It's March 20th in Japan, right in the middle of a three-day long weekend there, and of course, a lot of folks who read this blog will know what day it is. Of course, it is Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）birthday! So, once again, very happy birthday wishes to her.
Last year, I covered a couple of songs by Takeuchi in commemoration of her birthday, "Toki no Tabibito"（時空の旅人）and "Time Stranger ~ Teco no Tehma"（タイムストレンジャー 〜テコのテーマ〜）. But this year, I'm going to go back in time even further with her "Kanashiki Night & Day" (Sad Night & Day) which was the B-side to "Ichigo no Yuuwaku"（イチゴの誘惑）, her 7th single from April 1981. Strangely enough, I used that A-side to celebrate her birthday on the blog back in 2018.
"Ichigo no Yuuwaku" is a very cute tune, almost on an aidoru level that was created by Takashi Matsumoto and Tetsuji Hayashi（松本隆・林哲司）, but the flip side of "Kanashiki Night & Day" has got that 70s pop sound and the opening reminds me of a Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）tune. But when Mariya begins singing her verses, I get that old and gently lilting 1950s bobbysoxer balladry once more that she was known for in her early days. The singer took care of both words and music while her husband-to-be Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）arranged everything. Both songs incidentally can be found on her 5th studio album "Portrait" from October 1981.
Anyways, for all of you Mariya fans, I hope you enjoy listening to whatever your favourite song by her is.
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