When I first heard this song some weeks ago, there was that ASMR reaction up my spine since I've always had a soft spot for grand AOR balladry. Some of my examples would be The Eagles' "Desperado", Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue", and on the Japanese side of things, "Kawa no Nagare wo Daite Nemuritai" (川の流れを抱いて眠りたい）by Saburo Tokito (時任三郎）.
The interesting thing is that "Ku-ji kara no Lily" (Lily From Nine O'clock) was also released in the same year as Tokito's ballad, 1981. It's just too bad that there is very little information on the source band Cappuccino（カプチーノ）. In fact, the only data I could find thus far comes from the vocalist's own blog. She identifies herself as singer Chie and in that year of 1981, "Ku-ji kara no Lily" was the band's debut single.
I don't know how it did on the charts, but it's one of those songs for me that has me thinking of a team pulling off a tough job really well and then staring off happily into the sunset since they're now free. Yes, it's Miller Time!🍺 Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）made the melody and he also produced the single while Yu Aku（阿久悠）came up with the lyrics that speak of a different scenario. It's wistfully about pining away for Lily, a nighttime piano player in a tiny bar who has seen better days but has to settle for her lonely existence.
I did get some further information from the emcee in the above video (unfortunately that video has been taken down). Found that the vocalist's full name is Chie Sato and she was only a high school senior when she recorded "Ku-ji kara no Lily". Those are some velvety vocals that she possesses.
Soulful chanteuse Toko Furuuchi（古内東子）gave her longer bluesy take on "Ku-ji kara no Lily" as a coupling song for her November 2005 single "Coat wo Katte"（コートを買って...Buy Me A Coat）. It almost sounds like she's taken on the role of Lily herself. Another coupling song on this single is the cheerful "Somewhere in Tokyo".
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