J-Canuck's "America" Tunes 2

Wikimedia Commons

To any and all American readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Happy Fourth of July and also a Happy Sestercentennial (250th birthday). I recall that three years ago, I also provided a special list of America-related songs on July the 4th and mentioned that we would have to do something about 2026. Well, the day is here.

And so, this is my "America" Tunes 2. Unlike the first one which mostly dealt with songs that had "America" in their titles, I'm being a bit more geographically precise so I'll be listing those numbers referring specifically to states and cities. Without further ado then:

(1948) Haruo Oka -- Akogare no Hawaii Koro (憧れのハワイ航路)

(1983) Mayumi Itsuwa -- California

(1978) Goro Noguchi -- Catalog L.A.（カタログL.A.）

(1984) Himiko Kikuchi -- Hollywood Illusion

(1979) Casiopea -- I Love New York

(1983) Seiko Matsuda -- Miami Gozen Go-ji （マイアミ午前5時）

Alan Gorrie -- Diary Of A Fool

 

For the usual fifth and final article on Urban Contemporary Friday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I'm using my prerogative to choose something not Japanese but still fulfills the feeling of urban contemporary elsewhere in the world. I've done so a few times for the wonderful duo Young Gun Silver Fox.

The mission of this blog was always to talk about the kayo kyoku of those early decades in my life and to see if there were others on Earth who shared the same interest in music. Well, I fulfilled those statements fairly quickly. A side benefit has been that I've been able to delightfully find songs again on both sides of the Pacific that I had lost contact within the deep recesses of my memories. A couple of them have been used as Reminiscings of Youth pieces: Bill Champlin's "Tonight, Tonight" and Robert Armes' "Jump To It". Not surprisingly, both of them were AOR numbers that I used to hear on FM radio as a high school and university kid.

Well, in the last few days, I rediscovered another AOR tune from the past when suddenly like a bolt out of the blue, some semblance of a title appeared in my mind. When I popped that into the YouTube search engine, I was able to get Alan Gorrie's "Diary Of A Fool". This was also a song that I used to hear on radio all the time but never remembered the singer's name.

Gorrie is a Scottish musician who was a founding member of the funk and R&B group Average White Band from Dundee, Scotland. I'd heard of the name of the band but never realized that it had been based in the land of haggis and bagpipes and David Tennant/Peter Capaldi. AVB had a couple of periods of activity: 1971-1982 and 1989-2024, and in between those, Gorrie was a soloist, releasing one album in 1985, "Sleepless Nights".

"Diary Of A Fool" has remained in my brain all these years because of that elegant piano intro that sounds as if David Foster had something to do with it (he didn't...Gorrie was the lyricist, composer and arranger), the wailing electric guitar and Gorrie's own soulful vocals. The whole thing was just this smooth and laidback ballad that would be able to release all of those endorphins in my AOR-addled noggin...just like the other two songs by Champlin and Armes. 

Now, I've gotta see if I can recognize any of Average White Band's discography.

Yoshitaka Minami -- Sweet Memories

 

Have you ever thought about Steely Dan covering Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）iconic ballad "Sweet Memories"?

Nope, neither have I. And yet, here we are. Indeed, back in 2019 when singer-songwriter Yoshitaka Minami（南佳孝）came up with his 2019 album of covers "Radio na Kyoku-tachi Ⅱ"（ラジオな曲たちⅡ...Radio Songs 2）, he included one of "Sweet Memories" as the final track. Yup, the jazziness and meticulous chords are there in lyricist Takashi Matsumoto's（松本隆）and composer Masaaki Omura's（大村雅朗）tune for Seiko-chan. The original 50s or 60s girl pop stylings have been turned into urban and urbane radio-friendly grooviness for your evening pleasure.

Mayumi Ohnishi -- Saikai Yawa（再会夜話）

From YouTube

 

This album is a bit of a mystery to me. I would put it up as an APB with the apple pie photograph, to boot. However, this 1981 production has all the names and all the titles so they are identified. The problem is that I don't know any of the artists involved and I could only recognize one musician, Chuei Yoshikawa（吉川忠英）, on the credits.

I'm talking about "Good Season ~ New Original Songs" which has been described by YouTuber Ren as a compilation album of New Music and City Pop. Ren was kind enough to put up the album in the summer of 2023. As I mentioned above, I have never heard of any of the singers or bands involved so I'm wondering if they may have been university students recording as part of their music clubs or amateur acts that didn't last too long.

One track at 30:39 is "Saikai Yawa" (Meeting Again for an Evening Conversation) by singer-songwriter Mayumi Ohnishi（大西まゆみ）. I couldn't find anything on her at all although she has two tracks on "Good Season" including this one. It's too bad since her kittenish vocals enhance the feeling of the good life in her own creation here. Although 1981 was still a few years away from the flying-high Bubble Era, from personal experience, I already knew that Japan was already in a golden age and I can hear it in Ohnishi's light and playful bossa-influenced "Saikai Yawa". Images of fancy restaurants, champagne flutes and shameless flirting (or re-flirting) abound among the City Pop here.

If anyone, including Ren, can provide any further insight into "Good Season" aside from the one lonely page at "Rate Your Music", that would be much appreciated.

