Jun Ariyoshi/Yoshihiro Kai -- Rendezvous（ﾗﾝﾃﾞﾌﾞｰ）

 

Those first few seconds had me wondering whether I was going to get a kayo version of a mariachi song. However, Jun Ariyoshi（有吉ジュン）quickly went into 1950s/1960s pop mode with "Rendezvous", her 2nd single from January 1977. Written and composed by Yoshihiro Kai（甲斐よしひろ）of the Kai Band（甲斐バンド）with arrangement by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, it's a spirited tune that had me thinking of good ol' Richie Cunningham and Lori Beth Allen. 

Ariyoshi's time in the limelight, though, was quite brief. A year after entering ballet school as a junior high sophomore, she became a regular assistant on the NTV show "Zen Nihon Kayo Senshuken"（全日本歌謡選手権...All-Japan Kayo Championship） before making her debut as a singer in 1976. She released a total of five singles up to 1978 and also had a few roles in TV dramas before she called it a day in 1979 and retiring from show business.

Kai himself covered "Rendezvous" himself many years later when he released his October 2011 album "Homecoming KAI BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 1". This one has got a lot more rock in it along with a bit of hip-hop, thanks to rapper GAKU-MC.