I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
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.
It's frigid as all heck out there in Toronto but March 17th, aka St. Patrick's Day, wasn't going to send anyone away from the Irish pubs, and I'm assuming that the places are still jam-packed with folks enjoying the Irish holiday. I personally don't celebrate the holiday myself but I remember a few times back in my Tokyo days when I joined fellow teachers and students for a pint at the local Irish pubs there such as Dubliners.
I recall in past years that I tried to come up with kayo kyoku with an Irish theme on St. Patrick's Day, but came up wanting. I think in those cases, I searched and perhaps found some songs with "Green" in their titles.
Well, I realized that the 1913 folk song"Danny Boy" has been sung in Japan through what I've learned while doing the blog over the years and from performances on TV by the older kayo kyoku singers. Although I don't know when the above performance was made, Akira Fuse（布施明）has given his own rendition of the tear worthy ballad. And below, there is singer-songwriter Ayaka Hirahara（平原綾香）with her cover of "Danny Boy" which was on her 2011 album"My Classics 3" with her own Japanese lyrics.
I just had to include Bing Crosby's take from 1943. Anyways, I hope that all of you are enjoying yourselves out there tonight.
Let's start off this Thursday with a regular Reminiscings of Youth article. I remember back in the sixth grade when our teacher was one of those really ambitious types who had some of us creating a mini-greenhouse in the classroom along with macrame owls to boot. One of my classmates was a huge Bay City Rollers fan and she couldn't stop jabbering away about"Saturday Night", one of their big hits.
Methinks that if she had ever met the guys from Scotland, she would have been jabbering in tongues for the rest of her childhood. But "Saturday Night" is indeed a catchy anthem ("S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!") of a power pop song and it was one of the hits that I remember hearing on telly and radio in the mid-1970s. From what I've read, there was an original version released in 1973 in the UK, but it didn't do much on the charts back then. However, it was re-recorded with new lyrics and re-released in the United States sometime in August 1975 and that was all she wrote. It hit No. 1 in both Canada and America.
I've mentioned "The Hockey Theme", the legendary former theme song for the CBC's iconic "Hockey Night in Canada" show. In that article, I also let folks know that "The Hockey Theme" and HNIC parted company years ago due to some failed negotiations between the original composer and the network. But since then, a cover version of "Saturday Night" by the band Monster Truck has been used to get the audience all revved up just before the games begin since HNIC always appears on Saturday night.
Since Wikipedia didn't bother to give an exact date of release for "Saturday Night" (simply August 1975) in the US, I'll just go with what was at the top of the Oricon chart for August 4th 1975. Here are Nos. 1, 4 and 5.
The final regular Reminiscings of Youth article lands on Christmas Day today and it will be on the theme song for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" from December 1966. It's a special, just like "A Charlie Brown Christmas", that I used to see every year on CBS on the old tube telly. By this point, pretty much everyone in North America knows about the green Grinch with his heart being two sizes too small (initially at least) and his willingness to ruin everybody's Christmas.
As a little kid, I didn't know who the narrator was and wouldn't finally find out for quite a few years. At first thought, I'd assumed that it was Dr. Seuss behind the narration but then I discovered it was Boris Karloff, Frankenstein's Monster himself, behind the mike when I'd known about his time many decades earlier as a horror movie icon. And dang it! He had a great voice for the theme song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" which was given lyrics by Dr. Seuss and composed by Albert Hague as this classic comically villainous composition. Karloff chewed the heck out of this tune like a zombie on bone.
I never saw the Jim Carrey version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" from 2000, but he one-ups Karloff in his rendition of the song. Some fine Canadian ham there!
Anyways, we have a couple of singles in Japan that got released at around the same time as the original cartoon.
Abram: He once killed three men in a bar with a (expletive) pencil! Who can (expletive) do that?!
Well, some guy named John W. I know another amazing fellow named John W.
Yeah, he once terrified millions of people with two notes! Who could do that?!
It also didn't hurt that these two notes were the musical representation of a hungry Great White shark. I was just a few months shy of becoming ten years old when Steven Spielberg's iconic "Jaws" came out on June 20th 1975...indeed tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of its release. I remember seeing the TV version of the above trailer as a commercial, and that was enough to have me burrow into the sofa. The following months wouldn't get any easier as "Jaws" thrilled and scared audiences and its fame would lead to more scenes getting shown on the telly. I finally saw the entire movie on VHS years later and yep, there would be plenty of jump scares including the one with poor Ben Gardner. Probably by the end of 1975, people refused to get into the water...even if the water belonged to Lake Ontario (well, mind you, back then people refused to get into the water there for different reasons).
Anyways, back to that John W. Of course, I'm referring to soundtrack maestro John Williams. A couple of years before he would make another iconic soundtrack via "Star Wars", he had really made his mark with those two notes for "Jaws", something that initially had Spielberg laughingly reacting to it as if Williams had wanted to make a joke. Instead, this ostinato (only learned about the musical term recently) has become one of cinema's most recognized and deadly riffs, and folks who listen to it from other people will automatically get that image of a shark in their heads. Seeing the various reaction videos (like the one above) for certain scenes from the movie, a number of the reactors reacted viscerally whenever the two notes began playing again. It's back!🦈
I finally listened to the full version of the "Jaws" theme when I bought "John Williams ~ Greatest Hits: 1969-1999". I had no idea that there had been more to the basic two notes, and yeah, it's dramatic and thrilling, although I was a little surprised by that middle part where it sounds like some kids happily hitting the water at the beach or a buffet at their favourite restaurant...not knowing in the former case that they could become the buffet.
