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.
To any and all American readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Happy Fourth of July and also a Happy Sestercentennial (250th birthday). I recall that three years ago, I also provided a special list of America-related songs on July the 4th and mentioned that we would have to do something about 2026. Well, the day is here.
And so, this is my "America" Tunes 2. Unlike the first one which mostly dealt with songs that had "America" in their titles, I'm being a bit more geographically precise so I'll be listing those numbers referring specifically to states and cities. Without further ado then:
As mentioned last night, I've got things to do later on today and with another threat of major snow on the way, I figured that I will get the usual Urban Contemporary Friday stint done a little earlier than scheduled. I already got three of them out of the way last night.
With the inclusion of the works of many a Japanese fusion band over the year, I realized that the last time I'd posted something by Casiopea（カシオペア）was back in late January...almost a year later. Time to rectify!
Not sure why Casiopea titled this song "Chandelier" aside from the observation that one of the keyboards used here may represent the crystalline pieces of the hanging light/work of art. But in any case, it's a fun instrumental City Pop piece by Casiopea leader Issei Noro（野呂一生）which gallops at a fine pace as I get images of tripping the light fantastic down a major Tokyo street. "Chandelier" was the final track on the band's December 1982 8th album "4×4 FOUR BY FOUR" which was a fairly short LP at only six tracks.
There's perhaps a saying "Band members that enjoy themselves well, play well". Well, no, that's not a particularly smoothly-structured aphorism, but it seems to describe the legendary fusion band Casiopea, at least from the comments I've seen under the above video. And it's good to see them back here on the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" again because it's been almost a year since they've shown up.
Indeed, the guys are jamming like crazy with their song "Galactic Funk" which was a track on their September 1981 album "Cross Point". Concocted by Casiopea member Issei Noro（野呂一生）, the funk may reach the galactic edge someday, especially with the spaciness of that one keyboard, but for now, I'm happy that it is down to earth and strutworthy. Of course, all you bass addicts will love the intro.
Well, actually, the above photo is of a dreamy sunset in the Koedo district of Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture when I was there in 2017. But it's still close enough to Tokyo.😁
Anyways, let's start off the urban contemporary Friday segment of KKP this week with "Tokyo Sunset", the final track on fusion band Casiopea's（カシオペア）37th studio album"Places" from July 2003. It's a lovely jazzy ballad by the band's guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）and it's fitting as the final track since there is so much about "Tokyo Sunset" that says Miller Time after a tough week at the office. Mind you, the melody might be more about the white wine rather than the brewski. But I'll leave that up to you.🍺🍷
A few years later, Casiopea put out an intriguing compilation album titled "CASIOPEA Plays Guitar MINUS ONE PLACES" from November 2007 which consists of the original album with only four of the tracks in their entirety and then those same tracks without Noro's guitar. Below is that version of "Tokyo Sunset". Either way, it's a Friday...meet those friends and relax while the sun's going down.
Well, it's been quite a day and I don't mean that in a good way unfortunately. I managed to tear off the cold water tap in my bathroom and after we tried to do something that perhaps we shouldn't have done, we potentially could have worsened the situation. There is a reason that there are professionals called plumbers.🔧 And we have called one in though he won't be here until Monday.
Not exactly then in a great mood and after getting a whole lot wetter and more frustrated, the stress levels are elevated. I've tried therefore to find something soothing and appropriate for the situation. Strangely enough, I have found "Smile Again" by fusion band Casiopea. The first track from the group's October 1981 album"Cross Point", it's got some nice jump and positivity with the guitar leading the way, thanks to the melody composed by guitarist and founding bandmate Issei Noro（野呂一生）.
Deep cleansing breaths, now. 🧘 The concert performance of "Smile Again" takes place below at about 4:35.
I had a cousin and her children tell me that they had recently returned from a Caribbean cruise a few weeks ago, something that my family has done in the past. Considering some of the encroaching glumness in the weather up here in Canada, I wouldn't be surprised if most Canadians have already made their reservations to flee to the sunnier climes down south from Fort Lauderdale and beyond.
Well, I certainly can't afford a cruise right now but perhaps I can live vicariously through audio, and one vehicle for that would be the first track on fusion band Casiopea's April 1983 album"Photographs". "Looking Up" hopefully hints at that meaning of things looking up and it sure sounds like it. We first get some fast-moving boogie led by some champagne-and-caviar keyboards as if some folks are racing toward the port and their ship to heavenly fun for a week. Looks like "Looking Up" was also meant to be a good ol' jam session with the electric guitar then taking over for a bit. The passengers are on board and the tempo decreases just a tad as it feels like the cruise has begun and everyone is celebrating with a welcome drink aboard some sophistication. But then, the speed picks up once more as the ship goes further seabound.
