Yuki Katsuragi (Sayoko Tanaka) -- Yoru wo Kaeshite（夜を返して）

 

It was a good "Uta Con"（うたコン）tonight. Not only did folks like enka star Yoshimi Tendo（天童よしみ）and pop singer Ayaka（絢香）appear but it was also the NHK debut of Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダース）with their breakthrough hit, "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）.

However, I was stunned by the revelation that rock singer Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ）had passed away a year ago from cancer at the age of 73 as reported on the show. I had no idea about the death but Nanase Aikawa（相川七瀬）appeared to pay tribute to her friend with her cover of Katsuragi's most famous hit "Bohemian"（ボヘミアン）from 1983. 

I had wondered whether I would only add a blurb at the end of my original article of "Bohemian" noting her passing but then I looked up her J-Wiki profile and discovered some information. Katsuragi had actually been born Sayoko Tanaka（田中小夜子）in Okayama Prefecture. She actually debuted as a singer under her real name in November 1969 at the age of 20 although aside from that fact, there is literally no other information about her until she took on the stage name of Yuki Katsuragi in 1974.

The hard rock "Bohemian" is the only song that I know Katsuragi for, so it was with some surprise that her debut single under Tanaka, "Yoru wo Kaeshite" (Bring Back the Night), was a song straddling enka and Mood Kayo. Written by Hiroshi Mikami（三上博司）and composed by Keiji Saito（斉藤敬二）, Tanaka's slightly raspy and resonant vocals remind me of the music that singer and actress Keiko Fuji（藤圭子）was singing at the time. 

I realize that it's a year late but I would still like to give my condolences to her family, friends and fans.