Rie Murakami -- TNT

Wikimedia Commons

 

(18:03)

Doing the blog for as long as I have, I've been able to encounter a lot of singers and bands that I never would have, and that includes the mysterious Rie Murakami（村上リエ）who only put out that one album in 1984, "Sahara". At the time I made my first posting for the singer, it was for one of its tracks, "Say Cheese", which had me reminisce about Boz Scaggs and Bobby Caldwell from their 1970s days. 

However, another track is the appropriately titled "TNT" which had the same lyricist, Linda Hennrick but this time, the composer was Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）, and as dedicated KKP readers know, whenever I see her name, she has my undivided attention. And sure enough, this is one funky blaster. In fact, I think it so funky that it should have gotten a music video with plenty of choreography. The interesting thing about this one though is that it not only has some of that Dazz Band arrangement thanks to Masanori Sasaji（笹路正徳）but there are points where it approaches Manhattan Transfer-friendly fusion.

The above video was provided by Marty McFlies v2 (thank you for that, Marty) and I was struck by one comment he had in his explanation under the video. He mentioned that when he'd bought "Sahara", he hadn't been all that impressed with it and put it on the back burner for years. Years later, he gave it another shot and found it all so worthy. I could totally relate to that sentiment since I gave my first purchase of a Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）album the same initial short shrift and many years in my cabinet before giving it another shot for some reason and then finally seeing the light. 

Shikao Suga -- Gogo no Parade（午後のパレード）

 

Well, it was quite a time in Toronto over the past few weeks. This World Cup that had been talked about for years and years finally showed up and ended with one of the mighty showstopping games of the tournament between Portugal and Croatia last night. I'm not a big soccer fan but even I had known that Portugal and Croatia would be a huge spectacle and it was. And up until then, Toronto got to see some massive fan parades downtown in the afternoons including the one represented by Germany above. But now that my hometown has finished its contribution to World Cup 2026, Toronto Stadium is now losing its extra seats and being reconverted back to ol' BMO Field. 

Coincidentally, speaking of afternoon parades, I have here singer-songwriter Shikao Suga's（スガシカオ）"Gogo no Parade" (Afternoon Parade). Suga was actually on yesterday's "Premium Talk" segment of NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）morning information show and he got to perform what I had thought was some new material. As it turned out, it was more of his old hits including "Gogo no Parade".

When it comes to Suga's discography, I've known him primarily for "Progress", the theme song for NHK's long-running documentary series "Professional ~ Shigoto no Ryuugi"（プロフェッショナル 仕事の流儀...The Professionals ~ The Style of Work）, and the big hit that he provided SMAP with, "Yozora no Mukou"（夜空ノムコウ）. I'd had no idea that he did have a taste for disco (as do I) but he got that itch that he needed to scratch, so he whipped up the fun "Gogo no Parade".

Released as Suga's 21st single in September 2006, he wanted to go for the disco gusto, so he contacted former Simply Red drummer Gota Yashiki（屋敷豪太）. Of course, disco needs strings so Yashiki himself got in touch with the production team behind Jamiroquai with the result being that the London Session Orchestra lent a hand. Put up that disco ball! Not only was Yashiki on the drums but the late singer-songwriter Nobuo Ariga（有賀啓雄）was on the bass.

"Gogo no Parade" hit No. 23 on Oricon. It was also used as a theme song for a number of projects including a real estate firm commercial, a movie and a music variety show. As for the music video, it was filmed at a wedding reception hall in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Just the place for some group summer fun.

Whitney Houston -- How Will I Know

 

So far, in the Reminiscings of Youth file, I've only put up one Whitney Houston article and that was for the fabulous "Saving All My Love for You". She was one of the great love song balladeers.

But of course, Houston could do the upbeat stuff, too. And this one, her November 1985 single "How Will I Know" was one long-lasting hit on the airwaves as well as the video ones. I think it was pretty much fait accompli that I would see the music video for "How Will I Know" weekly for months on end. My impression of the video was that Whitney and her dancers were going through a labyrinth designed jointly by United Colors of Benetton and the makers of fruit-bottom yogurt. The song was a synthpop-funk treat that was created by George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam and Narada Michael Walden, and I couldn't quite believe that it had been first offered to Janet Jackson but was passed over to Houston.

In Canada, "How Will I Know" reached No. 1 while in America, the song was also a No. 1 hit. It also hit the top spot in Iceland. At the time, everything Houston touched turned to gold. So, what else was hitting the charts over in Japan on November 25th 1985, a few days after "How Will I Know" had been released?

1. Akiko Kobayashi -- Koi ni Ochite (恋におちて）

2. Checkers -- Kamisama Help!（神様ヘルプ！）

3. Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe -- Garasu no Palm Tree（ガラスのPALM TREE）

Ichiro Toba, Yutaka Yamakawa & Tetsuji Kimura -- Aah, Hitori Tabi（あぁひとり旅）

 

All for one, one for all!

You'll never walk alone!

The Force will be with you...always.

Yes, there is nothing like the above phrases to let you know that whatever trouble you may face, you will always have comrades to have your back.

Well, apparently, there has been an Opposition rebuttal in Japan. Back in January this year, an enka song came out titled "Aah, Hitori Tabi" (Ahh, The Journey Alone) and it's about taking that path and facing all those obstacles that might come in the way...all by your lonesome because ultimately it is really all up to you. This must sound like manna from heaven to all those lone wolves out there.

