Rumi Asada -- Hakurankai no E（展覧会の絵）

 

I think when it came to the kayo kyoku of the 1970s, I can finally envisage at least two of the popular arrangements. One was perhaps derived from the Group Sounds wave of the 1960s: beefy bass, rollicking percussion and horns. The other one was less assertive and perhaps suited for ballads: what sounded like a harpsichord or celesta accompanied by those wistful strings and maybe a harp.

"Kayo Kyoku Plus" has shown plenty of examples of both over the years and I believe that this particular song is an example of the latter. "Hakurankai no E" (Paintings at an Exhibition) was performed by Rumi Asada（麻田ルミ）from Osaka Prefecture. Released as her 6th single in October 1974, the song is quite the quintessential 70s kayo kyoku by a female singer and it's delivered delicately well by Asada. Haruo Hayashi（林春生）was the lyricist with Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）composing the melody.

Asada has been categorized as an actress on her J-Wiki profile but not as a singer despite the fact that she released a total of nine singles between 1970 and 1979. Well, I guess putting out what basically amounted to simply a couple of songs per year doesn't quite a singer make. Born as Atsuko Asada（麻田淳子）in 1955, she first studied ballet as a child before getting a role in a TV drama in 1970. She then had a steady stream of work in television through shows such as "Mito Komon"（水戸黄門）and "G Men 75" before most likely leaving show business after 1979.