Well, I heard that "Jaws" will be getting that big 5-0 celebration later in the summer with special big-screen releases among other events. Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water...
Incidentally, Japan wouldn't get its first look at "Jaws" until several months later in December 1975. Also, when I was first introduced to the term ostinato, my faulty memory had initially remembered a song by KEDGE that I had thought used the word for its title. However, the song is actually "Sostenuto"（ソステヌート）, named for a musical term which has a different meaning.
What was at the top of the charts on June 23rd 1975 in Japan? I give you Nos. 1 and 2.
Akira Fuse（布施明）appeared on "Uta Con"（うたコン）today. He usually comes onto the show about two or three times a year, by my reckoning and he looks mighty fine for a 76-year-old. In fact, the hosts acknowledged the fact that Fuse is celebrating his 60th anniversary in show business.
As I mentioned long ago in one of my early articles on Fuse, the man is one of a handful of singers that has that booming voice which can really project. I remember one commenter who complained that Fuse was frankly just booming all of his vocals off the walls in recent appearances which annoyed the heck out of him. To be honest, I once wondered if I ever had the opportunity to meet the singer, would he end up greeting me through two walls and the outer shell of the house? 😏
But in any case, one song that popped up in the short montage of his work was his March 1967 single"Koi"(Love). He was still technically a teenager at 19 in Japan when he sang of the wide spectrum of emotions that bursts out when exposed to love so I'm not sure whether he had already been fully aware of its implications and consequences. But getting out of that complicated circumstance, "Koi" has a tango-esque arrangement thanks to Masaaki Hirao's（平尾昌晃）melody; he also took care of the lyrics with Tetsu Mizushima（水島哲）.
It's interesting comparing the original recording with his later renditions of "Koi". Fuse was downright hesitant and halting with his delivery on the record but later on, it seems that experience and confidence brought some of the boom into his future performances. However even so, he's not quite as forceful as he is with some of his other hits.
Oricon was still not up and running when "Koi" had its own success, but it sold 700,000 records and Fuse received his first invitation onto the Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1967 to perform this one.
Happy Good Friday to all those who follow the statutory holiday. That's right...most of us are off today in the days leading to Easter which is arriving a little earlier than usual in 2024. As such, according to our own traditions on KKP, we'll be doing a special Reminiscings of Youth.
Keeping with the theme for urban contemporary on Fridays here on the blog, I wanted to go with something AOR or R&B from my youth. I found just the song...The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes". I ought to re-title it as "What a J-Canuck Believes" since it's taken me so long to get this up here as a ROY subject. I had actually assumed that Michael McDonald and his band were already represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" because McDonald has shown up on a number of ROYs in the past as a guest for other acts such asKenny Loggins and Steely Dan, but this is the first official Doobie Brothers' appearance on KKP. I'm giving myself a Gibbs slap as penance.
Although "What a Fool Believes" first appeared in the band's 1978 debut album"Minute by Minute", the single version was released in January 1979. If anyone asked me for a typical Doobie Brothers' song, I would immediately point to this one. Created by McDonald and the aforementioned Loggins, it's got that famous keyboard hook which has acted as the aural logo for the Doobies all these years. That melody kinda mellows out the story behind the lyrics of a fellow trying to rekindle a romance with an old flame, only to find out that there hadn't even been a first romance in the first place. Along with the hook, there are the iconic McDonald vocals and the path that the music takes weaving between whimsical and elegant. "What a Fool Believes" hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian charts.
Over the decades, there have been affectionate pokes at McDonald and the Doobies' sound. I know about McDonald's appearances on "Family Guy", but true to my age, I like to go back even further to "SCTV". It still kills me how Rick Moranis killed them. The wonderful thing is that both McDonald and Rick Beato referenced the two parodies involving the Doobie Brothers very magnanimously within the last couple of weeks.
As I said, "What a Fool Believes" was released in January 1979. Which Japanese singles did the same?
Good afternoon, America! I know that the national holiday is not here but in the States but what the heck? It's time for another special holiday edition of Reminiscings of Youth along the lines of what I provided on Canada Day.
This was obviously several years before my time when Dave Garroway introduced the very first episode of NBC's venerable morning news show "Today" back on January 14th 1952, the first of its kind not only in the USA but in the world. For whatever oddball reason, I did have an affinity for morning shows whether it be the old "Canada AM" here or the kids' show "Rocketship 7" on the Buffalo ABC affiliate. Maybe it was the fact that there was a certain freshness behind the sharing of news or fun so early in the morning.
In 1975, I heard that there was going to be a new morning show on the ABC network in November called "Good Morning America", and it was going to be a breaking of the mold that had been set by the "Today" show over twenty years prior. For one thing, it was going to be headed up by actors David Hartman and Nancy Dussault. Actors are going to be doing breakfast news?! That was weird to say the least, especially since I had already known Hartman on at least one prime-time drama "The Bold Ones". Dussault was someone that I had seen on a commercial and then would gain even bigger fame starring with Ted Knight on the sitcom "Too Close for Comfort" a few years later.
