Time Five -- Silent Night

Now to be up front about this, this has nothing to do with one of the most famous English-language Xmas carols.

Secondly, I couldn't find all that much about this vocal group Time Five（タイム・ファイブ）, but I've seen their name in a number of liner notes for other singers over the years so I've at least been aware of them as a solid backup chorus. What I could find out was that this quintet of male singers has been around since 1968 without a single change in their lineup. They all came out of the music department at Doshisha University where they were once known as the Modern Hula Hawaiians, perhaps after winning a university championship for singing a song by the chorus group Invitations that had become a hit in the Aloha State.

Their website doesn't seem to have a complete list of their discography but in 1979, Time Five released the album "Gentle Breeze" and on it was "Silent Night". Not a Yuletide song, but a smart and smoky urban tune which needs to have a cigarette in there to add to the atmosphere, it's one of those songs that has me reminded of some of the early 1970s soul. As well, the song itself could wear a trench coat and walk the lonely downtown streets of the night.

The never-changing lineup is Yasuo Tai（田井康夫）, Shizuo Noguchi（野口鎮雄）, Sadaaki Teshigawara（勅使河原貞昭）, Haruya Yoshimura（吉村晴哉） and Kohey Sugie（杉江浩平）. Now, there are a number of different readings for at least some of the names listed here so if any of you Time Five fans see an incorrectly depicted name, please let me know ASAP.

November 13, 2019: Now corrected.