Sunday, December 10, 2017

1983 Kohaku Utagassen (34th Edition)


Well, being as it is December and therefore close to the 68th Kohaku Utagassen for 2017, I figure that I will close off the trilogy of my Kohaku remembrances with the 34th, or 1983, edition, following my article on the 1982 show back in the summer.


The 1981, 1982 and 1983 shows are the ones that have remained the most memorable for me. After that, for some reason, the Kohaku Utagassen stopped becoming ultra-special. I can remember a couple of performances for the 1984 and 1985 shows but following those, it all becomes a hazy blur.

First off, let's get the Red and White teams for the 1983 edition out of the way. And incidentally, knowing how sensitive NHK can get about its own footage being on YouTube, I've had to put in videos of the following stars from shows other than the Kohaku.

Red Team

Hiromi Iwasaki                        Ieji (9th appearance)
Yoshie Kashiwabara                Haru Nanoni (1st)
Naoko Kawai                           UN Balance (3rd)
Miyuki Kawanaka                   Yarazu no Ame (3rd)
Ikue Sakakibara                       Kanashiki Claxon (6th)
Rumiko Koyanagi                   Ohisashiburi ne (13th)
Chiyoko Shimakura                Tsumiki Kuzushi (27th)
Mieko Makimura                    Juhyou no Yado (3rd)
Mika Hino                               Hisame (1st)
Yu Hayami                              Natsu Iro no Nancy (1st)
Akina Nakamori                     Kinku (1st)
Mizue Takada                         Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete (6th)
Anri                                         CAT'S EYE (1st)
Harumi Miyako                      Naniwa Koi Shigure (19th)
Mina Aoe                                Osaka Blues (17th)
Seiko Matsuda                        Glass no Ringo (4th)
Aki Yashiro                             Nihon Kai (11th)
Naoko Ken                              Nakasete (7th)
Masako Mori                           Ettou Tsubame (11th)
Sachiko Kobayashi                  Futatabino (5th)
Kiyoko Suizenji                       Asakusa Monogatari (19th)

White Team

Hideki Saijo                            Gyarandu (10th)
Goro Noguchi                         19:00 no Machi (11th)
Hiromi Go                               Suteki ni Cinderella Complex (11th)
Eisaku Okawa                         Sazanka no Yado (1st)
Shibugaki-tai                           Chouhatsu Mugendai (2nd)
Kenji Sawada                          Hare Nochi BLUE BOY (11th)
Haruo Minami                         Sasurai Goza Makura (26th)
Masao Sen                               Yuuyake Gumo (11th)
Tomio Umezawa                     Yume Shibai (1st)
ALFEE                                    Marie-Anne (1st)
Masahiko Kondo                     Tameiki Rockabilly (3rd)
Joji Yamamoto                        Umi Nari (3rd)
Kenji Niinuma                         Sake to Futari Zure (8th)
Hideo Murata                           Karate Ichidai (22nd)
Southern All Stars                   Tokyo Shuffle (3rd)
Toshihiko Tahara                     Saraba...Natsu (4th)
Saburo Kitajima                      Gyouka (21st)
Yoichi Sugawara                     Amant (17th)
Hiroshi Itsuki                          Sasame Yuki (13th)
Shinichi Mori                          Fuyu no Riviera (16th)
Takashi Hosokawa                  Yagiri no Watashi (9th)



Quite some interesting things in this show. For one thing, unlike the 1981 and 1982 editions, the rookie singer didn't start things off. It was actually one of my favourites, Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）, who launched the 1983 special with one of my favourites by her, "Ieji"（家路）. I was accustomed to seeing her near the end of the Kohaku.


The show was notable for featuring a lot of singers I have now known for years making their debut on the Kohaku. For example, this was the first time for me to ever find out about Anri（杏里）. And it was one of her most famous works, "CAT'S EYE".


Plus, there was ALFEE with "Marie-Anne"（メリーアン）. My first impression of them from their individualistic appearances was that this was indeed a band which was a motley crew. Unfortunately, I couldn't find their Kohaku appearance online but at least you can see what the song is all about above.


