Megumi Asaoka -- Mebae（芽生え）

Wikimedia Commons

Hope you are enjoying your weekend whether they be long (as in Canada and Japan) or regular. Heck of a time to be introducing a song titled "Mebae" (Young Buds) when we in the Northern Hemisphere are now fully into autumn, but at least folks south of the Equator are going through spring.

"Mebae" was the debut single of aidoru and actress Megumi Asaoka（麻丘めぐみ）, released in June 1972. Considering that Asaoka has been mostly known for her hit the following year, "Watashi no Kare wa Hidarikiki"（わたしの彼は左きき）, I thought it would be nice to hear how she started out in her music career. Plus, most of her KKP entries involve either Reminiscings of Youth or Author's Picks, so I should at least punch in a few more of her songs with her name on the byline.

Anyways, "Mebae", a love song of gratitude about a young lady who was lucky enough to have met her Mr. Right, was written by Kazuya Senke（千家和也）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）as this very sweet aidoru tune of the 1970s amidst a background of glorious strings and a helpful harmonica. The cover for the single was apparently shot inside Tokyo's famous Inokashira Park and I have a feeling that the music video as seen above was also filmed there, too.

The J-Wiki article for "Mebae" also gave some information on the production of the single which encountered some growing pains...not surprising for a budding young aidoru star. The director for the recording of the single was frustrated that Asaoka's voice didn't sound cute at all. Asaoka, who had a bit of a complex regarding her naturally lower speaking voice, was so upset at the criticism that she went home crying, thinking that her singing career would end up stillborn. Well, here comes composer Tsutsumi to the rescue. At a later session, he advised her that when she hit the higher notes, her voice took on a more tearful quality so she should take advantage and go full forward into the higher registers. She took his advice and everyone was satisfied. As a result, "Mebae" would not only reach No. 3 on the Oricon weeklies and end up as the No. 17 single of the year but it would also earn Asaoka a Brand New Artist prize at the Japan Record Awards.