Rie Nakahara -- Asa made Issho ni（朝まで一緒に）

 

Rie Nakahara（中原理恵）, as I've come to learn over the years of doing this blog, has goofed it up with the rest of the Drifters on their long-running comedy-variety show and even co-hosted TV Asahi's venerable "Music Station" during its first year. But early in her time in show business, she was also pretty active behind the recording mike herself.

(24:26)

Of course, there was her most famous hit, "Tokyo Lullaby" (東京ららばい）, from March 1978 which earned her an invitation to her only appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen that year. But a month before it was released, Nakahara had her debut album come out, "Touch Me".

From that album comes the track "Asa made Issho ni" (The Two of Us Til the Morning), a gentle and slightly woozy and bluesy song depicting waking up in the aftermath of a very successful night before, if you know what I mean.😉 The arrangement including the slow and languid guitar and the mellow Fender Rhodes illustrates that slow rise out of sleep to what looks like a fine morning outside and a still-sleeping partner next door. While Nakahara provided the lyrics, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）was the one behind the music.