Akira Kobayashi/Bonny Jacks/Hiroshi Wada and Mahina Stars -- Hokkikou（北帰行）

Wikimedia Commons

I went out for lunch for the second time in as many days, and this time around, we didn't have to combat some very violent weather although the skies remained stubbornly gloomy for most of the day. However, I was grateful not to have my face hit with rain and winds coming in at Mach 1.

Back at home, I got to see the usual "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）and I actually heard an Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）song that I hadn't heard before. Titled "Hokkikou" (The Return North), it struck me as being one of those kayo kyoku dealing with heartbreak and the aftermath of taking that trip elsewhere to recover from the emotional trauma.

This was Kobayashi's 31st single from October 1961, and to me anyways, this was a rather wistful tune for the tough guy actor and singer to tackle, but I think he did a great job with the song. Others apparently agreed since about a year later, "Hokkikou" became the basis for one of his movies.

But there's a bit more of a story behind "Hokkikou" than the fact that it is a bittersweet song about recovering from heartbreak. Written and composed by Hiroshi Uda（宇田博）a couple of decades earlier in 1941, the J-Wiki article on the song weaves a recollection of Uda as a high school kid being a rather aimless and rebellious youth which was quite the thing in a very militaristic Japanese society bent toward war. He'd gotten in trouble with the authorities for taking some romantic liberties with a young girl outside of school and was kicked out. "Hokkikou" was his written farewell for his fellow mates in the dormitory. It became quite the popular song since that point, but once the war was over, "Hokkikou" became a bit of a mystery tune for many years for some reason...Uda's name was somehow forgotten.

In the 1960s, the song became a favourite to be sung at the local cafes whether it be by featured artists or customers (perhaps a prelude to karaoke?). And then, the record companies picked up on it and as would often happen with songs from that time, there was a mad rush of sorts to have various artists record it for sale. For example, the vocal group Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）had released their version of "Hokkikou" back in July 1961, three months before Kobayashi's cover came out.

Sometime during 1961 as well, the Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada and Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）also released their own languid cover of "Hokkikou" with their characteristic Hawaiian sound. From looking at the YouTube scroll, it certainly appears that many other singers have covered the tune over the decades.

Akira Kobayashi -- Kuroi Kizuato no Blues（黒い傷跡のブルース）

 

At the end of September, I posted "Top 10 Singles for 1961" and from there, seeing that singer Yukio Hashi（橋幸夫）had four songs on that list, I wrote on one of those hits, "Nankai no Bishonen"（南海の美少年）. Well, I am also intrigued by some of the other songs that managed to get onto the list, but I went beyond No. 10 and found No. 12.

The powers-that-be in Japanese show business must have been truly celebrating when they had Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）on the payroll. The actor and singer could bust heads and be all cool on the big screen but he could also more than carry a tune, often for his own movies. Heck, a lot of his songs at one point even carried the katakana version of his name in the title back in the day.

However, this one that was the 12th-ranked song on the list didn't. The April 1961 single "Kuroi Kizuato no Blues" (Black Scar Blues) is a jazzier-than-usual Mood Kayo tune during which you can practically hear the tumblers of scotch clinking in the background. With lyrics by Tetsu Mizushima（水島哲）, it's about a man thinking back to the night of his sad breakup with his lover three years previously as he's walking through the foggy night.

The above video has a good karaoke version of "Kuroi Kizuato no Blues" and I've put it up there because it has scenes from the movie that was created in homage to the single. It was released about half a year later and naturally, it stars Kobayashi involved in a romantic thriller. The composer for the song was John Schachtel who was a songwriter and a saxophonist, and it turns out the song as provided to Kobayashi was a cover for the 1960 original released by Henri de Pari and his orchestra under the title of "Broken Promises".

Akira Kobayashi -- Dynamite ga Hyaku-go-juu Ton（ダイナマイトが百五十屯）

 

Just before dinner tonight, TV Japan was showing the weekly episode of "Songs of Japanese Spirit" from NHK's satellite channel, and it's been a while, but singer-actor Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）appeared in a segment in his tribute. The veteran entertainer just turned 83 a few weeks ago but he's still looking pretty spry and plenty burly.

From www2u.biglobe.ne.jp

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any footage of the above movie, "Nirenjuu no Tetsu"（二連銃の鉄）which has been translated online as "Tetsu's Shotgun" although I think that it sounds cooler literally translated as "Double-Barreled Tetsu". This April 1959 flick starred Kobayashi as Tetsutaro（鉄太郎）, a gun-for-hire who's fresh out of prison when he soon gets involved into another whirlwind of trouble and intrigue.

