Kuniyoshi Kiyosu -- Ai Dake de wa（愛だけでは）

 

The name Kuniyoshi Kiyosu（清須邦義）hadn't been known to me until very recently. However, he's a singer-songwriter who's been associated with a number of acts from the 1960s going forward. As a teen, he worked as a roadie for Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）until also becoming part of the band as a guitarist following some tutelage under one of their members. Then, after graduating from high school, he joined Kyoko Aso & Blue Fire（麻生京子とブルー・ファイア）before he formed his own group, R&B band The Baron（ザ・バロン）as a backup for singer Isao Bito（尾藤イサオ）. In 1972, The Baron broke up and Kiyosu moved to New York City for about a year to study. Once he returned to Japan, he would eventually work with Mike Maki（マイク眞木）and Chiharu Matsuyama（松山千春）.

Kiyosu did release his own music, though, which has been identified on his J-Wiki entry as folk. In terms of his discography, there are several albums between 1977 and this year under his name, but he only put out three singles between 1979 and 1981. His final single from 1981 was "Ai Dake de wa" (Just Love).

"Ai Dake de wa", which was written and composed by Kiyosu, is one very gentle folk/pop ballad that almost crosses into Fashion Music territory. The singer's vocals remind me of other artists such as Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）and Muneyuki Sato（さとう宗幸）. It is one of those songs that can prod folks into stopping by to smell the flowers.