Ironically, the song is tackled by a trio (not one lone wolf) and it's a family affair, to boot. We've got the brothers Ichiro Toba（鳥羽一郎）and Yutaka Yamakawa（山川豊）plus Toba's son, enka singer Tetsuji Kimura（木村徹二）, behind the mikes solemnly singing about the solo path. Furthermore, "Aah, Hitori Tabi" was produced, written and composed by Kimura's older brother, enka singer and songwriter Ryuzo Kimura（木村竜蔵）just to add to the family contributions. 

Of course, Toba and Yamakawa are famous for often getting together to perform the classic enka, Toba's own "Kyodai Bune"（兄弟船）, about sharing the challenges of catching that fish on a boat. Interestingly enough, Kimura's lyrics also include the fact that women as well as men also face that resolute journey on their own.

Since "Aah, Hitori Tabi" can be considered to be one of those shibui enka, karaoke singers will probably have to make sure that their most stoic faces are on display. Because after all, that is the ippiki ohkami way.

Yu Hayami -- Answer Song wa Aishuu（アンサーソングは哀愁）

 

I can actually say this for the first time since I returned to Canada from Japan for good back in late 2011. Today is feeling like torrid Tokyo summer weather. It is majorly like swimming in atmosphere outside. All I can say is that I'll be glugging down a lot of water and other refreshments today and probably tomorrow, too.

Back in the day, popular music had hit songs which inspired other singers to come up with so-called answer songs to essentially rebut the original songs' message. For example, Shogo Hamada's（浜田省吾）1980 "Tokyo"（東京）can be seen to be the bleaker response to Kenji Sawadas's（沢田研二）all-is-wonderful "TOKIO" from the same year (you can listen to both songs on "Tokyo Songs").

One of the earliest Japanese pop songs that I ever heard since I realized that I was actually loving to hear them was Hiromi Go's（郷ひろみ）July 1982 "Aishuu no Casablanca"（哀愁のカサブランカ）which was the cover of Bertie Higgins' "Casablanca". I only found out recently that aidoru Yu Hayami（早見優）had released an answer song to that Go song as her 3rd single from October that year. Titled "Answer Song wa Aishuu" (The Answer Song is Filled with Sorrow), it was created by a different set of songwriters: famed lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, composer Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）and arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）. And yet, there is a similarity with this and "Aishuu no Casablanca" in terms of the overall melody and there isn't really any rebuttal at all within Hayami's song. It's actually more like commiseration on the loss of love. The two tunes can get together at a bar and drink down their sorrows like buddies. In any case, Hayami's third single reached No. 38 on Oricon and was a track on her sophomore album "Image" from November 1982 which hit No. 15 on the album charts.

Top 10 Singles for July 1st 1968

 

Hello there. I would have been happier if I'd had the list for the Oricon Top 10 Singles for July 1st 1967, which was the 100th birthday for Canada but I believe Oricon's lists hadn't started quite yet. Well, I guess we'll go with the list when Canada turned 101.

1.  Masao Sen                                  Hoshikage no Waltz

2.  The Tempters                              Emerald no Densetsu

3.  Tokyo Romantica                       Otaru no Hito yo

4.  Jun Mayuzumi                            Tenshi no Yuuwaku

5.  The Tigers                                   Hana no Kubikazari

6.  Purple Shadows                          Chiisana Sunakku

7.  Yukari Ito                                    Hoshi wo Minaide

8.  Mina Aoe                                    Isezakicho no Blues

9.  Akira Fuse                                  Ai no Sono

10.  Los Primos                               Tasogare no Ginza

Bruce Cockburn/Barenaked Ladies -- Lovers in a Dangerous Time

World Atlas via Wikimedia Commons

On this blisteringly hot day, Canada is 159 years old. Happy Birthday to the Great White North! Personally, I'm trying to stay cool in my room with the decades-old electric fan helping me out. 

Of course, being a national holiday and all, Reminiscings of Youth will be having a special article today (along with the regular weekly one tomorrow) to commemorate Canada Day. Glad to read that Ottawa-born singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn (pronounced KOH-bərn...like James Coburn) is with us at the age of 81. Forty-two years ago in 1984, he released his "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" which became a Top 40 hit here and a long resident on the music video charts on television. There were some contrasts here: 1) the contrast of young teens finding fresh new love during a time when the spectre of the Cold War was still looming large and 2) Cockburn's button-down and soothing pop-rock arrangement meshed with a performance video of what I could describe as something quite avant-garde Cirque du Soleil. 

In Canada, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" reached No. 24 on the RPM charts while on US Billboard, it peaked at No. 56.

Barenaked Ladies was a band born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. It's nicknamed Scarberia because of how desolate parts of it can look like during the winter (just look at the music video) but it also has a ton of restaurants of all nationalities that can keep people very happy and fed. Anyways, Barenaked Ladies was the same band behind the theme song for the long-running American sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", and they've been a bunch of good local boys who love to rock with a sense of humour. I first found out about them through a friend's car tape-cassette recorder when he was playing a compilation of their stuff which included their cover of "Lovers in a Dangerous Time". 