Anyways, one of the songs that Kobayashi performed on "Songs of Japanese Spirit" was "Dynamite ga Hyaku-go-juu Ton" (150 Tons of Dynamite) which wasn't the theme song for "Nirenjuu no Tetsu" but an insert song. Originally released as Kobayashi's 2nd single in November 1958, it's a pretty swinging kayo sung with plenty of brio by The Might Guy (his nickname) although the high pitch at which he sings out those first few words caught me off-guard. The melody by Toru Funamura（船村徹）is not quite jazz although it does sound jazzy and it's definitely not Mood Kayo but I gather that it is a tune that would be just great at a nightclub where Kobayashi is the featured performer. Shinichi Sekizawa（関沢新一）was the lyricist.

According to the intro given at the start of the video, the announcer states that "Dynamite ga Hyaku-go-juu Ton" may have been the first homegrown rock-n'-roll number to become a hit in Japan, although I'm still not quite sure whether I would consider this as such a tune from the rock genre (unfortunately, that video has been taken down).

Akira Kobayashi -- Jidousha Show Uta（自動車ショー歌）

 

For a long time, I've known that TV networks can be a little antsy when it comes to television shows from other networks being mentioned on their own network. I often heard NBC late-night talk show legend Johnny Carson whenever he was introducing a guest whose hit program was airing on ABC or CBS that the guest was appearing on "...a show from another network.". But that was then and it looks like the restrictions, so to speak, have been loosened considerably since those days.

I read somewhere that on the Japanese national broadcaster NHK some years ago, there was once a brief situation on the weekday morning show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）when a tarento blurted out the name of a particular company not once but twice which had the NHK announcer openly but mildly chastise the guest to not state specific company names. Not sure what the tarento's reaction was but I did not-so-seriously wonder after the broadcast whether he/she was taken into an empty meeting room and then soundly chewed out by the announcer or even his/her manager.

At least one kayo did come under the scrutiny of The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association (JCBA), and that was Akira Kobayashi's（小林旭）"Jidousha Show Uta" (The Automobile Song) that had been released in October 1964 as the singer/actor's 53rd single. A big hit for Kobayashi, lyricist Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composer Gendai Kano（叶弦大）, the song was one big string of puns on the variety of car brands in existence in Japan and other countries. The first verse alone threw shoutouts to Toyota, Nissan, Packard, Chevrolet, the Toyota Crown, Jaguar, Ford and Citroen (later changed to the Toyota Corona).

The fact that the Citroen was mentioned in the first version of "Jidousha Show Uta" had the JCBA up in arms so that music censorship laws were put into play resulting in the prohibition of the song performed on TV, including NHK. It got to the point where the Citroen was banished from the lyrics and replaced by the Corona in later releases of the single.

However, I gather that NHK and the other stations have mellowed out considerably since those stricter times since every other YouTube video that I've seen of Kobayashi performing on a TV show has had the man sing pretty much the entirety of "Jidousha Show Uta" with the subtitles showing the lyrics to boot. Besides, it's a catchy little kayo mixing in some festival and comical elements into the arrangements.

I've also noticed that "Jidousha Show Uta" has been covered by a number of other singers over the decades including enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）. I don't know when this version came out but her take seems to be going for some 60s rock n' roll and funk and ska.

Hiroshi Itsuki/Akira Kobayashi -- Tooki Showa no...（遠き昭和の…）

 

Last night, NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）had its final episode for the year and not surprisingly, it wasn't quite the usual supremely festive show that would signify the end of another 12-month period before the Kohaku Utagassen because of COVID-19. However, it still had a good amount of energy and there was a bit more of a lean toward the kayo aspect.

Of course, being the final show for the next 6 weeks or so, enka legend Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）has got to show up, and sure enough, his contribution last night was a melancholy ballad titled "Tooki Showa no..." (Showa Far Away...). Heck, nice touch with the three dots at the end of the title which rather hints at the look back into the foggy past.

About a couple of months ago, fellow enka singer Shinichi Mori（森進一）was on "Uta Kon" to perform one of his most recent songs, something that he penned himself called "Showa/Heisei/Reiwa wo Ikiru"（昭和・平成・令和を生きる）as a joyful tribute to all that has come before him and what will lay ahead. "Tooki Showa no..." is, as I mentioned above, a little sadder as Itsuki wonders what has become of his old friends from decades past, namely in the Showa Era (1926-1989) when kayo kyoku was born and raised.