On the aidoru front, there was Yu Hayami（早見優）with "Natsu Iro no Nancy"（夏色のナンシー）who knocked me for a loop when she actually spoke in English to the folks out there.


But of course, there was future superstar Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）who made her first appearance at a Kohaku with "Kinku"（禁区）. Always loved that hairdo from back then.


One of the other highlights for me was seeing Ikue Sakakibara（榊原郁恵）performing "Kanashiki Claxon"（悲しきクラクション）with some of her teammates giving their version of an 80s fashion show.


Of course, the enka side of things was still well represented with folks like Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）and Shinichi Mori（森進一）.




One of the reasons that I've remembered Kohakus 1981~1983 so fondly was that all three of them had their big show stopping numbers. The 1981 edition had the young singers give their tribute to Quincy Jones' "Ai no Corrida" (it is the reason that I eventually bought the amazing album "The Dude") and the 1982 show had those young'uns do a Beatles medley.

However, the 1983 number may have have outdone the first two with pretty much everybody on the Red and White teams take part in an epic Latin version of an American standard "Begin The Beguine". The execution wasn't perfect but the energy and intent were full-on. Plus, seeing the old buddies Murata and Minami give the final note and catching Hiromi Iwasaki laugh up her lungs were worth the price of admission.
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5 comments:

  1. FranciumDecember 16, 2017 at 2:18 AM

    Hi, J-Canuck.

    Great review of the 83 Kohaku! Reading this made me want to see it again, which I did. Luckily the online full version of the show I found sometime ago was still available.

    Like you, I find the Kohakus from the early 80s the most special, since it was where it all started for me. The 82 and 83 editions are my favorites (for obvious reasons)

    Hiromi Iwasaki's' opening act was an awesome start to the show. She was a such lovely vision in her elegant white gown with a beautiful voice to match. Out of her Kohaku appearances, I love this one along with her '81 one where she sang her すみれ色の涙 (my favorite Iwasaki song) The boys started strong too, with the Shin Gosanke as the first three lined up. IIRC, it was the last time all three of them appeared in the same Kohaku.

    Somehow I have the impression that Yu Hayami was born or grew up in Hawaii, not sure where I read it, but maybe that's why she was rallying for support in English. It was definitely great to see her and the other newbies like Yoshie Kashiwabara and Akina, whom I like the most amongst all the aidorus, making their debut.

    The Kohaku version of Begin The Beguine was indeed pretty epic, on so many different levels. The performance was vibrant and colorful, the ladies were all lovely, the dancing was nifty, the tune was catchy...AND I couldn't help laughing out loud when I saw the guys dressed in the frilly V-cut costume :D Not sure I like that look but guess it was suited to the song. I didn't notice Ms Iwasaki laughing at first, as I was too distracted by the unusual sight of the two amigos in ponchos and sombreros. Good thing you pointed it out, as it was such a charming moment.

    Another thing special about this 83 Kohaku was that there was not just one showstopper, but three where everyone took part. One looked like a festival with them stacking bales of hay (very impressive how they threw the bales of hay around without hitting anyone on the very crowded stage, and managed to stack them up in 3 minutes) with Hideo Murata looking super cool as the village head or the boss of some kind. The third one was about the four seasons which had very nice backdrops. I cannot remember another Kohaku where they had so many joint performances and all three performances were awesome.

    Ultimately, for me, the biggest highlight of the 83 Kohaku was the finale (https://youtu.be/NxxDXfbXOEQ) Every time I watch this video, there is a risk of me turning back to a starry-eyed school girl :P But it is something unforgettable for me.

    Just one last note, back to Begin The Beguine. Coincidentally, I came across the song Tasogare No Beguine just a few days back and I really like the song. I didn't know what the song means so of course I have to look for information at the one place where I know I will not be disappointed. Great article on the song, thank you! Some good stuff you have there too. I am definitely not a beefcake person, but Redford, Newman and Elvis.... Oh Yeah!

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    Replies
    1. J-CanuckDecember 16, 2017 at 2:01 PM

      Hello, Francium.

      Good to hear from you again. Yes, Kohaku '83 was indeed a special one, especially considering some of the singers who made their appearance for the first time on a Kohaku (and into my existence).