It's a friendly, folksy and peppy take on Cockburn's original and watching Ed Robertson and the gang perform from the back of a pickup truck while it drives on the streets of Scarborough in the dead of winter is probably one of the most Canadian things I've ever posted on the blog. Their cover first appeared on the 1991 Cockburn tribute album "Kick at the Darkness" and it was released as the band's debut single in 1992.

The original song peaked on August 18th 1984, so why don't we see what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts a couple of days later? Let's go with a scattering of songs here with Nos. 5, 7 and 10.

5. Mariko Takahashi -- Momo Iro Toiki （桃色吐息）

7. Southern All Stars -- Miss Brand-New Day

10. Mari Iijima -- Ai Oboeteimasuka? （愛・おぼえていますか）

UA -- Akai Anata（赤いあなた）

 

I found out maybe a year or so ago that singer-songwriter UA and her family had moved to some remote area in Canada for good quite a while back. Maybe things are a good deal cooler there than they are in Toronto which is feeling like 40 degrees Celsius on the Humidex today. Looks like I'm getting some of that ol' Tokyo feeling again.

Anyways, it was early in KKP's time that I posted UA's "Rhythm"（リズム）, her 5th single from September 1996 that was the very first purchase I ever made of her. I have no regrets at all since it has all sorts of old-school cool infused into the melody and arrangement. Well, thirteen years following that posting, I have the coupling song from "Rhythm", "Akai Anata" (Red You).

Written by the singer and composed/arranged by KING 3K and LITTLE MASTER FLASH, I'm not sure whether UA was referring to a blushing fellow or someone who's been literally painted red. However, her lyrics are filled with plenty of colour to make Benetton happy. Could be quite existential with purple eyelids, rainbow bridges and stars filled with tears. In any event, UA really wants to meet this guy no matter what. 

The interesting thing is that UA's normally low and throaty voice has been pitched pretty high...almost to aidoru levels. That and the relaxed sing-songy hip-hop nature of "Akai Anata" make the song feel like an urban kids' tune. It hadn't been placed as a track on any of her albums...only making room on her September 2003 BEST album "Illuminate 〜the very best songs〜" which hit No. 4 on Oricon and ended up as the 66th-ranked album of the year.

Keiko Goto/Junko Sakurada -- Mado（窓）

 

I don't watch French movies...although I did catch a few scenes of "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" on television (warning: make sure you have the Kleenex next to you, especially in the last scene). As a rule of my imagination (and my apologies to all those fans of the Nouvelle Vague), I always envision old French movies with scenes like these: a man or woman sitting forlornly next to a window on a cold rainy day, letting their breath hit the pane with condensation. This lasts for two hours. FIN

Strangely enough, I've encountered this song titled "Mado" (Window) sung by Keiko Goto（後藤啓子）. In fact, this was her debut single from 1981 although it apparently was also a track on her 1980 album "Aimez-vous Sagan". I've posted about Goto once before for her 1981 song "Me wo Tojite"（目を閉じて）which was quite the bouncy City Pop tune.

"Mado" is probably more in tune with her days as a singer at Gin-Pari（銀巴里）in the 1970s, the famous chanson cafe in Ginza that I mentioned only a few days ago when I paid tribute to the recently departed Akihiro Miwa（美輪明宏）. I'm not sure if "Mado" would fall under the chanson category but it's still quite the spirited French waltz of a kayo kyoku as written and composed by Shigeru Inumaru（犬丸秀）*. Maybe I can give it the Fashion Music label. It certainly doesn't have Goto breathing sadly on a window pane for a couple of hours.

One interesting thing happened while I was searching how to read the lyricist/composer's name. I found out that "Mado" had gotten a cover version via aidoru Junko Sakurada's（桜田淳子）37th single from August 1982. If anything, it's even breezier and an accordion has been thrown into the arrangement, to boot, for that enhanced Gallic flavour.

*Not totally sure on the reading of the above name. If anyone can confirm or deny it, let me know.

Special Favorite Music -- Royal Memories

 

Well, we're basically at the halfway point of 2026, and things here at least are looking very summery. In fact, Toronto is going into a heat wave for the next few days. It certainly was quite the sweaty trek from the store and back this morning. Before folks start complaining though, let's remember that it wasn't too long ago when we were all griping when winter would end.

Then, let's start today's edition of KKP with something nice and rosy and happy. The band Special Favorite Music had a track from their August 2017 2nd full album "Royal Blue" called "Royal Memories". No special genre inflection was attached to this one; it's just a happy-happy-joy-joy pop tune with some Motown horns (though "Royal Memories" doesn't sound particularly Motown) accompanying it. Have a listen to it with the air conditioner on full.

STUTS & Taeko Ohnuki -- Ohayou（おはよう）

 

Recently, the NHK morning information show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）has been getting cancelled or truncated. That's not a real surprise since there are a couple of phases during the year when this happens but this year, it's a bit more prevalent right now because of a national track-and-field meet, the World Cup and televised government deliberations. We were a bit luckier yesterday though since we did get the full one-hour-and-forty minutes.

Well, I figure that we'll have only a couple of more weeks of this before things get back to normal. The good news is that the theme song for "Asaichi" finally has a full version out on YouTube. A few months ago, when the new theme "Ohayou" (Good Morning) started each show, I couldn't find it on the platform although in my exertions, I was able to find a past collaboration by trackmaker/producer STUTS and legendary singer-songwriter Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）from 2024.

