Kazuko Matsuo and Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars -- Good Night（グッド・ナイト）

 

Welcome to another Monday, the final one for September 2026, at KKP. It was good to see another edition of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）and find out about another few ol' kayo kyoku that I hadn't heard before.

"Tokyo Nightclub"（東京ナイトクラブ）by Frank Nagai（フランク永井）and Kazuko Matsuo（松尾和子）remains as not only one of the most venerated and venerable Mood Kayo songs but I think it's also one of the most remembered tunes of the kayo kyoku era. I've been hearing this one for ages. The crazy thing though is that "Tokyo Nightclub" was actually the B-side of this July 1959 45" single.

The A-side was called "Good Night" and I got to hear it for the first time on "Nihon no Uta" last night, and for the late Matsuo, the two songs were her debut in the music industry. As with "Tokyo Nightclub", Matsuo was doing a duet but not with Nagai. She was recording this one with the Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）, and true to form, this is another mournful minor-key tune of lost romantic opportunities in the city.  Matsuo has more of the vocal responsibility here and she takes good advantage of it at the tender age of 24. 

Both songs on either side of the record were handled by lyricist Takao Saeki（佐伯孝雄）and composer Tadashi Yoshida（吉田正）. Ironically, I am posting this song just a few days after the 34th anniversary of her untimely passing at the age of 57 due to complications from falling down the stairs.