Lyricist Hiroo Takada（高田ひろお）and composer Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）took care of this enka which I believe was released for Itsuki just a few months ago. I specifically chose the video above since it appears that the series "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道）had another comeback special recently, and with its penchant for crafting the right mood and setting for many an enka tune, simply having this enka-and-Mood-Kayo-centered program showcase "Tooki Showa no..." was perfect.

The thing is, though, that Itsuki's rendition of the song is a cover. Actually, the original singer for "Tooki Showa no..." is singer-actor Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）and he first recorded it for an April 2010 release. Arguably, Kobayashi's original take may be even more melancholy since my impression of the singer himself is that he's lived even more of the rambunctious life alongside his friends, and perhaps the fading of at least some of his old buddies wasn't exactly due to happy reasons. Maybe there are some more scars on this performance.

Even though he seemed quite sanguine about it when he was briefly interviewed on "Uta Kon" last night, there must have been some bittersweet feelings surrounding Itsuki since this year was going to be one of celebration leading up to the 50th anniversary of his breakthrough hit of "Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）which was released in April 1971. Of course, COVID-19 got in the way of all that, but again, the anniversary is still not for a few more months, so there is still a fighting chance for Itsuki to pay tribute to that song and his career with his fans.

Akira Kobayashi -- Guitar wo Motta Wataridori（ギターを持った渡り鳥）

Met up with a couple of my foodie-and-talk buddies earlier this afternoon for lunch at an izakaya downtown and then for dessert at a new place called Nine Tails Coffee Bar where the next big Japanese food item might be born: dorayaki. When I got home at around 4 this afternoon, the telly was already onto the weekly Saturday kayo kyoku show where I got to see a singer crooning an old Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）tune of yesteryear.

When I heard the timbre of the voice and the loping melody, I kinda figured that it was an Akira Kobayashi kayo, and sure enough, the fellow was covering the theme song for the 1959 movie "Guitar wo Motta Wataridori". Now, according to Jisho.org, wataridori refers only to a migratory bird, but I hardly think that the star, Kobayashi, would appreciate being called anything avian (aside from a hawk or any other bird of prey), so I think probably it would be better to translate the movie title and the song title as "The Guitar-Toting Wanderer".

In the movie, Kobayashi stars as a former detective who, for whatever reason, decides on a major career change and becomes a wandering balladeer. During his travels, he ends up in the wilds of Hokkaido where he has to use his old skills to help people. Apparently, the movie became so successful that another seven movies were made to create the "Wataridori" series.

In terms of the title tune, Kobayashi and his slightly sandpaper-y voice put forth a tune that would be just as comfortable in the American Old West as it did in Japan's northernmost prefecture. I can even hear the horse clops. In fact, looking at the above clips, I thought that kid was yelling "Shane!".

Sou Nishizawa（西沢爽）took care of the lyrics while Shoichi Komabayashi（狛林正一）provided the music. Kobayashi had one busy year in the music business since in 1959, he released a total of 9 singles according to his J-Wiki biography.

Akira Kobayashi -- Mukashi no Namae de Deteimasu （昔の名前で出ています）

It had been about 2 weeks since I caught "Uta Con" (うたコン) since the week before I was watching a movie and getting a nice if slightly pricey yakitori dinner with a couple of old friends. But I was back in front of the screen on Tuesday night and I was quite fortunate since the partial theme for that "Uta Con" happened to be about Yokohama. And a lot of songs about that port city are old kayo.

One song under that theme was one that I had never heard before. Titled "Mukashi no Namae de Deteimasu" (Under My Old Name), I found out that this a single by former 50s young turk Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）. Now, my image of him has always been of him during his appearances on shows like "Uta Kon" as a middle-aged guy built like a proverbial wall (I'm thinking a J-Robert Mitchum) instead of his early heartthrobbing movie-star turns, and musically speaking, the song that I always associate with Kobayashi is his "Atsuki Kokoro ni"（熱き心に）from 1985.

As I mentioned in that article, "Atsuki Kokoro ni" was quite unusual in that it was neither fully enka nor fully pop. Singer-songwriter Eiichi Ohtaki（大瀧詠一）crafted this song to sound somewhat like a heroic cowboy theme for the big guy Kobayashi and it turned out to be another melodic feather in his ten-gallon cap. However, "Mukashi no Namae de Deteimasu" which was released a decade earlier in January 1975 has turned out to be his most successful song.