Still, it's nice to find "Ohayou" at last which apparently hit YouTube a little over a month ago. It's a nice breakfast plate of musical nostalgia via fluegelhorn and electric piano. Those two instruments give the song a sunny 70s feeling...in a way, it feels rather Carpenteresque, and it's a friendly way to start off "Asaichi". Maybe it can even get folks up-and-at-'em all on its own.

Flower Kayo

 

Yesterday on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, the episode's theme was on flower-titled kayo kyoku. That did get me to thinking...as I recall, there have been quite a few such songs that I've remembered over the decades, so I've decided to provide my own short list. My list kinda breaks out a little more widely although the first entry here was also included on the program's own list. Anyways, without further ado:

(1964) Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

(1966) Mike Maki -- Bara ga Saita （バラが咲いた）

(1980) Mariya Takeuchi -- Morning Glory

(1983) Yumi Matsutoya -- Dandelion ~ Osozaki no Tanpopo （ダンデライオン〜遅咲きのたんぽぽ）

(2012) Yoko Kanno -- Hana wa Saku （花は咲く）

Cheuni -- Glass no Tokyo Tower（ガラスの東京タワー）

By Wladyslaw via Wikimedia Commons

I remember as an elementary school kid in downtown Toronto when I was at recess seeing the CN Tower gradually being built up. From our schoolyard, we had a pretty clear view of the tower as it was going up. And then one day in 1976, it finally opened as the world's tallest free-standing structure at 553 metres high, a record which it held for about twenty years. And as of a couple of days ago, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. Maybe I'll go up the tower again this year although it now costs a good chunk of an arm and a leg to enter.

Now, it's safe to say that I won't be able to find any kayo kyoku that pays tribute to Toronto's most famous landmark. However, perhaps I can still acknowledge the fact of the CN Tower's golden anniversary through another tower...let's say Tokyo Tower! And coincidentally enough, tomorrow is the 68th birthday since Tokyo's own famous landmark was erected and opened. So I guess we can celebrate the two towers with one song.

That song is "Glass no Tokyo Tower" (Glass Tokyo Tower) which was Cheuni's（チェウニ）16th single from December 2009. Cheuni seems to have become KKP's poster child for the genre of New Adult Music with its mix of enka/Mood Kayo and urban contemporary influences, and it looks like she has enjoyed singing about aspects of Tokyo through songs like "Tokyo Twilight"（トーキョー・トワイライト）which was her debut single in 1999, so I guess "Glass no Tokyo Tower" could be seen as a 10th anniversary song for her. Yuko Natsumi（夏海裕子）was the lyricist here, as she also was for "Tokyo Twilight" and other songs for Cheuni, while Kazuya Amikura（網倉一也）took care of the classy and elegant melody surrounding a woman who is wishing upon Tokyo Tower itself through her apartment window (that's prime real estate there) to somehow bring back the lover that she let go unfortunately. The song reached No. 46 on Oricon.

Akihiro Miwa -- Itoshi no Gin-Pari（いとしの銀巴里）

 

The news came in last night just before I was about to turn in, but singer and commentator Akihiro Miwa（美輪明宏）had passed away at the age of 91 on June 20th from old age. Miwa was a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, chanson singer, drag queen, raconteur and commentator on a number of topics including government policy, and he even had at least a couple of shows where he provided advice to people, famous or not. In fact, the last show featured on TV Japan before it converted to Jme over a couple of years ago was his advice program on NHK. Most times, he was very courteous and elegant but there were a few times where Miwa verbally eviscerated other people onscreen in a rage if he felt they deserved it.

Up until 1971, Miwa had been known by his birth name of Shingo Terada（寺田臣吾）or his first stage name Akihiro Maruyama（丸山明宏）. In his obituaries on television, reporters noted his most famous song "Yoitomake no Uta"（ヨイトマケの唄）from 1965. I've already noted that so I wanted to provide a song of his titled "Itoshi no Gin-Pari" (My Beloved Gin Paris). I couldn't definitively track down the recording year but according to his discography on J-Wiki, the earliest that I've seen it mentioned is 2003 so I will go with that.

Miwa's creation is done in the lightly lilting chanson style and he's paying tribute to Japan's first cafe devoted to chanson, Gin Paris（銀巴里）, which was open between 1951 and 1990 in Ginza 7-chome in Tokyo. It was also where Miwa built up his career and a number of other artists have found it to be their breakthrough home such as the late Mina Aoe（青江三奈）. At this time, there is a stone monument at 7-chome near the former site of Gin Paris which has its name carved in.

My condolences go to Miwa's family, friends and many fans. 

Monument of Gin-Pari
by Baynosuke via Wikimedia Commons

Kokusyoku Sumire -- Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo（永久に麗しく、すみれの花よ）

Charron Freres Accordion by Uberprutser

It's hard to believe, but the very first time I posted anything about the eclectic accordion-based sister duo Charan-Po-Rantan（チャラン・ポ・ランタン）was over a decade ago in 2015 with their "Moebius no Ikitomari"（メビウスの行き止まり）. The sisters Matsunaga struck me as being unique within Japanese pop music.

But then, not too long ago, commenter YMOfan04 informed me of another duo who have a similar style and actually debuted around half a decade earlier than Charan-Po-Rantan. Kokusyoku Sumire（黒色すみれ）, which translates into Black Violets, started up in 2004, and they specialize in pop and retro kayo kyoku. There's Yuka（ゆか）who's the vocalist, accordionist and pianist while Sachi（さち）is on the violin and a number of other instruments.

