"Hitori Uranai" was written and composed by singer-songwriter and TV personality Masashi Sada(さだまさし), and Ayu's rendition of it was actually a cover of the original B-side for the third of six singles, their October 1974 "Tsushin"(追伸...Postscript), by the folk duo Grape(グレープ), which consisted of Sada and Masami Yoshida(吉田正美). Their "Hitori Uranai" has a rich-as-mahogany folk arrangement that underlies the tempestuous situation with this particular couple. Never has romantic trouble sounded so warm and comfortable.
I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Akemi Ayu (Keiko Toda)/Grape -- Hitori Uranai(ひとり占い)
Yesterday, I provided actress/seiyuu/singer Keiko Toda's(戸田恵子)introduction into "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with her "FADE IN", very much a City Pop tune of 1983. However, I also mentioned that she did have a past incarnation as aidoru Akemi Ayu(あゆ朱美)in the early 1970s, so I wanted to include one of her songs from that period. In fact, here is "Hitori Uranai" (Fortune Telling Alone), her fourth and final single under that stage name from November 1976. It's quite the wistful pop tune especially with that haunting background chorus and Ayu's high-pitched voice delivers a rather sad tale of a relationship that is on the rocks and probably will end up staying there getting further battered by the waves.
Labels:
1974,
1976,
Aidoru,
Folk,
Grape,
Keiko Toda,
Masashi Sada,
Single
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Postscript and Cosmos by Momoe Yamaguchi, 1977 concert
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnxvp2kJ-tM
Postscript by Momoe Yamaguchi, The Big Show 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OLMarXJN7s
I've also developed a liking for another of his songs from Grape.
Shoro Nagashi by Masashi Sada and Hiromi Iwasaki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsbTYHoSVBI
Shoro Nagashi by Naoko Kawain accompanied by Masashi Sada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWy1yPBY1HE
Shoro Nagashi by Naoko Kawai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnJo5UmnNiU
Hi, Jim. Thanks for the information. I'll have to check out "Shoro Nagashi".
Delete