Written by Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composed by Gendai Kano（叶弦大）, "Mukashi no Namae de Deteimasu" is a more traditional enka or Mood Kayo song compared to "Atsuki Kokoro ni". Again, it's one of those tunes that I couldn't really peg down to a single genre. Kobayashi sings it from the point of view of a woman...a club hostess, to be exact...pining away for a long-gone flame after years working in Yokohama, Kobe and Kyoto under different aliases. And perhaps she is saying this just to herself but she is letting her love know that she is back under the name that he had known her as.

The pining away for a lost love is a typical enka trope but it is enveloped in this Mood Kayo arrangement including the sorrowful chorus of Singers Three (I automatically thought of Yujiro Ishihara). And kayo singers crooning from the view of the opposite sex is nothing new but I'm sure a few pairs of eyes were raised when the burly Kobayashi took on this singing role.

"Mukashi no Namae de Deteimasu" was a slow burner after its release in 1975 but Kobayashi performed it in a lot of the country's various cabarets and other establishments, whether they were in the big cities or in the smaller regional towns. As a result, its fame gradually grew to the point where the song finally broke the Top 10, reaching No. 6 at its highest. In fact, it became the 5th-ranked song for 1977, 3 years after its release, and hung for another year, becoming the 60th-ranked song for 1978. It even broke the 2-million-record barrier in sales and got Kobayashi his first appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen.

To be honest, I'm starting to actually like this song even more than "Atsuki Kokoro ni" just because I'm a Mood Kayo softie at heart. As for the final video above, I just had to let viewers see Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）perform a nice version of "Mukashi no Namae" in front of the master himself. Imagine the premier aidoru of the early 80s performing a shibui Mood Kayo. Will wonders never cease?

Akira Kobayashi -- Koi no Yamanotesen (恋の山手線)

Over the weekend, a couple of my relatives from abroad came for a visit. The time spent with them was fun, especially since my uncle loves to share little anecdotes, recounts of incidents from way back in the days of yore when he had hippy hair, and an occasional quote from a prominent figure. The quote for this round of visitation happened to be from Chinese philosopher, Confucius, regarding one's age... sort of - we were talking about our ages when he thought of it. I'll share the bits of it that he had been saying to me.

San shi er li (三十而立)    
At thirty I stood firm

Qi shi er cong xin suo yu, bu yu ju  (七十而从心所欲，不逾矩)    
At seventy I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the boundaries of what was right

Credits to Wikiquote for the proper translations to the quote. The translations provided by my uncle were simpler; the first sentence being something on the line of finding yourself and knowing who you are, the other one simply being, doing whatever you like. The reason for his constant reiterations of these two lines in particular is because they concern the both of us in one way or another -  I have yet to turn 30 and it will be a while till that happens, as for him... well, you can figure it out. "You still have a long way to go," he told me. A long way indeed.

Alright, coming back to today's main topic. Joining me in the "Haven't yet crossed the San shi er li mark club" is enka singer Yuki Tokunaga (徳永ゆうき), and I'm starting to enjoy seeing him on the music shows as he's been able to pull off enka classics really well. In the week before the last on an episode of "Shin Nippon no Uta", he appeared to sing a jaunty tune known as "Koi no Yamanotesen", and since the song features this JR line, Tokunaga was dressed as a train conductor and even made a couple of those train announcements (video got taken down).

It was quite an amusing song as places long the Yamanote line were featured like Shinagawa, Sugamo and Tabata. If my guess is right, the lyrics are about the protagonist either listing out some date suggestions to his lady (probably the cute girl from the office in Ueno) or about the couple hopping from town to town in search of a good time along the Yamanote line.

As the MC mentioned before Tokunaga tackled the song, "Koi no Yamanotesen" was originally sung by a current member of the "Qi shi er cong xin suo yu club", the husky Akira Kobayashi (小林旭). Definitely sounds like something right up Might Guy's alley. Listening to the playful music and how the stations are being mentioned one after another, it brought to mind another of Kobayashi's later single, "Jidosha Show Ka" (自動車ショー歌), which is basically the car version of "Koi no Yamanotesen". Y'know, from that video above with Kobayashi's performance of the song, I can see why many like to do impressions of him.

