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.
Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us" is woven so soulfully and well that it would take a mighty effort for any professional singer to screw up. Of course, there is the original by Grover Washington Jr. and years ago, I put up an article regarding a cover version by Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）and Caron Wheeler back in 1996.
Between then and now, there probably have been a handful of such covers but I've discovered a really good version by the band Neighbors Complain who already have a few articles up on KKP. In October 2020, the group put up their own soulful and jazzy take on the Withers' classic as the first track of their "Made in Street" album. Dang it, it's just the second coming of Sing Like Talking. I couldn't help shimmy to this one.
I gather that the 2020 release was either on CD or digital download. There is a 2024 LP version that has come out.
Sorry to give out some more bad news but soul singer-songwriter Bill Withers passed away today at the age of 81 earlier this week on March 30th. According to his Wikipedia article, he died from heart complications. I first got the news from Twitter since his name was trending this morning.
The first time I heard Withers was through his timeless duet with saxophonist Grover Washington Jr."Just The Two of Us". But for many years, I'd thought that it was Washington Jr. playing and singing the groovy ballad when it was actually Withers behind the mike.
But then while I was living in Japan, I took notice of this commercial for Gap, and like probably millions of other viewers, I was absolutely transfixed by the dancing and the song. I didn't know who the singer was at the time, so I had that need to somehow track it down. In an aside, finding the ad again on YouTube this morning, I ended up watching three times to get my fix after having not seen it in almost 20 years.
Eventually, I did find out it was Bill Withers (which is also how I found out that he was the vocalist on "Just The Two of Us"). "Lovely Day" was his December 1977 single, and it's so cool and soulful that I think singers such as Misia, bird and Jamiroquai probably would have doffed their hats or caps to it in tribute, especially to that sustained note Withers pulls off. I would love to know who handled the horns, but I did discover that Ray Parker Jr. was on guitar for the recording. Skip Scarborough co-wrote the song with Withers.
You know, whenever I hear the song, I feel that the day can indeed be lovely. I hope that a lot of folks use this one or whatever their favourite song as their daily tonic, especially during these times.
So, at the time that "Lovely Day" was released, what was the big kayo in Japan? Well, some days following its release, the 19th Japan Record Awards were being held in Tokyo.
One of my favourite songs on either side of the Pacific has been "Just The Two Of Us" by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers. Coming from Grover's "Winelight" album from 1980, it's just one of those songs that I love to go to sleep to, but it's not a lullaby. I try to savor every note from it.
15 years later, J-R&B singer Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸） looks for fame and fortune in the United States and releases his first US album, "Sunshine, Moonlight". I remember the title track being used for a frankfurter commercial in Japan starring Kubota himself....probably the coolest jingle I'd ever heard for a wiener (sorry, Oscar Mayer).
Also on the album was Kubota's cover of that very same classic "Just The Two Of Us", and my ears perked up. Grooving it with Caron Wheeler from Soul II Soul, this new take took me back to good ol' 80s R&B. It hasn't quite replaced Washington Jr.'s original in my eyes and ears but this uptempo version has still been fun to hear. The official video has a slightly different arrangement.
The top video is the concert version of the one that I've known from Kubota. Whenever I hear it, I always anticipate Stevie or Chaka suddenly jumping in. "Just The Two Of Us" was also released as Kubota's 17th single in Japan in September 1996, while the US issue of that single came out earlier in June as his 2nd release. The Japanese version managed to chart as high as No. 30 on Oricon.
Of course, I gotta put up the original version for comparison. Nighty-night!
