Agnes Chan -- Magari Michi, Wakare Michi（曲がり道、別れ道）

 

I've been wondering how Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）has been doing these days. At this point, the most recent news is that the former 1970s aidoru and UNICEF Goodwill ambassador received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government back in 2018.

Well, in the meantime, I can bring back her familiar high-pitched voice to the blog via a track from her 1978 album "Yoi Don"（ヨーイドン...Ready, Go）, "Magari Michi, Wakare Michi" (Roundabouts and Crossroads). The album cover certainly shows Chan in athletic mode. In any case, this song by lyricist Choichiro Koizumi（小泉長一郎）, composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロ）and arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）is a jaunty affair with a hint of country as Chan describes the ups and downs of love through the allegory of the highways and byways.

I remember that Chan had been living and studying in my hometown of Toronto in the mid-1970s so I'm not sure if it was a matter of her taking the plane back to Japan to record "Yoi Don". One thing for sure; tuition at the University of Toronto was probably nowhere near as high as it is now.