      According to J-Wiki, Hayami was born in Shizuoka but ended up living overseas in Guam and Hawaii from ages 3-14.

      I did read in the J-Wiki article for Kohaku '83 that there were a number of showstoppers although I only remember "Begin The Beguine". I kinda wish that someone would upload the "Ai no Corrida" number from the 1981 show.

      Ahhh...you like the veterans from the old days, eh? I've also enjoyed my flicks from the Golden Age of Hollywood. My list of favourite actors goes back a bit further with Bogie, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Kate Hepburn.

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  2. FranciumDecember 24, 2017 at 2:18 AM

    Hi, J-Canuck.

    Yep, I find the movie stars from years past to have that special charm and star quality. It's a stellar list of names you have there, I will add Audrey Hepburn too, who was simply sublime and mesmerizing.

    I've not seen the Ai no Corrida on youtube, in fact I find it quite hard to search for Kohaku clips there since they are usually not labeled as such, probably to avoid them from being pulled. It is impressive how many you found for this 83 Kohaku.

    I have however found complete Kohaku shows on some other sites and really enjoyed watching all my favourites from the 80s. Hope it is ok for me to post the links here. I watched them on my old ipad and so far it didn't give me a problem.

    1981 http://www.bilibili.com/video/av7679889/
    Ai no Corrida is at 55 mins.
    At 76mins, we have the cute segment where the boys and girls sang old kayo songs together (and Akira Terao with his uber cool Ruby no Yubiwa just before this)

    1982 https://www.bilibili.com/video/av12844245/
    The Beatles medley is at 42 mins and like the previous year, they did the old kayo thing again at ard 72 mins, to even more hilarious effect.

    1983 http://www.bilibili.com/video/av5081868/
    The three joint performances are at
    30 mins Begin the Beguine
    52 mins Hay stacking song (I can't figure out the real title of the song, but this is my fav out of the three, for obvious reasons)
    111 mins Four Seasons

    Now if I can only find the 1984 Kohaku somewhere, I will be one very happy bunny. Although the best would be for NHK to simply release all these in some compilations for sale instead of keeping all the valuable footage to gather dust in their vault.

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    Replies
    1. J-CanuckDecember 24, 2017 at 9:51 AM

      Ah, Francium. You truly know the meaning of Christmas! Thank you very kindly for the bounty of material you have given me. In fact, I have put up the link for the 1981 Kohaku onto my article for "Ai no Corrida".

      http://kayokyokuplus.blogspot.ca/2014/12/quincy-joneschaz-jankel-ai-no-corrida.html

      After having watched the footage for the first time in 36 years, I still remember why I was so mesmerized by the Kohaku. But yes, I have to admit that Quincy Jones is still the master at this song.

      I think that's a good idea about NHK putting together the various Kohaku and selling them. There are enough current curmudgeons out there (including my parents...and me, to a certain extent) griping about how it's not the same anymore. :)

      In any case, I thank you again for your information and wish you and yours a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

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    2. FranciumJanuary 5, 2018 at 11:45 PM

      You are most welcome, J-Canuck!

      Nice piece on the Ai No Corrida. I'm quite familiar with Quincy Jones's version as I heard it way back when I was a kid. Reminds me of the times when my brother tried to turn our tiny flat into a discotheque with lights off and disco music blaring from the stereo, and all of us kids jumping around pretending to be dancing kings and queens :D

      So the 81 Kohaku performance of this song had such special significance to you, a bit like what the 82 Kohaku means to me. Made me doubly glad to share what I found. I wasn't sure whether to post the links initially as I thought you might be able to see them somewhere else.

      If you have time and are in the mood for more oldies after watching the latest edition of the Kohaku, here are a couple more:

      1986
      https://www.bilibili.com/video/av3883696/?from=search&seid=380989444715433240

      1979 https://www.bilibili.com/video/av9543075/
      Highlight of this show is at 117 mins featuring Ichiro Fujiyama and Hibari Misora with their splendid special guest performances, with Ms Misora especially showing why she was indeed the Queen.

      And this was back in the good old days when the special guests actually turned up and sang live at the Kohaku stage, unlike some of the current ones (so say your's truly, the Curmudgeon :P)

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