CADILLAC -- Kanashiki Radio Station（悲しきRadio Station）

 

The 80s were not only the decade that I really got into music in Japan and the West, but those ten years were also the time that I put my radio through its paces. Especially during those all-nighters getting essays done and tests studied for, I needed my radio to get me through most of those overnight hours (the green tea assisted in my efforts, too). However, I don't ever recall doing what a lot of teens did back then and lay awake for a while in the dark while getting slowly lulled to sleep by a smooth-talking midnight DJ through a radio station. I guess that it just wasn't my thing.

But I figure that this sorta thing did occur in Japan since I've heard about the ol' Far East Network (FEN) radio playing Western hits. Additionally, the local radio channels have been famous for their late-night shows. Maybe that is what the band CADILLAC is talking about here with their debut single "Kanashiki Radio Station" (Melancholy Radio Station) from March 1986.

CADILLAC started out in 1982 as a rock n' roll band, seemingly in the similar vein as THE CRAZY RIDER Yokohama Ginbae ROLLING SPECIAL（横浜銀蝿）but with a bit more of a Mod feeling. By 1985, the band from Shizuoka Prefecture reached its current trio lineup consisting of bassist/lead vocalist Masaki Yonemori（米森正樹）, guitarist Tomoaki Yamanashi（山梨智昭）and drummer Toshiaki Konagai（小長井俊昌）. Yonemori came up with the lyrics of love for the radio station in "Kanashiki Radio Station" while the entire group helped out with the melody. It's a fun upbeat rockabilly number that probably reminded folks about the whole 1950s and 1960s subculture thing that was going on in venues such as Yoyogi Park in the late 70s and early 80s. 

According to the J-Wiki profile on CADILLAC (great name for this group, by the way), their first run in the industry lasted until 1989 with seven singles and five albums released. A 14-year hiatus followed after which CADILLAC got together again in 2003 with a new album "Midnight Rockin' Hour" coming out in June 2007.