Dang! That's a lot of stuff going on musically for a track that lasts a medium-length tune of not even four minutes and a half. My compliments to composer and band leader Issei Noro（野呂一生）for the ride.
Well, it's been even longer between SHAMBARA postings. The last article that I wrote about this City Pop supergroup with Tetsuo Sakurai/櫻井哲夫 (bass) and Akira Jimbo/神保彰 (drums & percussion) from Casiopea and vocalists Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and Kaoru Akimoto（秋元薫）was for their "Aquarium no Tokai"（Aquarium の都会）back in the spring of 2021.
No worries here though since I've got them back with another banger of a track from their "Shambara" album from 1989. "Take Me Higher" is another pleasurable strut down Chuo-dori in Tokyo. Written by Akimoto and composed by Jimbo, it not only takes me back to the dance music of the 1980s but also makes me wonder about those Bubble Era years. The crazy thing is that "Take Me Higher" reminds me of Robbie Nevil's"C'est La Vie" from 1986, another supremely catchy hit.
I've got no idea what that word means. It sounds Hawaiian and from what I've read online, a couple of folks from Texas said that it's Hawaiian for "child of the sea", but when I pressed the word into Google Translate (yeah, I know...not the most end-all and be-all of dictionaries) from Hawaiian to English, I just got bupkis. There is a brand of shoe with that name and an ethnic tribe of Uzbeks is known as the Lakai. There's something rather relaxing about the word, though, but then again, I must be thinking about a lanai which is a porch or veranda whose origin is Hawaiian, too.
Maybe I ought to talk with drummer Harvey Mason and keyboardist Bob James because they're the ones who came up with "Lakai", a track on Japanese fusion band Casiopea's "Eyes Of The Mind" album from April 1981. I'm not sure whether Mason and James had specifically come up with the song for the band but I haven't been able to find any hint that either of them had performed it themselves. But let's not rack our brains over this point like we did for the meaning of lakai in the first paragraph. It might actually be a "Sussudio" thing. .
Instead, we should enjoy it for what it is...a nice and mellow melodic exercise in enjoying a drink and resting in a hammock, preferably at the same time. Just in time for the weekend.
Those must have been some heady days for the fusion bands and the fusion fans at the turn of the decade from the 1970s into the 1980s. Spyro Gyra is one band from the United States that I used to hear fairly often on the radio, and they were formed just across Lake Ontario in Buffalo, New York.
Of course, across the Pacific Ocean, there were bands such as The Square and Casiopea, and from the latter group, here is the title track from their 4th album"Make Up City" released in November 1980. Created by guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）and with a guest appearance by synthesizer whiz Hideki Matsutake（松武秀樹）from Yellow Magic Orchestra, "Make Up City" is the melodic version of strolling through an activity-laden downtown with all of its funk and jazz during a summer afternoon. A listener on his/her Walkman might want to alternately strut and glide on the concrete.
I've seen the cover for the album for years now and I was interested what it was all about. According to the J-Wiki article on "Make Up City", it's a depiction of a city in the not-too-distant future although from my first glance at it, I thought it looked more like the inside of some technological device. At one point, I thought it even resembled a bird's-eye view of a TARDIS control room.
As for the title, Casiopea had wanted it to express the creation of a city, but apparently drummer and member of the band Fourplay, Harvey Mason, who would produce the band's 5th album"Eyes of the Mind" for release in 1981, put a shock into everyone when he saw the title and blurted out "You guys wanna clean up a city?". I'm assuming that Mason took "make up" in the same vein as "make up your bed". I had also initially seen the title as a bit off because it was missing a definite article and assumed that it had something to do with cosmetics, and strangely enough, according to that J-Wiki article, that was exactly what Casiopea had been thinking as well: applying make-up to the city in the same way that make-up is applied to the face to beautify it.
The first time that I had ever heard of the musical expression Vocalese was, not surprisingly, through The Manhattan Transfer's 1985 album"Vocalese". I soon learned that it was that form of jazz singing in which lyrics were crafted and grafted hand-in-glove onto original pre-existing solo instrumental performances. My first question was "So, is it like scatting?", and the answer to that was "No!" since scatting was using nonsensical wording instead of the actual words for Vocalese.
