Shingo Katori feat. Atarashii Gakko no Leaders/Hibari Misora -- Tokyo Tower（東京タワー）🗼

 

I had an old friend of mine who lives in Japan ask me whether I would be returning for a visit anytime this year. Unfortunately, my answer wasn't too positive due to current financial and logistical issues. Of course, I would love to go back and see my old friends and former students/colleagues, and if I could, I would also enjoy returning to the ol' Tokyo Prince Hotel. Among other things, it is across the street from Tokyo Tower, still a major symbol of the capital of Japan. Wouldn't it be nice to get a room with a view of the old tower, although most likely it would cost a ton of yen for the night.

Last Tuesday, I wrote up an article on Toshihiko Tahara's（田原俊彦）old-style jazzy "Romanticist de Ii janai"（ロマンティストでいいじゃない）and right at the start, I referenced an even older article regarding former SMAP member Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）in jazz mode himself via his 2022 album "Tokyo SNG". Well, a commenter below then pointed out another song from that album which happened to have the dapper Katori teaming up with none other than the amazingly zany song and dance team, Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）.

Well, I replied that I would have to check this one out. The video itself appeared on Katori's own YouTube channel only a week ago, and the song is simply "Tokyo Tower". Katori and Atarashii Gakko no Leaders make like the most congenial tokusatsu monster figures this side of baby Mothra as they all do a lovely singing soft-shoe reminiscent of the good ol' days of live TV music-variety shows. I know that crazy Suzuka has often performed the lead vocals for the group, but she really does stand out here in her duet with Katori.

Now, as usually would be the case for any song getting onto KKP, I did search for the songwriters behind "Tokyo Tower". My first assumption had been that it was a couple of folks in this century who just knew how to create the old stuff. However, my look at the JASRAC database revealed the composer to be the late Toru Funamura（船村徹）, one of the foremost songwriters of the kayo era. As it turns out, "Tokyo Tower" is an old chestnut of the kayo era! In fact, none other than Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, the Queen of Kayo Kyoku herself, recorded "Tokyo Tower" as her 151st single and released it in March 1959. With Toshio Nomura（野村俊夫）behind the lyrics, Misora sings in a higher pitch than I'm accustomed to. Other than that, it's a jazzy kayo about the wonders of the then newly-built Tokyo Tower that had been completed in December 1958.

Wonderful, wonderful!🗼