Momoe Yamaguchi -- Pearl Colour ni Yurete（パールカラーにゆれて）

 

I've been able to catch some of the episodes of "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）, the old Fuji-TV music show, thanks to KKP contributor JTM, and the first episode I saw was the Xmas week one in 1976. Watching a first full episode in many years, I realized that compared to "The Best 10"（ザ・ベストテン）series on TBS, the repartee was looser between hosts and guests...or perhaps I can say that the pressure on the singers to speak out was greater. To be honest, there were some pretty awkward pauses so I figured that at least some of the singers back then were not as well-versed in media talk as acts today would be on shows such as "Uta Con"（うたコン）. 

Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）was on the show and although the above video is actually an excerpt from a September 1976 episode, she was singing the same song. Her 14th single released in that same month, "Pearl Colour ni Yurete" (Swaying in Pearl) is actually a Momoe song that has hit my ears for the first time. Considering that I've known her big hits such as "Yokosuka Story"（横須賀ストーリー）and "Imitation Gold"（イミテイション・ゴールド）for literally decades, it's always fascinating making first contact with a new Momoe tune.

"Pearl Colour ni Yurete" has got that quintessential Momoe feeling with her lower but light vocals and the fairly urgent beat with the horns and strings backing her up. This time, though, the percussion is quite noticeable; for example, there is what I think is a marimba right from the intro which adds an interesting exotic layer to the arrangement by Motoki Funayama（ 船山基紀）. The lyricist Kazuya Senke（千家和也）weaves a story of a lady feeling bereft of her significant other while surrounded by happier people and a city nightscape bathed in pearl by the lights. I guess the message is that one can be within a thousand folks and yet feel utterly isolated. 

The melody was provided by Juichi Sase（佐瀬寿一）, the same composer who earlier that year created the children's song and legendary hit "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun" (およげ！たいやきくん）which became Japan's biggest selling single of all time at 4.5 million records, something noted by the Guinness Book of World Records. One can imagine the powers-that-be at the recording company slavering at the thought of having Sase making a song for the very popular Yamaguchi. And sure enough, it was yet another No. 1 hit for the star aidoru which finished 1976 as the 18th-ranked single.