Noelle's Favourite Songs From The 50's

Yeah, I know, Hachi, songs from the 50's are great!

A few months ago I did an article about songs I love listening to from the 30 and 40's, and I've now decided to follow it up with individual articles about those from the 50's and, eventually, the 60's. I was pretty excited to plan these lists as I quite often find myself buried in the old but gold stuff from this later era, which then had me thinking that picking out my favourites would be a piece of cake. However, following my stipulated rule in the first write up: one song per singer, and the decision of not to bog both articles with the usual suspects that always come to mind (not to say that they're not in it), I have to admit that that had me putting a little more thought into my selections. But that aside, I still managed to pull a good number of songs together from each decade.

Moving on, I will first be talking about my favourite tunes from the 1950's, the time when, I suppose, technically, enka became a proper genre of its own with the first enka singer emerging from the early half of the decade. As with my previous article, I'll also be putting down the lyrics from each song that resonates with me the most, by that I mean those that I like hearing, and not necessarily because I understand what's being sung - could be both, though.

Disclaimer: If I don't mention any song you were hoping to see, sorry, perhaps I don't listen to it all that much or at all. But feel free to share what yours are. :)

With that being said, let's get started. The entries aren't arranged in any specific order.

Isao Hayashi -- Mamurogawa Boogie (1954)

Watasha Mamurogawa no ume no hana korya (わたしゃ真室川の 梅の花 コーリャ)      
Anata mata kono machi no ugui su yo (あなたまた この町のうぐいすよ)

Starting us off is the contrasting fusion of Japanese grassroots minyo and Western smooth jazz  "Mamurogawa Boogie" (真室川ブギ), Isao Hayashi's (林伊佐緒) creative take on the "Mamurogawa Ondo" (真室川音頭), a minyo from the Yamagata prefecture. It may sound like a strange pairing, but Hayashi really knew what he was doing! To me, "Mamurogawa Boogie" is the best of both worlds as it's still as catchy as any normal minyo ditty, and yet the western instruments provide a fuller, more dramatic arrangement and a fun modern twist. Ah, it's already sticking to my brain.

Koichi Miura -- Ochiba Shigure (1953)

Hokage mo sabishii keikotou no (灯ほかげもさみし 蛍光灯の)
Kage ni shimijimi hitori naku (かげにしみじみ 独り泣く)

"Ochiba Shigure" (落葉しぐれ)  is probably the most recent favourite here and I was quite surprised by how much I grew to like it, considering the fact that I initially thought it was kind of bland in the sense that it sounded like any other enka song. But after constant exposure to it via Hachiro Kasuga's (春日八郎) version and eventually the original by Koichi Miura (三浦洸一), I developed a better appreciation for this song about a nagashi wandering the uramachi in autumn from the elegant strings and the latter's hearty baritone. Probably what helped in giving me a better view of "Ochiba Shigure" was the comfortable memory of walking down Asakusa-bashi on a clear, windy day many years ago with golden ginkgo dive-bombing me.

Kazuo Shirane -- Jinanbo Garasu (1955)

Dobu no sekai ni naze mi wo nageru (泥溝の世界に 何故身を投げる)

As I've mentioned before, I do love my matatabi enka, and Kazuo Shirane's (白根一男) hit "Jinanbo Garasu" (次男坊鴉) is one of the two that I had chosen to be in this list. More than anything, it was the upbeat and rhythmic score that got me hooked when I was introduced to it via Kiyoshi Hikawa's (氷川きよし) cover a couple of years back. The younger singer's rendition has more kick to it, as most of his songs do, but the original still sounds quite spunky.

Yoshiko Ohtsu -- Koko ni Sachi Ari (1956)

Kimi ni yori sori akaruku aogu (君に寄り添い 明るく仰ぐ)
Koko ni sachi ari shiroigumo (ここに幸あり 白い雲)

Taking a little break from enka and going into some slightly jazzy kayo territory here with Yoshiko Ohtsu's (大津美子) signature "Koko ni Sachi Ari" (ここに幸あり). I find this a very comforting tune with that joyful premise of being together with your special one, and Ohtsu's wonderful vocals that I equate to that feeling when you're wrapped in a soft and warm blanket.

Haruo Minami -- Yuki no Wataridori (1957)

Ore mo koi na no Ginpei sa nuku ka nagadosu (俺も鯉名の 銀平さ抜くか長どす)
Nukeba shiraha ni chi no fubuki (抜けば白刃に 血の吹雪)

With that talk of the usual suspects at the very top of the write-up, here is Haruo Minami (三波春夫) with the second ronin-inspired song, "Yuki no Wataridori" (雪の渡り鳥). Just like "Jinanbo Garasu", I enjoy the former for its cheerful sound, and, of course, there's Minami's chirpy vocals that makes for a more dynamic song. But what piqued my interest and that morbid streak in me was how the masterless samurai painted/would paint the snow red with the blood of his enemies - the bit I have put above this paragraph. It's cool - haha, get it? Because snow... Okay, sorry - and a little dark and it does contrast with the almost always smiley Minami, that is, until he puts on his crazy face with that murderous glint in his eyes.

*Cough* I'dliketohavewhatMsSuizenjihadplease. (Yeeeah, ain't gonna happen)

Hachiro Kasuga -- Yama no Tsurihashi (1959)

Nonbe sumiyaki isogi ashi (のんべェ炭焼き 急ぎ足) 
Tsuki wo tayori ni kareha no youni (月をたよりに 枯れ葉のように)
Kushami tsuzukete shite tooru (くしゃみ続けて して通る)
Hore yura yura (ホレ ユーラユラ) 

Rounding off the list of my favourite songs from the 1950's is Hachi's "Yama no Tsurihashi" (山の吊橋), which is kind of apt since it was released in the decade's final year. I guess it's of no surprise that this song's here, seeing as to how I've been talking about it, but there were quite a number of Kasuga's songs that I considered putting here, like "Uramachi Yakyoku" (裏町夜曲) and "Ore wa Nora Inu" (俺は野良犬), just to name a few. In the end, because I felt that in terms of which I'd end up still liking a lot in the long run, the happy-go-lucky ditty about a suspension bridge won out.


And that's the end of the article. I hope you've enjoyed it. Stayed tuned for my 60's list!

Minami did make for a convincing ronin.