Shoko Sugawara -- Juu-Nana-sai no Koushinkyoku（十七才の行進曲）

 

When it comes to kayo marches, the one that always pops up in my head is Kiyoko Suizenji's（水前寺清子）classic "Sanbyaku Rokujuu Go Ho no March" (三百六十五歩のマーチ）from 1968. That "one-two, one-two" has stuck in my memories for decades, and whenever there's a show like "Uta Kon"（うたコン）and Suizenji is on first or near the beginning of the show, it's almost guaranteed that she will be singing this one.

This song is also rather reminiscent of "Sanbyaku Rokujuu Go Ho no March" because the "one-two, one-two" is in this one as well. However, 17-year-old Shoko Sugawara's（菅原昭子）debut single from September 1973, "Juu-Nana-sai no Koushinkyoku" (Seventeen March) is a little mellower although the feeling of getting all those 17-year-olds off their duffs and taking that grand march toward the future is there. Mind you, the march is probably restricted to the yard by the countryside high school. Kaoru Mizuki（水木かおる）was the lyricist while Akira Hayashi（林あきら）provided the marching melody. Other things that I like about this song is the nostalgic strings and the way that Sugawara's voice hits those upper tones at certain points. Apparently when she performed the song on TV, the lass was also twirling around a baton.

Sugawara is from Akita Prefecture and she got into the singing business through a successful run on NTV's "Star Tanjo!"（スター誕生!...A Star is Born!）in 1972. However, her career was fairly short only lasting about three years between 1973 and 1976 with 6 singles including  "Juu-Nana-sai no Koushinkyoku" and one album that came out in 1973. Once she retired from show business, she went back to Akita and soon got married. Just as a caveat, although her age and the feeling of the song might indicate a 1970s aidoru, she hasn't been categorized as one on J-Wiki so I've put her as a pop singer.