On listening to "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo" (Beautiful Violet Forever) which comes from their 2nd album "Ander Meruhen Kakyokushuu"（アンデルメルヘン歌曲集...Andersen Fairy Tale Lieder Collection） from January 2006, Yuka and Sachi on their instruments brought that feeling of music from Old World Europe of a certain age as well as what I would imagine Taisho Era non-Japanese-style music was like a century ago. Not sure what Yuka, who wrote and composed "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo", was inspired by when she created it, but I've had hints of Russian folk music, Argentine tango and maybe even some of that Fashion Music essence from Japan. Maybe YMOfan04 can provide further insights, too.

Kokusyoku Sumire has continued recording up to the present day with thirteen albums including their most recent release, "Kinsei Club"（金星倶楽部...Venus Club） which came out last month.

Shoko Sawada -- Tokaijin（都会人）

Wikimedia Commons

This is the eighth article for singer-songwriter Shoko Sawada（沢田聖子）on KKP, and when it comes to her music, my memories always drift to the first song I ever heard from her, the warm and folksy "Ochiba no Heya"（落葉の部屋）from 1981, thanks to that listening on "Sounds of Japan" many moons ago.

On the other hand, Sawada's 11th single from April 1984, "Tokaijin" (Woman of the City) is quite different. For one thing, she had nothing to do with its creation; instead, it was written by veteran lyricist Masao Urino（売野雅勇）and composed by Eiji Nishiki（西木栄二）. For another, it's a rumbling pop/rock song about a young lady who gets seduced by the night life of a metropolis despite her friend's increasingly angry and desperate warnings. Although I think Sawada handled the song ably enough, I couldn't help but feel that "Tokaijin" was perhaps not the most perfect fit for her and maybe the powers-that-be above her had wanted to put a bit more boost in her variety of music. Mind you, it's all speculation from me but I also thought that this was something that an aidoru like Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）would have tackled with more energy. The song was also placed as a track on the singer's 6th album "Kaze no Yokan"（風の予感...Presage of the Wind） which was released a month after the single.

Satoshi Kishida -- Sunshine Superman（サンシャイン・スーパーマン）

 

"Supergirl" came out today after waiting about a year since she made her rather explosive and drunken cameo on "Superman". I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I still would be interested in catching the flick sometime in the next few weeks.

As such, I thought I would end this edition of Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP with something that has a fleeting connection with "Supergirl", and that would be Satoshi Kishida's（岸田智史）"Sunshine Superman". I re-discovered it on the "Beams" CD of the "Light Mellow" series recently.

I've really known the singer-songwriter's 1979 hit, the tenderhearted and folksy "Kimi no Asa"（君の朝）, and so to hear "Sunshine Superman", which was originally a track on Kishida's October 1977 2nd album "Citron"（シ・ト・ロ・ン）, is quite the revelation. Written and composed by him, it's the bouncy City Pop or J-AOR song of the 1970s with the hazy effect of the synthesizer, the jazzy play of the electric piano or Fender Rhodes and the happy-go-lucky rhythm. There's also something about Kishida's vocals that reminds me of the dulcet tones of Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）.

Also as a PS, I heard about the strong earthquake that shook Yamanashi Prefecture earlier today. And this following a similar tremor up in Aomori has probably gotten citizens a little nervous. Hopefully, that will be the brunt of it and everyone can settle down back into their usual business in the next few weeks or so.

Hirosuke -- Summertime Blues（サマータイム・ブルース）

 

All these years, whenever I've heard the title "Summertime Blues", I would always fondly remember Misato Watanabe's（渡辺美里）classic song from 1990. Well, now, it's got company.

Indeed, a decade before Misato's "Summertime Blues" came onto the scene, singer-songwriter Hirosuke（ヒロスケ）wrote and composed his own "Summertime Blues" as his 2nd single in 1980. As an aside, perhaps his "A-re-ka-ra"（あ・れ・か・ら）was his debut single from the same year.

Compared to the sunny and upbeat "Summertime Blues" by Misato, Hirosuke's "Summertime Blues" is a prowling nocturnal animal hitting the main streets and side streets of the city. Still plenty hot at night in Tokyo. "A-re-ka-ra" was a theme song for a cop show. Why not this one as well? Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）took care of the City Pop arrangement.

Early Byrds feat. Kyoko Kimura -- Galaxy Special

 

Well, summer is officially here and the World Cup is well under way with both Canada and Japan heading into the knockout rounds. And of course, next week, both my nation and the United States will be celebrating their respective birthdays, so a holiday mood is most likely pervading all throughout the land.

On that vacation-minded note, let's have a listen to "Galaxy Special", the first track from fusion band Early Byrds and Kyoko Kimura's（木村恭子）1981 album "Up and Coming". It's a most upbeat and summery groovy instrumental punctuated by Kimura's vocal scatting. You can shake those cocktails on the Lido Deck while listening to this one.

