Up to now in KKP history, readers would understandably believe that singer Yoko Hatanaka（畑中葉子）had been forever tied at the hip of singer-songwriter Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）because all of the songs that I've profiled about the Tokyo native have involved her duets with Hirao such as the popular kayo classic "Canada Kara no Tegami" (カナダからの手紙）and "Ehge Kai no Tabi"（エーゲ海の旅）. Both of them along with two other singles released in 1978 were indeed all duets of Hatanaka and Hirao which had them traveling throughout the globe with their brand of exotic kayo.
Well as of January 1979, the trip ended. Hatanaka released her first solo single in that month "Romeo & Juliet '79" although Hirao was still responsible for the melody while Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）provided the lyrics of a devoted love couple in trouble with Jun Sato（佐藤準）arranging everything. I was kinda wondering whether "Romeo & Juliet '79" would come under the umbrella of City Pop after listening to the intro but as I got deeper into the song, I realized that this was more disco-influenced kayo kyoku along the lines of Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）aidoru tunes at that time and previously.
Hatanaka didn't have a very particularly long career behind the mike. She released a total of 7 singles and 4 albums up to 1985. However, her acting career lasted well into the 2010s.
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