came out.


No comments:

Post a Comment

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