There isn't a whole lot of information on Early Byrds aside from the lineup within the band. They are Hiroshi Nakanishi, Hiroyuki Fukue, Kunihiro Tsuji, Shingo Kanno, and Tsutomu Wajima (sorry, I couldn't find their kanji or what instruments they played). According to Discogs, they released two more albums in 1982 and 1986. As for Kimura, she has a J-Wiki profile which shows that she was active from the early 1970s in at least a few groups and that she was also getting into the Yamaha music contests a fair bit. Until her untimely passing at the age of 61 in 2013, she had also composed, narrated and recorded a vast number of commercial jingles to the extent that she had been called the Beethoven of Naniwa, to reference her home region in the Kansai area of Japan.

punipunidenki x Kan Sano x Shin Sakiura -- Gakugeidai-mae（学芸大前）

 

In the late 2000s, I was teaching a couple of students privately in the western end of Tokyo so I took the Toyoko Line to the tony Den'en-Chofu district, and each time I headed out there, the train passed through Gakugei Daigaku Station which had been built about a century ago right by Tokyo Gakugei University. The university itself though was uprooted and moved off a fair bit away in 1964 so that the station isn't anywhere near the campus anymore but the name of the station remained...maybe just to confuse newbies. While researching about the song here, I learned that the area around the station has become one of the trendier neighbourhoods west of Shibuya along the lines of Jiyugaoka and Shimo-Kitazawa. I never got to stop off at Gakugei Daigaku Station but we can all travel there vicariously through the video above.

And speaking about that song, I'm talking about "Gakugeidai-mae" (In Front of Gakugei Daigaku Station), a collaboration among those Neo-City Pop hipsters punipunidenki（ぷにぷに電機）, Kan Sano and guitarist/music producer Shin Sakiura. Released a few months ago, I'm now pretty confident that the title is referring to the Toyoko Line station rather than the actual university itself. From what I've read of the explanation underneath the music video at YouTube, it all revolves around the lyric "I wanna meet you, darling, at Gakugeidai at 9 tonight" and has other enticing phrases such as "the lights of a small bar," "that song from the 80s," and "magical clichés". Melodically, there are some nostalgic chord progressions that personally take me back a bit to the original City Pop days. Meanwhile, punipunidenki and Sano trade vocals in a give-and-take between the one who is courting and the one who is being courted (and who's playing somewhat hard-to-get).

To finish off, here's a video on the actual Tokyo Gakugei University, just so that it doesn't feel left out. As well, there is a 2024 KKP article focusing on punipunidenki and Kan Sano and an earlier collaboration.

Izumi Sara -- Spacy Love（スペーシィ・ラブ）

 

Back in the spring of 2023, I posted an article on a very obscure singer, Izumi Sara（沙羅いづみ）, and her B-side "Heartbreak City"（ハート・ブレイク・シティ）which was a pretty amiable disco City Pop tune.

Well, today to start off this edition of Urban Contemporary Friday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I have the A-side this time, "Spacy Love" which seems to amp up the disco and the brass. Along with the disco, there is the City Pop and maybe even some exotic kayo in the intro. Written by same duo behind "Heartbreak City", lyricist Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）and composer/arranger Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）, the writer on Hip Tank Records gave their assessment of the song (translation by Google Translate):

"...a charmingly unpolished cult Japanese disco track—a medium-tempo, spacey disco number with a melody that evokes an oriental atmosphere...".

Perhaps there is a bit of a backhand swing in that compliment but I think that brass has some Yuji Ohno（大野雄二）or Spectrum vibes, and to be honest, I sometimes feel that the horns came in from a particular Ryohei Yamanashi（山梨良平）tune from the future or were inspired by Maynard Ferguson. Hip Tank Records also treats "Spacy Love" as one of those rare cult singles so if any of you City Pop fans can get a copy of it anywhere, consider yourselves fortunate.

Airport Kayo

 

I was once asked by one of the commenters about an Author's Picks regarding airports. After all, in terms of an old kayo kyoku, the airport serves as a setting for romantic farewells and (rarely) greetings. Plus, they can also be the launching point for adventures abroad. Now, I believe that I had yet to post such a list of airport-themed songs so I'm going with this one today to finish my trio of articles.

(1974) Teresa Teng -- Kuukou （空港）

(1975) Hi-Fi Set -- Doyoubi no Yoru wa Haneda ni Kuru no（土曜の夜は羽田に来るの）

(1984) Akina Nakamori -- Kita Wing （北ウィング）

(1987) Kye Eunsook & Keisuke Hama -- Kita Kuukou（北空港）

(2013) Keisuke Yamauchi -- Kushiro Kuukou （釧路空港）

Jerry Goldsmith -- Theme from "Barnaby Jones"

Wikimedia Commons

"A Quinn Martin production!"

For anyone who grew up in the 60s and 70s and was at least able to catch a little bit of the prime-time police procedurals or detective shows on television (usually it was just the opening credits since my brother and I were told in no uncertain terms to head to bed at the time they began), the name Quinn Martin was a familiar one.

At first, I'd thought that there was a Mr. Quinn and a Mr. Martin producing these cop shows but no, it was really one person named Quinn Martin. And although he didn't apply it to every one of his programs, there was a certain formula to the opening credits. A cool dramatic theme and graphic design intro sequence would start up with the gravitas-laden narrator stating the title of the show and the aforementioned quote at the top. Then, he would continue by introducing the main cast, the guest actors and finally the name of the episode title emblazoned on the screen. This was nicely parodied for the brief comedy series "Police Squad!".

