J-Canuck's Morning Songs

 

Ah, yes. Morning at the R&B Hotel right by Otsuka Station on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo. I stayed there for most of my time in Japan in October 2017. I don't know about far more seasoned travelers but I've always enjoyed mornings abroad on vacation for some reason. Maybe part of the reason is that while other folks have to rush off to work, I can take my sweet time with things; you know, savor the coffee a bit longer and walk over to the station at a much more leisurely rate.

Some days ago, I had a suggestion from a friend about putting up a certain list as an Author's Pick, but the topic struck me as being a little too difficult for me to even concoct a short list. But then right after, the bulb suddenly glowed above my head and I thought about morning-based tunes. I know that I have written about such songs individually and they all have that similar melody line of hope and renewed energy.

Off the top of my head, then, I have brought over six such tunes including one from America that's especially dear to me.

1. Bread & Butter -- Monday Morning (1980)

I know that for most working people, Monday mornings can royally suck eggs. But this calmly arranged "Monday Morning" by folk/City Pop duo Bread & Butter can take the edge off. The feeling is that this title track from their 1980 album may have that specific day of the week title but the overall impression is more of Sunday morning.

2. Circus -- Petit Dejeuner ~ Nichiyoubi no Choushoku（日曜日の朝食）(1981)

Of course, the promise of a sumptuous breakfast or brunch will set off any gastrointestinal alarms so this song by vocal group Circus can help accompany that kitchen scene of prepping Eggs Benedict or a heaping stack of pancakes. "Petit Dejeuner" has that skippy rhythm which can set the pace for poaching those eggs in the boiling water.

3. Makoto Matsushita -- Business Man (Part 1) (1982)

Oh, that businessman...always doing his best! I've already mentioned in the Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）article dealing with his 1982 album "The Pressures and the Pleasures" that the whole thing about the snazzy track "Business Man" is the main character getting what needs to be done over the day that always seems to be too short. I think of him enduring the physics-breaking rush hours on the train in the morning and drinking his sole fuel of caffeine. If there were a movie about life in Tokyo, then I highly recommend "Business Man" as the insert song.

4. Toko Furuuchi -- Asa （朝）(1995)

When I first wrote the article on Toko Furuuchi's（古内東子）sultry "Asa" (Morning), it was back in June 2012, so very early in the blog's history, and I guess that it was OK back then to write one measly paragraph. Nowadays, ideally, I always try to go for three paragraphs. And since writing about "Asa" over a decade ago, my imagination regarding this appealingly woozy number has expanded a lot. I now think of the song setting the stage for a woman waking up alone, temporarily or permanently, but getting reassured by the sunrise that things will be OK. I always thought a sax solo was more of a nocturnal thing but the late Michael Brecker really makes the morning here.

5. Morning Musume -- Morning Coffee（モーニングコーヒー）(1998)

Morning Musume's（モーニング娘。）"Morning Coffee" is the only non-AOR entry here on the list, but it did hit my head hard when I was thinking up the list earlier today. It was the official 1998 debut single by the original group that probably made quite the splash considering that unusual title. Considering all of the different types of music that Morning Musume in all of its incarnations has tackled over the past quarter century, it seems almost poignant to have the beginning start out as a Beatles-ish guitar pop tune.

6. Al Jarreau -- Mornin' (1983)

As of this writing, the legendary Al Jarreau has already had a couple of his smooth tunes included in KKP as ROY articles, and now I'm adding his "Mornin'" as a special entry here. The song, created by Jarreau, David Foster and Jay Graydon as a single in March 1983, not only sounds like it has to be played in the morning as some aural orange juice (with fresh pulp) but its music video appears like those old cereal commercials. "Mornin'" made it up to No. 2 and No. 3 on the American and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts respectively. It's been over six years since he left us and I still miss him dearly.

Al Jarreau -- Moonlighting

 

Yes, Virginia....there was a Bruce Willis who had hair and a lot of jokes cracking out of him.

Indeed, decades before all of those action films where he's played deadly serious military officers and cops on the big screen, Willis used to play a wisecracking detective from New Jersey transplanted to Los Angeles on television for a few years in the 1980s. "Moonlighting" on ABC was a show that I first heard about from my brother during my university age; at the time, I was watching some episodes of "Remington Steele" on NBC, that other detective show (which I'll have to write about as well some time) with a distinctly different tone, and the star from that series went onto his own fame and fortune as an action star.

