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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Friday, October 24, 2025

Hitomi Aki -- Tegami(手紙)



For all those kayo kyoku lovers, Saori Yuki's(由紀さおり)"Tegami" (The Letter) is a breezy classic that first hit record store shelves and ears back in 1970. And Saori is still performing it on kayo programs such as "Uta Con"(うたコン).

Well, what I hadn't known was that aidoru Hitomi Aki(秋ひとみ), who had a relatively brief career in the limelight between 1976 and 1982, had her own cover version of "Tegami" in her second and final album "Omoi"(想い...Memories) from 1980. Although I've only featured a few of her songs on the blog, my impression is that Aki and the people around her thought that she could handle some of the more urban contemporary stuff with a Latin tinge as was the case with her "Summer Melancholy"(サマー・メランコリー)from 1979.

"Tegami" definitely takes the deep dive into the samba-influenced sector of City Pop through the original melody by Makoto Kawaguchi(川口真)and Rei Nakanishi's(なかにし礼)lyrics. It is recognizably "Tegami" by Yuki but with a good amount of 1980s Shinjuku disco oomph. Love the saxophone!

1 comment:

  1. Oh, I have heard this before I have not see that album cover though. I love the saxophone, too but I also like the drums.

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