Regardless, I remember practically begging my mother to wake me up early so that I could catch this "Good Morning America" right from the opening credits. It took a few tries but I finally did it, and it certainly was different. I guess I saw it with the same level of expectation and excitement that viewers had (well, those who had TV sets back then) when Garroway introduced "Today". I don't think I had ever seen a news set which resembled a well-to-do living room and kitchen from "Good Housekeeping". The approach was quite light: Steve Bell provided the news on the half-hour for a few minutes, a happy weather person came on, and then Hartman and Dussault brought in the celebrities and consumer interest folks for some light chatter. "Good Morning America" was also the show where I first heard about this weird upcoming film called "Star Wars" thanks to entertainment reporter Rona Barrett which included the TIE fighter attack scene.
It was all so very welcoming and that included the theme song by the late great Marvin Hamlisch who's already represented here on KKP via his composition of "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon in another ROY article. As of this writing, it is the only morning news show theme that I still remember after 48 years since I'm not even sure whether "Today" or the CBS equivalent had theme songs at the time. Regardless, I heard different variations on the "Good Morning America" theme throughout the broadcast including a Dixieland jazz version and a flute-driven take as the show went into commercial. I do enjoy the version above although I don't think it's the one that greeted me on those mornings decades ago; it's got that pleasant AOR feeling.
I no longer watch "Good Morning America" but of course the personnel has changed and the suburban living room set is long gone. However, I am hoping that everyone enjoys the show's golden anniversary in a couple of years. As I mentioned above, the show began near the end of 1975 so who were the winners for the Japan Record Awards back then?
Well, we woke up to a balmy 7 degrees Celsius this morning, but unfortunately it was raining up a storm and the winds were whipping up something similar, too, which meant that it sure didn't feel like spring by any stretch of the imagination. However, things have lightened up considerably in the past few hours. Moreover, one of the chief weather guys for the nation has predicted that the summer will be warmer than usual this year which gives everyone some hope.
I guess then that it's heck of a time to be putting up this particular song by singer-songwriter Akira Fuse（布施明）under Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）arrangement. His October 1976 single"Ochiba ga Yuki ni"(Fallen Leaves Into Snow) is a sad kayo about a fellow who feels stuck in one place while nature and presumably people have all changed and gone off into different directions. At first, after reading that title, I had naturally assumed that "Ochiba ga Yuki ni" was going to be another love-gone-wrong song but the theme is quite a bit larger here.
"Ochiba ga Yuki ni" had originally been created by Fuse for singer-entertainer Jun Inoue（井上順）to record but when Fuse sang it for a Suntory commercial (yes, that's right...drown one's sorrows in drink), it got quite the positive response so with its release, it hit No. 1 on Oricon. In fact, it not only became the 45th-ranked single of the year but it showed staying power to the extent that it ended up also as the 83rd-ranked single for 1977.
On a television show, Inoue even asked Fuse "Did you actually expect me to sing that song?". Fuse, tongue-in-cheek, responded "If you had sung it, it would either have been shelved or discontinued!".
I only found out the news a few days ago via a chance Twitter browsing and then it was further reiterated by commenter Jim Laker, but unfortunately another veteran songwriter has left this mortal coil. Composer and arranger Makoto Kawaguchi passed away at the age of 83 on October 20th due to sepsis.
Kawaguchi has had a fairly long list of songs represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I've yet to come across any official media reports of his death on YouTube which is unusual. There have been a few personal YouTube accounts that did cite his passing but for a composer like Kawaguchi who did create a lot of classic kayo including Mieko Hirota's（弘田三枝子）1969"Ningyo no Ie"（人形の家）above, it's a little surprising that NHK hasn't mentioned anything although perhaps some of the commercial networks may have done so.
The composer/arranger was born Masahiro Kawaguchi（川口眞弘）in the city of Kobe on November 5th 1937 but grew up in the city of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. According to his J-Wiki profile, while studying in the Music Department at Tokyo University of the Arts, he became a part of chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji's（越路吹雪）backing band Claire de Charme as a pianist and then worked part time for composer Taku Izumi's（いずみたく）office. Kawaguchi dropped out of university in his senior year seeing that his job was becoming more of a full-time gig.
Although in 1966, he helped arrange The Ventures' version of "Futari no Ginza"（二人の銀座）, his official debut as a composer was in 1969 with the successful "Ningyo no Ie" with Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼） providing the lyrics. "Ningyo no Ie" was Kawaguchi's third-most successful creation which was followed by Saori Yuki's（由紀さおり）1970 hit"Tegami"（手紙）and Akira Fuse's（布施明）1974 hit"Tsumiki no Heya"（積木の部屋）at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
I haven't really delved too deeply into what made Kawaguchi tick in terms of his preferences for songs but my surface impression at this writing is that in the early part of his career at least, he seems to have been drawn into the darker or sadder aspects of romance just judging from the songs including the ones above. Basically, he composed his music in the kayo realm with some stretches into aidoru and tokusatsu and even City Pop.
I'd like to introduce some of the other songs that Kawaguchi created that I had yet to put onto KKP, beginning with the late Kiyohiko Ozaki's（尾崎紀世彦）July 1971"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido"（さよならをもう一度...Farewell, One More Time）, the great singer's follow-up single to the iconic "Mata Au Hi Made"（また逢う日まで）. With lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, a frequent songwriting partner, I guess that another observation is that Kawaguchi liked to go brassy and proud with his compositions, and that fit hand-in-glove with the booming voices of Ozaki and, for that matter, the aforementioned Fuse.