"Koi no Yamanotesen" was put together by Kuranosuke Hamaguchi (浜口庫之助) and Teiji Kojima (小島貞二), with the former taking care of the music while the latter handled the lyrics. It was released on 20th March 1964 and it was a big hit... or at least that was what the "Shin Nippon no Uta" MC said. But I wouldn't be surprised if it were well recieved since it's quite catchy.

Oh wow, look at that!

muroreco.shop-pro.jp

I took a look at the Yamanote line; it reminds me of the Circle line over here in Singapore.

Akira Kobayashi & Asaoka Ruriko -- Itoshi Itoshi to Iu Kokoro (いとしいとしというこころ)

(karaoke version)

I had no idea Akira Kobayashi (小林旭) was that tall. I always envisioned him to be around the same height as Yuzo Kayama (加山雄三)... about 175 cm plus/minus. But when I saw him in the line up during a somewhat recent episode of Kayo Concert, I can safely say that the guy is a solid 6 footer - chunky to boot - since he made Kiyoshi Maekawa (前川清) look small, and he's the one who usually towers over the rest! This was made ever so obvious as he stood beside the petite Ruriko Asaoka (浅丘ルリ子), aka the actress who has acted in various films from back in the day along side Kobayashi, Yujiro Ishihara (石原裕次郎), and the like.

Besides being ecstatic about the fact that Maekawa was on again (the episode where he sang Tokyo Sabaku) and being able to see Kobayashi on TV for the first time, I was pretty astonished to see Asaoka on the show, let alone see her singing. I didn't even know she sings! According to the J-Wiki, she released her last single in 1971 until 'Itoshi Itoshi to Iu Kokoro' came along just a couple of months back in early September 2014... that's almost half a century since the last single! I've not seen Asaoka over the decades - only during her early years, but I would have to say that she's been through one heck of a transformation! Her face lacks much expression from all the work done and the eye-shadow's rather heavy... like Joan Rivers! Well, but she doesn't sound too bad for a 74 year-old woman.

Moving on, 'Itoshi Itoshi to Iu Kokoro' has a little cabaret in its music composed by Kisaaburo Suzuki (鈴木キサブロー), and the one who took care of the lyrics came as quite the surprise; they were done by the late Yu Aku (阿久悠), done a few years ago before he passed on in 2007. Strange how the song was only sung all these years later. 'Itoshi Itoshi to Iu Kokoro' did well on the Enka/Kayokyoku charts, placing at 18th. And it did decent for an Enka song on the regular charts, placing at 117th position.

Uh... ... so cute?
It's different from the Ishihara & Asaoka one!!

                                                                          amazon.co.jp

Akira Kobayashi -- Akira no Zundoko Bushi (アキラのズンドコ節)

From what I've seen and read, the 'Zundoko Bushi' has had many versions sung by different artistes over the decades. Most notably the renditions done by the somewhat young and  hugely popular Enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa (氷川きよし), Comedy group The Drifters (ザ・ドリフターズ ), and last but not least, big shot actor-singer from the 60's Akira Kobayashi (小林旭).

I would have to say that out of the 3 aforementioned versions, my vote goes to Might Guy's one. Why? Because of the lyrics... or whatever I can pick out from it. Hikawa's one mentioned something about going to your usual ramen joint and ordering your usual bowl of ramen with 2 or 3 pieces of chashu, which reminded me of this ramen joint my family would always patronize in Shinjuku's Kabuki cho (yeah, not very family friendly huh?) every time we visited Japan. Still remember seeing one of the chefs had half an ear burned/bitten off... heh... 

Gah, sorry for going on a tangent! As I was saying, while Hikawa's version brought back some nice memories, Kobayashi's one kinda talks about the fellow out on the town with his sweetheart, and then one part described their parting scene. For example, the fellow saying, "Good night!" to the lady and gives her a sly wink as he leaves. More romantic in that sense, and yes I can be a sucker for things like that. Also I feel that this set of... I suppose you could say flirty lyrics, done by lyricist Sou Nishizawa (西沢 爽), compliments the nifty music composed by Minoru Endo (遠藤 実) better. 

Anyway, 'Akira no Zundoko Bushi' was actually released twice in 1960. The first time it was released as a B-side to 'Kagoshima Ohara Bushi' (鹿児島おはら節) in June and was the theme song to one of Might Guy's movies 'Umi wo wataru hatoba no kaze' (海を渡る波止場の風) and was a hit, but I don't know how many copies were sold since the J-Wiki page never mentioned it for this one. Then about 3 months later in September it was released again - same songs, but 'Zundoko Bushi' was on the A-side, possibly because of its popularity. This one sold over 200 000 copies.