The Manhattan Transfer wasn't the first group to come up with Vocalese. According to Wikipedia, that honour goes to Eddie Jefferson and then I found out about Lambert, Hendricks & Ross among other artists who had been practicing their Vocalese before the Transfer. However, when I think of the famed quartet and their Vocalese virtuosity, I usually remember their incredible take on "Four Brothers" which came out on their 1978 album"Pastiche". Just to give credit where credit is due, though, "Four Brothers" had originally been composed by jazz saxophonist and composer Jimmy Giuffre in 1947.
Just to be able to create that stream of Vocalese and then make it sound seamless while performing at warp speed is a supreme feat, but just imagine trying to do the same thing with "Four Brothers" in Japanese. And yet, someone did try to do just that.
Almost a couple of years ago, I noted the Queen of Commercial Songs, Masae Ohno（大野方栄）, pulling off her version of "Lover, Come Back To Me" under the title of "Eccentric Person, Come Back To Me" for her 1983 debut album"Masae A La Mode". It looks like for this album, Ohno wanted to do covers for a few of the standards, and Track 1 was "Four Brothers" under the title of "For Darling". There may be no Big Band horns in this rendition but it's still plenty of jazz, and Ohno indeed takes on the big task of putting her own lyrics onto the quicksilver Giuffre melody. She does pretty well for the most part, I might add, as she dives into the pool and cuts through the water like a shark's fin, although I'm sure that she was absolutely exhausted in the recording booth.
I've also got to marvel at the lineup backing her up. Yuji Toriyama（鳥山雄司）and the late Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）, who I usually see in the City Pop file, were jamming happily away on guitar and piano respectively while the members of fusion band Casiopea were also helping out. Sato took care of the arrangements for the entire album.
For my final song tonight, I realize that I haven't put up a SHAMBARA song recently. For those unfamiliar with these folks, it is a fusion group in personnel and genre, with Tetsuo Sakurai/櫻井哲夫 (bass) and Akira Jimbo/神保彰 (drums & percussion) from Casiopea, two vocalists Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and Kaoru Akimoto（秋元薫）plus musicians Nozomi Furukawa（古川望）and Kunihiko Ryo（梁邦彦）to round out the band.
I've already written about a couple of tracks from their 1989 album"Shambara", the funky "Solid Dance" and the much mellower "Lovin' You". Well, this one is somewhere in between the two in terms of overall tempo, and "Aquarium no Tokai" (Aquarium City) takes things into another direction. There's more of a light tropical rum punch vibe and a feeling of taking that well-needed vacation down into the Caribbean, and at this time, I'm sure that a lot of people would love that cruise right now (apparently, Royal Caribbean will be setting sail again in a few months).
Not sure if I will ever be able to acquire "Shambara" but this one sounds very worthy just from the variety of songs that I've heard so far from this City Pop/AOR supergroup.
I only wrote about fusion band Casiopea just a couple of weeks ago with their bouncy-as-heck "Living on a Feeling" from their 1983 album"Jive Jive". Well, coming across this other Casiopea song which is just a couple of tracks away from "Living on a Feeling" at the end of the album, I simply had to give my two officially non-existent Canadian pennies on this one.
First off, do any of you folks of a certain generation remember "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"? Yup, this was a radio favourite back in the 1970s with the legendary Elton John doing that duet with English singer Kiki Dee. Listening to it and watching the video of John and Dee playing it up has brought a lot of warmth to my heart. If anything, it's been healing my heart.
Well, that last track on Casiopea's "Jive Jive" actually has Dee performing the vocals on the haunting "What Can't Speak Can't Lie". Composed and arranged by Casiopea guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）and written by Gary Osborne, who has also collaborated with Elton John in the past, "What Can't Speak Can't Lie" has got a cosmic soul inside all of that urban contemporary thanks to the spacey synthesizers. I mean, if Hollywood had ever decided to come up with a fusion of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and an 80s romance, this probably would have been the theme song.
Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）did a cover of "What Can't Speak Can't Lie" with Casiopea one time.
In a strange way, those measured echoing beats in the song remind me of Art of Noise's cover of "Robinson Crusoe". That was one haunting theme song for a 1960s TV show.
Not sure what the weather is like in your area, but Toronto is celebrating a glorious sunny and warm (23 degrees C) afternoon with the caveat from the weather folks being that in all likelihood, this will be the final sunny and warm afternoon for probably the next several months. Maybe we'll get something this nice again in April 2021. I don't think I've felt this meteorologically conflicted in a while.