"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido" is the tough-but-tender song of sweet parting since although the couple may not have Paris, they will always have tomorrow to get back together to talk of old times. The arrangement is indeed brassy and proud, and the song reminds me of folks like Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. With an Oricon weekly ranking of No. 2 and an end-of-year ranking of No. 14, I'm sure that all involved were very proud of this one.
In the previous year, Aku and Kawaguchi had teamed up to provide Teruhiko Saigo（西郷輝彦）with his August 1970 56th single, "Manatsu no Arashi"（真夏のあらし...Midsummer Maelstrom）, a story of being majorly distracted by the beautiful bodies around during the hot (and bothered) season. I believe that I mentioned Tom Jones above; well, I think that this is the wilder side of Jones singing through Saigo, and if I may be so bold, I think that Saigo's performance is rather similar to what soon-to-arrive Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）would bring to the kayo zeitgeist of the decade. Strangely enough, Kawaguchi would compose songs for Saijo soon enough.
(5:07)
Kawaguchi delved into the aidoru realm alongside lyricist Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）for 70s teenybopper singer Yuko Asano（浅野ゆう子）for a couple of songs, her debut single"Tobidase Hatsukoi"（とびだせ初恋）and the follow-up, "Koi wa Dan Dan"（恋はダン・ダン）, both released in 1974. Asano's third and final single for that year was "Hitoribocchi no Kisetsu"（ひとりぽっちの季節...A Season of Loneliness） from December. Once again, tackled by Kawaguchi and Arima, those strings and what I think are an ocarina and an accordion bring forward a lot of spring innocence from a case of puppy love that doesn't seem to be heading to its happy end.
One more song that I'll put up on his tribute here is "Doyoubi no Cinderella"（土曜日のシンデレラ...Saturday Cinderella） sung by Sawako Kitahara（北原佐和子）as her 3rd single in September 1982. It's another aidoru tune and the arrangement is perfectly suited to the time of the early 80s teenyboppers, with the swift strings this time and the jingly synthesizers. This time, Kawaguchi's songwriting partner was lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）whose words almost make me wish the title was more along the lines of "The Taming of the Cinderella" as a young lady is, comically and physically or figuratively, poking a strong finger into her Prince Charming and demanding where the love and the glass slipper are. Again, I haven't explored the world of Kawaguchi in full but at first blush, it's remarkable how his melodies may have adjusted for the times and demands in music. Still, lyrically speaking, this seems to be along the lines of Kawaguchi's attraction to the not-so-happy themes in love.
Of course, there are the other Kawaguchi creations that you can cruise through under his name in the Labels section, but also if your Japanese ability is up to it, you can also look through his J-Wiki profile for a more complete list of his compositions. I never even touched his arrangements which is a separate list. Regardless, his accomplishments since the 1960s merit a tribute in kayo history.
Uh...those post-lunch and post-work afternoons are getting tougher on me, especially when it's a summer day. It's been difficult keeping the eyes open and even a round of watching the Portals scene from "Avengers: Endgame" hasn't quite brought the needed energy.
Indeed maybe some dance, dance, dance would be just the thing....if I were younger. And able to dance, of course. However, I am neither so I will just go with this Akira Fuse（布施明）song instead. "Dance Dance Dance" is the first track on his August 1980 album"I AM" and you bass-loving folks in the City Pop fandom will especially love this one since the bassist lays on the funk and disco right from the top. And this time, Fuse doesn't unleash that wave motion gun of a voice; he keeps things low-key throughout.
"Dance Dance Dance" has a Kazuo Shiina（椎名和夫）arrangement that reminds me of Makoto Matsushita's（松下誠）light and bright approach to the city with Fuse himself creating the melody. But the interesting thing is the lyricist who is listed as one Olivia H. Fuse according to one blog page paying tribute to the singer. If I'm not mistaken, this is actress Olivia Hussey who had just gotten married to Fuse in 1980 and stayed that way for the better part of a decade. To be honest, though, the only movie in which I remember her is the 1968 version of "Romeo and Juliet".
A special Reminiscings of Youth article on a Sunday night since this morning I heard of the news of the passing of singer B.J. Thomas at the age of 78 on May 29th. What was especially surprising was that I first heard the news on an NHK 10-minute news flash. Of course, Thomas' most famous hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was featured. Just listening to the song again, I marvel at how it starts sounding like a buddy around a campfire playing a little ditty on his guitar before it gradually takes on that familiar epic Bacharach/David sheen, especially with the horns.
Over here, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song of reassurance that was played all the time on AM radio, the Best Original Song Oscar winner for its use in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and a smash hit in many countries including Canada following its release in October 1969. However, from this morning's report of Thomas' death, I was curious to know how popular it was in Japan.
Well, it was given its own release in Japan under the title of "Ame ni Nuretemo"（雨にぬれても）. Before I forget, I also mentioned in "Who Influenced Toshiki Kadomatsu? (Pre-Debut)" that this was one of the songs that influenced little Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）when he was in kindergarten.
It has been covered by a number of singers such as Akira Fuse（布施明）for his 1971 album"When Akira Fuse Meets Burt Bacharach".
Plus, it was also used as a commercial song for Keio Railways.
