Sakiko Ito/Akina Nakamori -- Otome no Waltz（乙女のワルツ）

Well, I've already covered a couple of songs by aidoru Sakiko Ito（伊藤咲子）so far and here's another to add to the KKP mix.

In fact, this July 1975 5th single by Ito, "Otome no Waltz" (A Young Lady's Waltz) comes between her cute 1974 debut of "Himawari Musume"（ひまわり娘）and her bouncy hit of 1976 "Kimi Kawaii ne"（きみ可愛いね）. And "Otome no Waltz" stands out from the other two in that it rushes in as a mix of an epic Connie Francis ballad and a courtly country song. Ito's voice quavers ever so slightly as she describes the tale of a sad lass who may have had the opportunity to find the boy of her dreams only for her to let it pass due to stage fright.

The same duo behind "Kimi Kawaii ne", lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composer/arranger Takashi Miki（三木たかし）, was also responsible for "Otome no Waltz" which really amps up the country flavour as it approaches its big finish. I was also expecting Gary Cooper to show up, and my images as I was listening to it a second time were ones of gentlemanly suitors leading their ladies by the arm through the main plaza of a southern town in the United States. It's a grand ballad that peaked at No. 24 on Oricon and was the title track for her 3rd album released in October 1975.

Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）covered "Otome no Waltz" in her March 2002 album "-ZEROalbum- Utahime 2"（歌姫2）, her second release of kayo covers. Her version of the Ito ballad is fairly similar to the original, although maybe it doesn't have as much of the southern flavour. That album reached No. 10.