Michiyo Azusa -- Futari de O-sake wo（二人でお酒を）

Some sad news from the world of kayo kyoku in that singer/actress Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）passed away on January 29th at the age of 76, according to NHK News. For many people, when her name has been mentioned, the one song that pops up all the time is her adorable 1963 "Konnichiwa Akachan"（こんにちは赤ちゃん）.

However, according to a 2017 article in the Asahi Shimbun via J-Wiki, despite Azusa releasing many more songs since "Konnichiwa Akachan", she had been starting to wonder whether that would be the only kayo that she would be recognized by. Perhaps it was beginning to feel more like an increasingly heavier millstone than a medal.

Well, her saviours for that situation were lyricist Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and composer Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）who were finally able to take that millstone off Azusa's neck after 11 years by coming up with her March 1974 single, "Futari de O-sake wo" (Let's Have a Drink Together). Azusa was further grateful to them because she felt that the song matched her love of drink.

The J-Wiki article also mentioned that "Futari de O-sake wo" managed to take away that innocent image from Azusa because of "Konnichiwa Akachan" as Yamagami's lyrics have a woman (perhaps an experienced hostess in the Ginza clubs) reassure her imminently ex-paramour that everything will be OK once they part but it wouldn't hurt if they still got together for the odd drink. I like Hirao's music since that keyboard also helps lighten the mood with its gentle swing, and Azusa certainly shows the bon vivant maturity in her vocals.

"Futari de O-sake wo" peaked at No. 11 on the Oricon weeklies and got Azusa her 8th invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen in 1974, her first time in 5 years to appear on the NHK special. She would make another three appearances up to 1992. The singer also earned a couple of awards for the song as it finished 1974 as the 18th-ranked single of the year.