C-C-B -- School Girl（スクール・ガール）

 

It's very sad to write but the deaths of figures in the Japanese music industry have continued.

I only found out myself via Twitter several minutes ago, but drummer Koji Ryu（笠浩二）from the 1980s pop/rock band C-C-B had passed away on December 14th due to a stroke while getting treatment for diabetes. He was only 60 years old. C-C-B was a band that I got to know during my university days via VHS tapes of those music ranking shows which were all the rage back in the 1980s and my good friend in the JCSA who was especially a fan of Ryu.

C-C-B was famous for their big hits "Romantic ga Tomaranai"（Romanticが止まらない）and "Lucky Chance wo Mou Ichido"（Lucky Chanceをもう一度）among others, and as I mentioned in the article for that first song, my friend would swoon at the sight of the very noticeable Ryu in his glasses and the dyed hair. When it comes to bands, it's all about appearance, appearance, appearance. But it was also about his very cute and chipper voice.

Between the release of "Romantic ga Tomaranai" and "Lucky Chance wa Mou Ichido" was their 4th single "School Girl", released in April 1985. The same songwriters for those two songs were also behind this one: lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）. There was a battery of synths involved but the feeling of the song also included some doo-wop harmonizing and overall 50s music. "School Girl" was another Top 10 hit for C-C-B as it peaked at No. 6 and became the 52nd-ranked single for the year. It would appear on Volume 2 of "The Best of C-C-B" from September 1989.

My condolences to the family, friends and fans of Ryu.