Although I did watch an episode of "Miami Vice" where he had played a monstrous gangster before he got his star-making role on "Moonlighting", Willis will always be detective David Addison even over his role of John McClane from the "Die Hard" franchise. I didn't much like the really mean fights between David and his partner-in-crimefighting, former model Maddie Hayes (played by Cybill Shepherd), but the ongoing banter of irritation between the two was fun to watch due to their very different personalities. Of course, I also adored the Blue Moon Detective Agency's receptionist, Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley) and her iambic pentameter patter.

But I have to remember that this is the weekly Reminiscings of Youth article and not Reminiscings of "Moonlighting". That shouldn't be difficult, though, since after all, the theme song was by the one-and-only Al Jarreau. The opening credits with Jarreau's smooth-as-satin vocals and the smooth soulful melody by the singer and Lee Holdridge obviously weren't the only thing that brought me over to the series but they sure made it very inviting with those lovely scenes of LA. "Moonlighting" was both downtown and uptown, and I'm not surprised that YouTube commenters have been waxing and mooning over the 1980s on listening to it again.

Strangely enough, the actual single of "Moonlighting" with Al Jarreau wasn't released until 1987, so we basically had to rely on reruns of episodes to get our fix of the song. I was so happy when this got onto the radio, and I think a lot of listeners were, too, since it managed to reach No. 23 on America's Billboard and No. 38 on Canada's RPM, and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts in both countries. The late Jarreau has had a lot of memorable songs on his plate, and I've already included his "Breakin' Away" as a ROY tune, but "Moonlighting" is probably the next song after that one that I've always cherished.

Although that single came out in 1987, we were hearing the theme since the show began in March 1985 so we'll go for that date in terms of what was hitting the top ranks of Oricon back then. Incidentally, the March debut for the show is an interesting one. Usually new and continuing seasons of programs begin in the fall in the United States, but I gather that "Moonlighting" was initially put in as a mid-season replacement for a show that had gotten cancelled, and I know that the first season was a trial run of only six episodes. But the half-dozen did the trick.

1. C-C-B -- Romantic ga Tomaranai （Romanticが止まらない）

2. Momoko Kikuchi -- Sotsugyo （卒業）

3. ALFEE -- Cinderella wa Nemurenai (シンデレラは眠れない)

In recent months, I've been aware that Willis has been having some medical issues so that he will have to probably end his long career. I hope that he can overcome them and have a successful recovery.

Al Jarreau -- Breakin' Away

Al Jarreau's "Breakin' Away" is a touchstone song for me, considering my choices in music. I mean, not only does its namesake album have one of the most iconic covers in the AOR genre (I don't know of any person who could make pink and white look so cool as a fashion statement; he'd be perfect in Ueno Park in the spring!), "Breakin' Away" the single is an uplifting number whose first few bars can still elicit happy comfortable shivers up and down my spine. The entire song is one joyous walk in a city park with jazz in the fresh air and soul in my feet. And of course, there are the wonderfully velvety vocals from Jarreau who I still miss dearly some 3.5 years after his passing.

Since then, my love for Jarreau has grown through "Mornin'", "After All" and the theme song from "Moonlighting" among other highlights from his career. I may be exaggerating here, but I think that if it hadn't been for songs like "Breakin' Away", my entry into the world of Japanese City Pop and its own AOR genre wouldn't have been as easy (-listening) as it was. Indeed, there were people involved in the creation of "Breakin' Away" and the rest of the album who have had their own involvement in the urban contemporary scene of that time in Japan such as Airplay (David Foster and Jay Graydon), Jeff Porcaro from TOTO, and Jerry Hey probably among some of the other musicians. In fact, Graydon helped in the creation of the song along with Jarreau and Tom Canning.

The album was released on June 30, 1981. Strangely enough, my last ROY article was on Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes" which came out in late August that year around a month after my return from that fateful trip to Japan. "Breakin' Away" was released only a few days before I headed on out with my graduating class from Japanese Language School. It hit No. 1 on the US R&B and Jazz charts and broke into Billboard's Top Ten at No. 9.

Since it was released at the end of June that year, why not go with what was hot on the Oricon singles chart as of July 1st? Here are the Top 3.

1. Chiharu Matsuyama -- Nagai Yoru

2. Masahiko Kondo -- Blue Jeans Memory

3. Toshihiko Tahara -- Kimi ni Kettei!

To finish off, I will never forget Jarreau's appearance on Canada's venerable "SCTV" comedy show in a parody of "The Jazz Singer". Here he is singing another track from the album, "We're In This Love Together" which was also released as a single.