Kiyohiko Ozaki -- Ai suru Hito wa Hitori （愛する人はひとり）

Currently delving again into the "Seishun Uta Nenkan"（青春歌年鑑）series of CDs, I went through Disc 1 from 1972 earlier this afternoon and I was surprised to find out quite a few numbers that I had never brought onto the blog. Therefore, you may be seeing a few more entries for this year in the coming weeks.

One such song was by the late Kiyohiko Ozaki（尾崎紀世彦）. He was a singer from way back when who had one of the big booming voices, and he's most famous for the happy "Mata Au Hi Made"（また逢う日まで）, one of the classic kayo.

Well, on the 1972 disc, I found his 5th single which came out in November 1971 (perhaps it didn't make waves until 1972), "Ai suru Hito wa Hitori" (Only One I Love). What's notable about this one is how Swingin' 60s it sounds...especially from the intro which has some perkily wicked electric piano and horns that's reminiscent of Burt Bacharach. However, it's the remarkable Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）who's behind the go-go boot-kickin' music with Yu Aku（阿久悠）providing the lyrics. Both of them were also responsible for "Mata Au Hi Made".

Listening to the short-but-sweet song on the CD then hearing it again a couple of times on YouTube, my mind went into music sommelier mode and picked out not only general Bacharach but specific songs such as his "Bond Street" and even "MacArthur Park" created by Jimmy Webb and sung originally by Richard Harris (yep, I mean that Richard Harris from "Harry Potter"). In terms of Oricon success, "Ai suru Hito wa Hitori" reached as high as No. 2.

Now, there might be some folks who wouldn't know "Bond Street" by its title. However, once you listen to the song, you might recognize it as not only a tune that was used late in the original and weird "Casino Royale" from the 1960s but also for any "Family Guy" fans, the song that Stewie Griffin likes to play whenever he wants to have his sexy party.

Also to illustrate how old I am and how much of a Canadian I am, I also remember "Bond Street" being the theme song for the cheesy charades game show "Party Game" back in the 1970s. And yep, I was a devoted viewer.