As I also mentioned in that Kadomatsu article, it would be many years before I realized that "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" had that direct connection with "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". My early childhood was spent watching a lot of those ol' Westerns through movies and television shows such as "Gunsmoke", so my impression of the soundtracks for this genre was all Elmer Bernstein and his proud orchestra. Never did I think that a mellow Bacharach song would have anything to do with a Western but then again, I think "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was a most unusual Western.
So, what were a couple of releases in October 1969?
To finish, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" has been warmly welcomed in other later movies and TV shows, and the one movie that usually comes to my mind is "Spiderman 2".
Welcome back, Akira Fuse（布施明）! Missed that boomer of a voice of yours.
The last time that I wrote about him was back on Xmas Day 2019 for his 1982 City Pop"Tamaranaku Tasty"（たまらなくテイスティー）. But it looks like his experience with the urban contemporary stuff went even further back according to this track from his May 1978 album"Kon'ya wa Kidotte Mitara Ii" (今夜は気取ってみたらいい...Try Pretending Tonight).
With the title of "Natsu no Owari no Memory" (Memory at Summer's End), I kinda figured that it would have to do with a former romantic relationship on some beach somewhere. Sure enough, Fuse's own lyrics talk of a fellow in what is probably a fine convertible coming across an old familiar slice of seashore and remember that relationship from last year. Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, no stranger to City Pop or AOR, whipped up the contemplative if boppy melody as if the lonely beach is still not too far away from a busy street of bars and restaurants.
As I mentioned, Fuse has got one of those voices that can really project, but for "Natsu no Owari no Memory", he keeps things relatively sedate here.
Looking at that title again, I had been wondering why all sorts of memory alarms were going off in my head when I realized that this was very close to the title for a classic 80s duet tune between Anzen Chitai and Yosui Inoue（安全地帯・井上陽水）, "Natsu no Owari no Harmony" (夏の終わりのハーモニー）. Completely different song, though. Ironically, Fuse and Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）performed that very ballad on a music show.
As promised when I wrote up on his lone solo album "Secret Love" back on Thursday January 21st a few days ago, I'm bringing you here a Creator article on the works of very prolific arranger Mitsuo Hagita. I actually saw what he looked like for the first time on a variety show not too long ago and I also found this cute ad above featuring him and singer Hiromi Ohta（太田裕美）for some live event that he was to appear in.
But man, it was difficult narrowing down the examples of what he has arranged for this article since he's been behind so many famous kayo over the years. And even with myself, I had to react "Hagita arranged THIS?!" a number of times because until recently I had the temerity to not include the names of arrangers in either the articles or the Labels, once thinking that the composer and the lyricist were enough. Not anymore, especially since he's come in at No. 3 as one of the Oricon Top 5 Most Commercially Successful Arrangers. So I'm doing a lot of catch-up on articles these days to include his name.
In terms of background for Hagita, according to a book on his life via J-Wiki, he was born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1946 but moved to Saitama Prefecture and their parents had a house in Tokyo. His family ran an electronics parts business and though his father wasn't into music, his mother played the koto and his older brother created his own phonograph to which young Mitsuo listened to Beethoven and Mozart. There was also a piano in the home on which his sister practiced but he himself didn't touch the instrument in his younger years.
However on entering junior high school, Hagita entered the brass band club in which he was in charge of percussion but then moved onto tuba. During university, he joined the classical guitar club. Having all these musical influences during his formative years had him decide that music was his future, and at the age of 22, he entered a songwriting contest sponsored by a music journal in which he won top prize. Furthering his education, he wanted to get involved with orchestras so at 24, he began studying composition and arrangement at the Yamaha Music Foundation.
The debut of his arranging career started with this 1973 song with the country swing lilt:
Now, as I hinted earlier, it was hard to stuff the Hagita hits in here since for one thing, my Labels won't allow any more than 20 items. But I will try my best. The thing is that even though with his "Secret Love" album, he was dabbling into funk and jazz, it looks like the arranger took on pretty much everything excluding enka and Mood Kayo. His J-Wiki article listed his genres as aidoru, New Music and pop.
For example, Hagita arranged a lot of the aidoru in the 1970s and 1980s including Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）, Hiromi Ohta, Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹） and Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）each with their own different sounds. He could do wistful and snarly.
In 1975, Hagita won for Best Arrangement at the Japan Record Awards for Akira Fuse's（布施明） "Cyclamen no Kaori" （シクラメンのかほり）.
Into the 1980s, he also handled some City Pop including a Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）tune that has had fans from all over the world remember a certain series of numbers.
Hagita may have enjoyed his funk and stuff but as the above two show, he could also help shape some of the marshmallow-soft ballads. But as I said, there are so many of his works even on this blog that I would just scroll through his KKP file. However, you can also check out the list at J-Wiki.
There were quite a few actors and actresses outside of Japan who caught the public's eye there for many years. One such thespian is Alain Delon from France, and with performers who have become popular in The Land of the Rising Sun in the decades since, they will almost inevitably be brought over to do a commercial for a Japanese product. Delon was apparently no different as he touted the merits of an early 1980s Mazda Capella.
The song that came with the commercial was Akira Fuse's（布施明）"Tamaranaku Tasty"(Irresistibly Tasty) which was his first single under Philips Records released in September 1982. So far, under the Fuse file, the man with the big voice has done pop, Mood Kayo and some jazz. But this is the first time for me to hear him tackle the urbane sounds of City Pop.
