Mako Shibuki -- Lemon ni Sayonara（レモンにさよなら）

 

There is that saying "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Well, according to this chipper song, the lass frankly just kissed off those lemons and walked away.

Perhaps that is also what this particular singer by the name of Mako Shibuki（志吹麻湖）did as well after releasing her one-and-only single in January 1973, "Lemon ni Sayonara" (Goodbye to Lemons). There is nothing of her at all at J-Wiki and barely anything at "Idol.ne.jp" except for the fact that her real name could be Akemi Uezu（上江洲明美）* of Okinawa and that she was born in 1956. Lyricist Natsu Kotani（小谷夏）and composer Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）were behind the song.

Though I couldn't find any concrete proof that Shibuki had been groomed as an aidoru singer, the facts that she is listed at "Idol.ne.jp" and she is tackling "Lemon ni Sayonara" with a high nasal not-too-bad voice along an arrangement that basically demands a butterfly net cheerfully chasing Lepidoptera in a summery field pretty much bear out my opinion. Also, that opening riff reminds me a lot of "Georgy Girl" by The Seekers. In any case, I think that Shibuki could have released a few more singles but she was probably one of the many teenage idols to go in and out of the revolving door of the entertainment industry, never to be heard from again.

*Once again, we've got a lot of readings for the kanji representing this family name but I'll stick with Uezu for now, until I'm corrected.