The late great Jerry Goldsmith already has a lengthening file on KKP which includes his majestic theme for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". And for all of the exciting intros for Quinn Martin shows, my favourite theme song was his contribution to the series "Barnaby Jones". For a detective series regarding an elderly but wise ol' gumshoe played by Buddy Ebsen, this was a pretty kickass theme with the stomping brass and a calm and calculating flute sequence. Ever since I decided to write about this one for Reminiscings of Youth, the theme has been stuck in my head.

The audience must have gone crazy when they were watching the 1993 cinematic redux of "The Beverly Hillbillies" when Barnaby Jones showed up in a cameo. Ebsen was the star of the original TV sitcom which lasted even longer than "Barnaby Jones".

In any case, the detective series premiered on January 28th 1973. Now, what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts the next day afterwards?

1. Shiro Miya & The Pinkara Trio -- Onna no Michi (女のみち）

2. Naomi Chiaki -- Kassai （喝采）

3. Mari Amachi -- Futari no Nichiyoubi (ふたりの日曜日)

Kyoko Koizumi -- Hitori Machikado（ひとり街角）

 

Well, first off, I should recognize the fact that 80s aidoru and actress Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）celebrated her 60th birthday earlier this year. Hopefully, her kanreki has gone well. 

Less than a month ago, I featured Kyon-Kyon in techno dance mode through her 1989 song "Micro Wave"（マイクロWAVE）. Today, I'm heading back to her early days as an aidoru with her third single "Hitori Machikado" (Alone on the Corner) which was released in September 1982. I'd been accustomed to hearing Koizumi as this rather sassy-sounding teenybopper so hearing "Hitori Machikado", a song of being alone once again with only a seashell brooch as the final symbol of a former relationship, was interesting because the lass sounds less sass and more conventional high-falutin' aidoru.

Written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, I'm never going to turn down a disco beat in an aidoru tune and it's got those fleet-footed strings that occupied many of such a tune. "Hitori Machikado" peaked at No. 13 on Oricon. Another piece of trivia is that this single was Koizumi's first truly original song since the first two singles including her debut "Watashi no 16-sai" (私の16才）were actually cover songs of previously recorded tunes by other singers.

According to the J-Wiki article on the song, it picked up a number of awards including a Gold Prize at the Shinjuku Music Festival for that year. During the finale of that festival though, Koizumi was pelted with a raw egg which hit her on the head by some disgruntled person in the audience. Apparently, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）, who had been the runner-up for the Gold, immediately came to her assistance.

Hibari Misora -- Tsugaru no Furusato（津軽のふるさと）

 

Almost two hours before this typing, we were watching NHK News when the announcers went to Red Alert to announce a major tremor hitting the Tohoku region, especially Aomori Prefecture which registered a Shindo 6+. Not sure how people and infrastructure are faring right now but daily commenter Brian Mitchell and his family live in Aomori, so I'm hoping that everyone there is doing OK.

Under the circumstances affecting Aomori Prefecture and to acknowledge the fact that the most recent episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）celebrated the 80th anniversary of the late Hibari Misora's（美空ひばり）debut in the music industry, I'm bringing in a go-touchi (regional/local) song from the area as sung by the Queen of Kayo Kyoku, "Tsugaru no Furusato" (My Home, Tsugaru) which was originally released as a double-A-side single "Umakko Sensei"/Tsugaru no Furusato"（馬っこ先生/津軽のふるさと）back in January 1953.

Written and composed by Masao Yoneyama（米山正夫）, the video above seems to have Misora singing it in her later years but "Tsugaru no Furusato" sounds like a very melancholy paean to the old hometown area of mountains and apples. I remember reading that in the postwar period, there was a massive movement of young people as young as junior high school graduates from the rural regions to the cities to help out in driving the Japanese economy back to prosperity. I'm sure that songs like "Tsugaru no Furusato" must have tugged on the heartstrings and tear ducts of all those from the Tohoku or even other regions who were toiling away in Tokyo.

Hitomi Kaga -- Tokyo Flamenco（東京フラメンコ）

 

Feeling a bit dozy right now since I'm still digesting a hearty ramen lunch along with a gelato dessert. My gastrointestinal fortitude has been faltering of late, I'm afraid.

Anyways, commenter YMOfan04 has been giving me some names of rather obscure kayo kyoku singers from long ago, so I've been perusing them. One such person is Hitomi Kaga（加賀ひとみ）. There is a J-Wiki article on a Hitomi Kaga (same kanji) but it turns out that the name belongs to a mezzo-soprano opera singer whose high school years were in the 1980s, and looking at the thumbnail featuring the single cover above, this is definitely not the same Hitomi Kaga.

Nope, this Hitomi Kaga, whose real name is Masako Nishikawa（西川雅子）from Ishikawa Prefecture, released seven singles in the latter half of the 1960s before taking a long sabbatical until 1984. She then put out another three singles up to 1989 also throwing in her first album. Koga's third single was "Tokyo Flamenco" and not surprisingly it's got quite the Latin beat within the Mood Kayo setting although its intro sounds like a rather dramatic beginning to an ancient European war movie. "Tokyo Flamenco", which came out in November 1966, was written by Sakae Kouda（幸田栄）and composed by the legendary Minoru Endo（遠藤実）.