Written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by GANGY, this is perhaps the type of song that you would like to hear while driving in a Capella...preferably along the coast bombing down to Hakone. The lyrics by Arikawa don't give praise to a car but a woman for whom Fuse seems to be absolutely head-over-heels in love with that mighty big reference to Venus herself. It's about as City Pop as one can get with that little spritz of Latin.
Fuse himself once had a personal connection with one of those thespians who grabbed the Japanese spotlight. He married actress Olivia Hussey of "Romeo and Juliet" fame in 1980 before getting divorced in 1989. In 2013, though, he married singer Yukari Morikawa（森川由加里）.
It's been a while since I've put up anything by Akira Fuse（布施明）and just to remind myself that the 1970s were also part of the age of big-voiced singers of kayo, it's time to get that song up by him.
Fuse's "Hizashi no Naka de"(In the Sunlight) is his April 1976 single that was written by Shinji Seki（関真次）and composed by Chuei Yoshikawa（吉川忠英）with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）in charge of arrangement. A sad and wistful folksy tune about a loved one who's no longer around, Fuse isn't throwing out his vocals like a sonic cannon here but for such a ballad, it's far better for him to take the quieter approach. His single went all the way up to No. 12 on Oricon, and later became the 59th-ranked single of the year, selling a shade over 200,000 records.
Composer Yoshikawa did a cover of his own tune in the same year via his 3rd album"chuei#29". It sounds even more wistful and mournful than the one by Fuse.
Hello, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? How has summer (or winter, depending on your hemisphere) been? I somewhat managed to dodge most of the worst of Japan's monstrous summer by escaping to Singapore for a couple of weeks last month, but I did get a taste of it prior. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't think I'll ever complain about the heat and humidity in my home country for a while.
Anyway, I have survived my first term in university and have just begun the second last Monday. Perhaps it's a combination of post-holiday blues and the foreboding amount of assignments, but I feel like I've fallen down the stairs. Face first. Well, in spite of the rough time readjusting, one thing was able to clear that storm on Saturday: My very first karaoke recital.
To give some background information on whatever I know, karaoke recitals that feature enka seem to be quite a major thing in Japan, particularly amongst the elderly, as you can probably tell by the genre. There are those on a larger scale that are professionally organized and host moderately to really popular enka stars and renowned songwriters. These would probably include the competitive category as well, where the acts are judged and scored, and there will be winners. Then there are those small scale ones held in little towns here and there, often organized by a local karaoke joint. Usually, these ones are just simply for the folks to have some fun, and everyone goes home a winner. The one I participated in was the latter, simply because it was my karaoke haunt that held it, and Shiro Jiisanstrongly encouraged me to take part three months prior. I had doubts about my ability, but when the senior you thought was calm yells at you excitedly to join in, you know you have to.
The recital was the 10th installment of the annual "Happi Uta no Saiten", "Happi" being the name of the karaoke joint, and was held at the nearby Nishi-Kawagoe Bunka Kaikan. The event hall wasn't as big as I had feared, though the idea of having about a third of it it filled, in other words way more than what I'm used to, was rather intimidating, especially when they were all going to be looking at me. The regulars I had gotten to know, all veterans at this, most even in charge of the event itself, reassured that it'd be fine. Sure. And they were fussing over what I should wear for my time in the spotlight, which brings me to my next point.
Seems like no matter the scale, participants would still go all out in the way of dressing, contrary to what I had believed. The women would be in loud, frilly or sequin-embellished gowns, or in kimonos, and be decked out in full makeup and possibly wigs. The men would be in flashy suits or kimonos as well. The effort put in truly astounds me. It made my "costumes", comprising of shirts and black jeans, pale in comparison. I did firmly turn down an offer for one of the aforementioned types of dresses. I may have ventured deep into the world of enka, but I have my reservations when it comes to its... fashion sense.
Finally coming down to my song choice. I was due to sing three songs, which was actually one more than the usual - I'll get to that in a bit. There were some changes here and there from the time I began my deliberating in June, but here are my final picks.
The advice I received were: choose something that would knock the audience's socks off, and something jolly. Thinking of the former, I was very close to choosing Hachiro Kasuga's (春日八郎) "Akai Lamp no Shuressha" (赤いランプの終列車), but consultation with my mom led me to Haruo Oka's (岡晴夫)"Akogare no Hawaii Koro" instead. I agreed with her rationale of it being relatively simple while still being able to stun the crowd, but what made me seal the deal was the sentimental value. Considering it was the very first ryukoka I had laid my ears upon nearly a decade ago, I felt that it deserved to be the first tune I sing at my very first karaoke recital.
To get into the Hawaiian spirit, I wore a red Hawaiian shirt over a white T-shirt and had the straw hat Mom wore during her university days upon my head. I jellied when singing, but it turned out OK - better than the rehearsal, at least. I think.
A Kiyoshi Hikawa (氷川きよし) song wasn't on my mind at all in my decision-making. Considering my age, it would be of no surprise should I choose one of his works. However, the folks advised me to change my initial Mood Kayo selection to something more exciting. To what, I did not know, until I tried out Hikawa's "Tora" one day. That was when they unanimously agreed that "Tora" should replace "Shianbashi Blues" (思案橋ブルース). I didn't mind as it felt manageable, and, in hindsight, the words were exactly why I should do it. Besides it being somewhat gender neutral, the proclamation of being the young white tiger before the aged was most fitting. Plus, standing up to adversity without complaint is something particularly resonant in me for this school term.
