A little over a couple of years ago, I posted up an article about a song by actress/singer and seiyuu Keiko Toda（戸田恵子）when she had first began her career as a 1970s aidoru under the name of Akemi Ayu（あゆ朱美）. "Hitori Uranai"（ひとり占い）was her 4th and final single as Ayu, released in November 1976. It was a pretty melancholy song about a relationship that was about to smash itself on the rocks.
Well, I'm heading back to Ayu's beginning and that means her first single released in February 1974 and it's another sad tune titled "Guitar wo Hiite yo" (Strum That Guitar) about a woman who's requested a guitar player to play something to help assuage her down feelings. I've yet to hear the remainder of her discography but maybe Toda back then was known as the Melancholy Aidoru? Listening to it a few times, I had assumed that the folk group Grape（グレープ）led by Masashi Sada（さだまさし）created the song especially with those strings in there. However, it was actually Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）behind the lyrics while Taiji Nakamura（中村泰士）came up with the melody. I have to say that the singer's vocals are very affecting. On Oricon though, "Guitar wo Hiite yo" did only modestly by peaking at No. 85 and selling approximately 5000 records.
Just by happenstance, I managed to come across a video of a talk show that may have been from the late 1990s according to the uploader. Toda and company view some old footage of a teenaged Ayu riding her bike while "Guitar wo Hiite yo" is playing in the background.
I love when actors and singers get blindsided (some must be fake surprises) with video of themselves very young.
ReplyDeleteI wish there was a playlist of these both for Japanese and English language celebrities.
Hello there. From what I've heard, Japanese shows are planned to the second in intoxicating detail so it's possible that the surprises aren't really surprises. I'm wondering whether the above footage is one of those examples.
DeleteAyu does look cute in that yellow and green outfit. And, her song is soothing and hauntingly good at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that there are folks who continue to marvel the fact that voice behind Anpanman started her career all the way back in the early 1970s.
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