Above is Kobayashi singing what seems to be an updated version of it with the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ). And man, the music for this one's groovy with all that electric guitar!

http://www3.hp-ez.com/hp/2616/page4/day-20100111

Akira Kobayashi -- Tsuite Kuru kai （ついて来るかい）

I heard this last night on NHK's "Kayo Concert" and I thought the song checked the right boxes for it to qualify for Mood Kayo status. "Tsuite Kuru kai" (Like To Come With Me?) has got the saxes, the bluesy arrangement and the melancholy request for companionship despite the protagonist's admission that he's not really all that much to crow about.

Akira Kobayashi （小林旭）first sang the song as one of his singles from Christmas Day 1970. Knowing the singer-actor primarily for the Eiichi Ohtaki-penned "Atsuki Kokoro ni"（熱き心に）, it was nice to see and hear the burly guy do a Mood Kayo. His performing style on stage seems to take on the stance of that gregarious drinking buddy. Despite his status as one of Japan's Young Turks during his early days, I've always seen Kobayashi as the disarming fellow with one too many beers in his belly who was more than willing to impart his wisdom and also listen to some while spending hours at the nomiya. Plus, he would be quite happy to get that microphone if there were a karaoke set at that bar.

Written and composed by Minoru Endo（遠藤実）, "Tsuite Kuru kai" was one of the big hits for Kobayashi as it sold more than 300,000 records. It was also used as the theme song for the movie "Neon Keisatsu -- Onna wa Yoru no Nioi" （ネオン警察～女は夜の匂い...Neon Police -- Women Are The Scent of the Night）. That's a pretty Mickey Spillane-type of title. Not sure if Kobayashi had starred in that one but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He had those slightly Robert Mitchum looks way back when.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOfKpfafwRk

The above video is of Kobayashi performing the song on an episode of "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道）.

Akira Kobayashi -- Atsuki Kokoro ni （熱き心に）

I wasn't quite sure what to make of "Atsuki Kokoro ni" (In A Passionate Heart) when I first heard it on "Sounds of Japan". It didn't quite sound like an enka song but it didn't really sound like a regular pop tune either. And this was the first that I had heard of Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）. But later on, I learned that he started his long career in Japanese showbiz as an actor for Nikkatsu Studios in 1956 and was placed alongside cinematic legend Yujiro Ishihara （石原裕次郎）as one of the young turks for the studio.

Looking at the J-Wiki article for Kobayashi, he also has a very long line of singles that started with "Onna wo Wasurero"（女を忘れろ...Forget Women）in 1958 and has continued up to 2013. However with a lot of folks, it's "Atsuki Kokoro ni" that is most associated with Kobayashi. As I said in the first paragraph, the song doesn't categorize easily. When I further listened to it, it sounded like something suited to a Hollywood western, and at the time I was still accustomed to knowing Japanese popular music as two distinct entities: pure enka and aidoru (well, there is also YMO...).

Much later, I found out that the song was composed by the late Eiichi Ohtaki （大瀧詠一）who seemed to specialize in crafting these heroic-sounding songs, such as "Saraba Siberia Tetsudo"（さらば、シベリア鉄道）and "Fuyu no Riviera"（冬のリビエラ）. Initially, Kobayashi was less-than-impressed when he had heard the demo tape for "Atsuki Kokoro ni" but when he heard about the string arrangement by Norio Maeda （前田憲夫）at the recording studio, he quickly changed his tune (no pun intended). And on hearing the grand introduction, he got the image of a John Wayne oater and concluded that perhaps he could take this song on (so, it wasn't just me then). As someone who spent years playing tough heroes, I can imagine how this would appeal to him. Lyrically, though, Ohtaki asked Yu Aku （阿久悠）to take the helm instead of his usual songwriting partner Takashi Matsumoto （松本隆）since Aku could bring a more traditional style to the words.

The song managed to get as high as No. 12 on the Oricon singles charts after its debut in November 1985 and later became the 20th-ranked song of 1986. It also became the winner of three prizes at the Japan Record Awards, including one for songwriting. Kobayashi also appeared on the 1986 Kohaku Utagassen to sing "Atsuki Kokoro ni", something that he repeated at the 1994 Kohaku.