My outfit here was a white collarless shirt over grey and white striped T-shirt. I think it was the powerful score and the context, but the confidence it lent me (albeit temporarily) made strutting back on to the stage and staring down the growing crowd feel absolutely incredible. "Sing loud and proud. You're the tiger, after all," were my old pal's words. I tried, but I still couldn't help jellying up a bit, and for some reason, particularly during the most critical part of self-declaration. It felt awesome nonetheless.
This number by Hisao Ito (伊藤久男) and Akiko Futaba (二葉あき子) was the first actual duet I sang with a male counterpart. And what began as an impromptu duet between me and Shiro Jiisan became quite the attraction at Happi. It then caught the attention of an under-the-radar enka singer Yoko Ai (藍ようこ), who was to be the recital's guest star, when she came a visiting a month-ish prior to the event. I presume it was mostly due to her ravings that the mama-san and Shiro-san eventually decided that the duet should be included despite the both of us already meeting the two song quota. Seemed like word traveled down the Kasumigaseki-Matoba grapevine real quick, because gramps was happily telling me that one of the highly anticipated acts was, well, us. I suppose many were curious to see the grandpa-grandkid-like duo sing an ancient and obscure tune. Great for my ego, not great for my anxiety.
Because Shiro-san was to wear a yukata, I had to too. I'd never worn one before, so the mama-san, who'd so kindly picked one out for me, helped me put it on. I don't know how people wear these things! The belt was an absolute killer; one can hardly breathe or bend over. I liked the purple on black colour scheme though. Anyway, appearing alongside my Brojiisan (yep, my pun idiocy has reached new lows) allowed for a great deal of fear to be expunged. I guess that's why I was able to pull it off better than the other two in spite of worrying for it the most.
Overall, I had a great time taking part in this recital. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that I've always wanted to take part in something like this, but I didn't think it would be feasible. It started as fantasy, but then enka came into the picture and fantasy morphed into fun romps at karaoke bars, and now, well, here I am. Hmm, how things snowballed down this path fascinates me. I wonder what comes next.
P.S. While I received wonderful encouragement from the familiar regulars, Shiro Jiisan, or should I say, Mr Yamagishi, really went above and beyond. Even though he too had lots of event duties that had him constantly going around and about, he always made sure to show up by my side just before I hit the stage and watch from the sidelines till I was done.
Imagine Ichiro Toba (鳥羽一郎) singing this, and you got Mr Yamagishi.
As per tradition, Jiisan served as the Top Batter for the recital's two segments. He did Oka's "Seishun Paradise" (青春のパラダイス) to kick start the show, then followed up with Akira Fuse's (布施明) rendition of "My Way". He often wears the direst expression when singing (anything), but when he noticed me grinning at him stupidly from the second row of seats in this second segment, I could've sworn that for a split second, that scowl ever so slightly turned upside down.
In the course of the five-ish months (in counting) I've known him for, he slowly went from your typical stony showa era fellow to affectionate marshmallow. I think it's because, aside from music, I've been bothering him with random stuff like my test scores from Japanese class and bromide collection. He does reciprocate in ways such as attempting to understand smartphone technology, and trying to further expand his one trip's worth of knowledge on Singapore.
He is indeed not my actual grandfather, but he's the closest to one I've ever had and always yearned for in a very long time.
You shouldn't look at your list. Go with a song that represents how you feel here and now, that way you'll be able to sing it well and with all your heart.
In terms of kayo kyoku, the early 1970s heralded the end of the Group Sounds era, the flowering of J-Folk, New Music and the aidoru of that decade, and those male singers with the big booming voices. For that last category, I guess that there was a love for that handsome serenading figure who could relate his own love for a woman in a way that everyone within several square kilometres could hear simultaneously.
Recently, I found this song which originated in the early 1970s called "Go-gatsu no Bara" (May Roses) that may have become a standard for those epic singers. Written by Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and composed by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, this love song was first recorded by a half-Japanese/half-German singer by the name of Franz Friedl（フランツ・フリーデル）in 1970, although by that point, he had changed his name to Akira Tsugawa（津川晃...hope the first name is correct）. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a copy of that song on YouTube.
However, I did find one for the second Japanese singer to cover "Go-gatsu no Bara". Takashi Shikauchi（鹿内孝）is an actor and singer who was born and raised in the same city where I lived for 17 years, Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture. One interesting point was that for a time, he was leading the famous group, the Blue Comets（ブルーコメッツ）, a few years before Jackey Yoshikawa took over in 1963. Well, in 1972, he recorded his version of the song as a B-side to his "Kokoro ga Samui"（心がさむい...My Heart is Cold）. Listening to his version, though, it's relatively softly delivered.
A year later, Kiyohiko Ozaki（尾崎紀世彦）, one of those boomers, covered it in his 1973 album"Shinobi Ai"（しのび逢い...Rendezvous）, and true enough, he does unleash his voice to a certain extent in the refrain with some nicely boss horns behind him. The arrangement sounds as if it were paying some tribute to the ballads of the 50s and 60s. The album went as high as No. 37 on Oricon.
