Yes, I gather that my three articles for today all have some connection with last night's "Uta Con"（うたコン）episode, but seriously, I have to give my props to the NHK music show because it reacquainted me with a song that I hadn't heard in almost two decades. The worst thing was that I'd also never paid attention to the singer or the title all that much because I was never really much of a reggae fan, so I completely forgot about them.
And yet, I remember the tune for not only that reggae beat but also for the official music video. It was shown weekly for quite a few months on the rankings programs and on the local music video channel on Sunday mornings. That's considering that an intimate environment and nudity were displayed, but I gather that was the point of "Lifetime Respect" by reggae musician, singer-songwriter and author Dozan Miki（三木道三）, who currently goes with the stage name of DOZAN11.
"Lifetime Respect" was Miki's 21st single in a career that began from 1992. It was released in May 2001 and it's an ardent love promise to his dearest sung in the Kansai dialect (Miki was born in Nara), and such is his naked devotion to the lady he loves that he makes it clear as well through the images in the video. The song would become the first Japanese reggae tune to hit No. 1 on Oricon and it became the No. 9 single of that year, going Double Platinum. In July 2001, Miki's first album as a major artist "Lifetime Respect" was released which hit No. 2 on the charts and finished the year ranked at No. 58.
DOZAN11 has continued to release singles and albums up to the present day including one of the former from June 2023 titled "SAGANTOSU Anthem". His most recent album was "Japan be Irie!!" from 2014. Incidentally, back in 1997, there was also a reggae-pop tune that also enjoyed some success on the charts albeit not quite as high as "Lifetime Respect", the ending theme for the long-running series "Odoru Dai Sosasen"（踊る大捜査線....Bayside Shakedown）, "Love Somebody".
Being that this was the first Japanese reggae tune to hit No. 1 on Oricon it deserves some respect! Now, I am not really into all of the R's = Reggae, Rap, R&B, Rock & Roll, but I do sample a little of them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not huge into most of the genres that you've mentioned but as with you, I like to have a tasting of them from time to time.
DeleteI remember reading about this when I was looking into Oricon number 1's a while back and was shocked when a reggae tune reached the top in Japan. Also, I think the group was active when this song reached number 1, but it seems the success of this paved the way for Ketsumeishi and their music to get popular, especially since the group does dabble in reggae from time-to-time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started enjoying kayo kyoku in the 1980s, I would never have imagined that the Japanese had even listened to reggae back then. But I should have figured that out since in the late 1980s, ska was being enjoyed by fans through bands such as LA-PPISCH and Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.
DeleteDuring my teaching career there, I encountered a few students who were into reggae. One even made it a habit to attend any and all reggae concerts that got her attention.