Candies -- Natsu ga Kita! （夏が来た!）

Candies（キャンディーズ）were always a group that I had associated with the season of spring due to their huge hit "Haru Ichiban"（春一番）from March 1976. However, just a couple of months after that single came their 10th release, "Natsu ga Kita!" (Summer Has Come).

With the same sort of bubbly energy that inhabited many a Candies song, Ran, Su & Miki decided to give tribute to the hot season as well thanks to Yusuke Hoguchi's（穂口雄右）music and lyrics. And it was also another Top 10 hit for the trio as it peaked at No. 5 and ended the year as the 72nd-ranked song. Selling about 176,000 copies in its initial release, the sales went up even further to about 260,000 when Candies had their final concert in 1978. "Natsu ga Kita!" would also be Hoguchi's final contribution to their discography after providing a number of hit singles for the ladies including the aforementioned "Haru Ichiban".

Still, listening to "Natsu ga Kita!", there is a certain relaxed feeling to the song when compared to the near-anthemic "Haru Ichiban" despite the horns that are blaring away in the live versions performed on the TV shows.

Of course, this song is not to be confused with its namesake by Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）which was created later in the century.