I had never heard of Mikio Tsukada（塚田三喜夫）before I came across "Go-gatsu no Bara", and it was his version of the song that I had discovered first. Tsukada was born in Tokyo and is known as a baritone-voiced musical actor. His take was released as his second single in July 1977, and it sounds like the backing music tried and succeeded in one-upping the epic feeling of the Ozaki cover. This version peaked at No. 80.
Of course, when I think about those early 70s boomers, I can't leave out Akira Fuse（布施明）. His cover came out all the way forward in September 1991 as a single, and sure enough, he throws his voice out there like a cannon in the refrain. His version sounds like a combination of the original and a laying-out-on-the-chaise-lounge-by-the-Riviera approach.
To finish off, the great Brenda Lee released her own Japanese-language version in 1972 under the title of "Omoide no Bara"（思い出のバラ...Roses of My Memories）. Her cover was a whole lot mellower and lilting like a country ballad, and although I couldn't find any information on whether she learned Japanese during her career, I have to say that she sang the song like a true kayo pro.
Heck of a time to profile this crying song considering that Valentine's Day is a mere two days away but perhaps it's better now than then.
My memories are fuzzy about how I found out about this kayo; perhaps it was featured on a recent episode of one of the NHK music shows or I may have simply come across it during my natural browsings through YouTube. It's rather ironic about my forgetfulness considering that "Omoide" means "Memories".
Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌章）, to remind folks out there, was one of the most famous songwriters of the late kayo kyoku era before his passing last year and additionally he was one of the pioneers for Japanese rockabilly back in the 1950s. Well, when he started to ply his pen onto paper as well as use his voice behind the mike, he came up with the big hit "Miyo-chan"（ミヨちゃん）in 1960, and according to what I've read on the J-Wiki article for "Omoide", "Miyo-chan" may have been too successful.
The footnotes providing the information on the article come from a 2001 issue of "Kaigo Journal"（介護ジャーナル）and the sports newspaper "Sports Hochi"（スポーツ報知）from 2017 but apparently when he released "Omoide" in 1961 (and perhaps subsequent singles), there were the unfortunate but inevitable comparisons with "Miyo-chan", and as a result, "Omoide" didn't quite sell. From listening to Hirao's original version, in my humble estimation, maybe listeners couldn't reconcile such a sad ballad from the good-time rockabilly king.
A few years passed by and it looked like Hirao had quietly disappeared from the scene, especially after the rockabilly boom had dissipated. However in 1965, "Omoide" was played often enough on a Hokkaido radio station which then got so much interest that it went up to the top spot on the request rankings. And although the original record had no longer been produced, its renewed popularity meant a re-pressing of 45s which led to 30,000 records being sold. The miracle led to Hirao coming back into view.
In the following year, up-and-comer singer Akira Fuse（布施明）did a cover of "Omoide" as his 3rd single. Being so early in his career, I gather that his sonic cannon of a voice hadn't quite developed so his delivery was quite tenderhearted against the melody which wavered from sadness and pride. There was something of that "smiling through the tears" aspect that was quite popular in kayo. The lyrics, by the way, were written by Tetsu Mizushima（水島哲）who described a man walking down absolutely devastated and disconsolate over the loss of a love on a fog-shrouded street. The way it sounds, it may not have been a breakup but perhaps a death that has left the man utterly alone.
It's said that "Omoide" was the breakthrough hit for Fuse which started him on his path to stardom and genuinely helped the transition from rockabilly singer to respected songwriter for Hirao. And for us kayo fans, we are truly grateful for that.
In place of the usual "Uta Kon"（うたコン）a few nights ago, TV Japan presented the 54th Annual Kayo Charity Concert（第54回 歌謡チャリティーコンサート）from the city of Shizuoka. Basically the special is a bit more dressier than the weekly kayo broadcast but has the customary mix of old kayo and new J-Pop with a large symphonic orchestra in back.
One of the singers featured that night was perennial favourite Akira Fuse（布施明）. Some months ago, one commenter took him to task for always shifting his larynx into overdrive and blowing out his vocals like the Wave Motion Gun on the Yamato. I have to admit that his performance of "Ai wa Fushicho" (Love Is A Phoenix) on the Tuesday concert sounded like listening to my favourite song at a few levels of volume too high. It all came out too fuzzy and garbled and loud. Not quite sure if he were trying to compensate for something but perhaps he felt like he needed to come up with the showstopper to wrap up the broadcast.
Noelle came up with one of his most recent songs a few weeks ago, so let me go way back for the Fuse fix tonight. "Ai wa Fushicho" was one of the boomer's singles, his 20th, from 1970. As the title would hint, Kohan Kawauchi's（川内康範）lyrics are all about eternal love...quite the high-flying concept, and so Masaaki Hirao's（平尾昌晃）music matched it with something of an epic operatic European bent. Plus, of course, Fuse's vocals were more than happy to take the challenge although I think his performance in the above video (that video has been taken down) was rather more controlled and easier to listen to.
The arrangements for the song here had an interesting feel of a Hollywood Western as if Fuse was getting ready for that showdown in the middle of the dusty street in 19th-centuryNevada. I wish there were an actual recorded version of "Ai wa Fushicho" on YouTube but for now, we just have the performed versions on TV.
No mention was made on J-Wiki on how the song did on Oricon strangely enough, but it must have done quite well since Fuse was able to make it onto the 1970 Kohaku Utagassen for the 4th time to perform it. Apparently, he was wearing clothes that resembled the outline of a phoenix. I would be very interested to see what he looked like in that outfit.
