For the record, and forgive me for sounding like a particular segment on "Entertainment Tonight", actors Jon Favreau and John Lithgow along with Japanese singer-songwriter Jun Horie（堀江淳）were born on October 19th which is indeed today. Of course, for all of you born on this day, a Happy Birthday to you all!
Kinda sad though that this B-side to Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）second solo single "Yume Yurari"（夢ゆらり）from May 1979 is so bittersweet. Both the A-side and "Birthday" were actually part of the soundtrack for the NTV drama "Ai to Shi no Zesshou"（愛と死の絶唱...A Superb Poem of Life and Death）. Written, composed and arranged by Kuni Kawachi（クニ河内）, the folksy and relaxing song reveals a heartbreaking breakup on a young man's 20th birthday. What a way to start adulthood but it can be an ultimate life lesson.
Apparently, "Birthday" was in limbo for many years since it had never been attached to any particular album by Takahashi but then it was added as a bonus track to a 2021 new release of her 1979 solo debut album "Hito Aruki"（ひとりあるき...Walking Alone）. Before that, it had also been included on her BEST album "Takahashi Senshuuraku"（高橋千秋楽...Takahashi's Final Show） in 2020.
Attaching this song to new release of her 1979 album was actually a great choice in my opinion as the arrangement of this folk song sounds very 1970's in everyway.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. Yes, as soon as I heard it, I knew that it first originated much earlier than that BEST compilation's release date.
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