Motoharu Sano -- Angelina (アンジェリーナ)

I came across rocker Motoharu Sano's（佐野元春）March 1980 debut single, "Angelina", a few nights ago. And right from the get-go, it sounds just like the image that I've had for the singer-songwriter. "Angelina" has that old-style rock n' roll with the guitar and the saxes.

There was something downright Early Springsteenian about it, and the image that coalesced in my brain was of teenage rebel-without-a-cause Rocko rumbling down the highway on his motorcycle while dreaming of his darling Angelina the ballerina. Rocko probably stood on a hill overlooking the great big city, smoking away a box of cigarettes and hoping to see the lass. Considering how Japanese pop culture back in those days included a whole bunch of rockabilly wannabes twisting away in Yoyogi Park, perhaps Sano's debut hit a certain chord.

However, there was nothing mentioned in J-Wiki about it hitting the Oricon charts. "Angelina" was also a track on his debut album which came out in April of that year, "Back to the Street". Apparently, that release also didn't chart but no problems. Sano would someday get his fame in the next few years. And this is pure speculation from me, but I wonder if Sano ended up inspiring future artists such as Ayumi Nakamura（中村あゆみ）, Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）and Tomoyasu Hotei（布袋寅泰）.