Well, it's time for something similarly sunny and warm and indeed because it is City Pop/J-AOR Friday, let's begin with Casiopea's "Living on a Feeling". Was trying to track down its origins but was always getting a similarly titled BEST compilation which came out in 2009, and I know that this song probably came out a whole lot earlier.
In fact, it was a track on the band's November 1983 8th original studio album"JIVE JIVE", and "Living on a Feeling" is a truly bouncy tune thanks to the thumping bass and percussion brought together by drummer Akira Jimbo（神保彰）. The song practically demands listeners to hop all the way to the Tiki bar and back with those Mai Tais. Now that all of the wonderful weather is apparently behind us, we will probably have to rely on those Casiopea albums to keep us glowing and sane.
Well, it's been a while but maybe for Hump Day Wednesday, we can bring on some SHAMBARA.
Around 3 1/2 years ago, I introduced this City Pop/AOR supergroup consisting of members from fusion band Casiopea (カシオペア) and vocalists Kaoru Akimoto（秋元薫）and Yurie Kokubu （国分友里恵）along with instrumentalists Nozomi Furukawa（古川望）and Kunihiko Ryo（梁邦彦）. The band lasted for perhaps a year or so but it was quite a ride on their lone album "Shambara" from 1989.
I remember putting up the catchy-as-all-heck"Solid Dance"and just marveling that Akimoto and Kokubu were singing together with a part of Casiopea backing them up. Well, the track following "Solid Dance" cools things down significantly to a slow dance. "Lovin' You" is interesting in that it begins with a piano solo that feels like it's going into a certain ballad style but then suddenly the synths come in to take things into a different love song direction.
No matter though. "Lovin' You" is gentle and soulful and it sounds so 1980s. It would have been quite the thing to have heard this at my university prom since I graduated right in that year of 1989. Listening to it would have been so easy...finding the date was the hard part. However, the song is something that can be appreciated at any time of the day.
Earlier today, the premier of our province Ontario put out all of the modeling data on what the death toll could be like due to COVID-19. The stats aren't great, and frankly they are meant to scare us into absolute seriousness about how this terrible disease should be treated. Of course, my stress levels were elevated on first hearing this news.
So, how am I coping with the current reality? Well, along with blogging everyday, taking walks in the neighbourhood (while keeping my distance), and keeping in touch with other family and friends, I do have my various other audiovisual therapies such as some of the variety programs on TV Japan. But online, there are the plethora of podcasts including my friend Rocket Brown's"Come Along Radio" who has his latest YouTube concoction.
There are also the old episodes of "Dragnet" with Jack Webb. Always loved this pioneer of police procedurals. Indeed, thank god it's Friday!😄
Cooking channels such as "Binging with Babish" have also helped soothe me. The good thing is that all of the hosts are well aware of what's happening out there in the world but they also feel that the show must go on, and I appreciate them for that.
And I have also been very happy to indulge in some ASMR virtual rubdowns through channels such as Rirakuya. To be honest, I'm surprised that a lot of these places are still putting out videos considering the shutdowns that have been happening, but for the time being, I'm happy to see that they're still coming out.
In any case, I hope that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has provided some solace and comfort to the various kayo/J-Pop viewers all over the planet through the many kinds of music that has come from Japan over the decades. I think music has acted as a salve in a number of situations.
For example, I found this alternatingly mellow and frenetic song by the fusion band Casiopea（カシオペア）that apparently was never an official single or track on any of their albums (correct me if I'm wrong), but according to Marty McFlies v2, "Lady Violetta" was performed by them on some radio show back in 1980. It's the type of song that I would like to hear while lying on the sofa or bed.
Casiopea's performance was actually a cover of the original by rock band Yonin Bayashi（四人囃子）which included guitarist Katsutoshi Morizono（森園勝敏）. I've written an article about one of his solo ventures, "Blue Funk". I couldn't find the original single from 1976 but here is a concert performance by them. I'm assuming that it is Morizono doing those guitar solos, and it sounds like "Lady Violetta" was meant more as a rock ballad. The number was also included as a track on Yonin Bayashi's 2nd album"Golden Picnics"（ゴールデン・ピクニックス）in the same year.
Anyways, wherever you are, I hope that you are keeping safe and if you are having to stay home, you are finding something creative or at least amusingly distracting to do. Ah, I also forgot one more channel that I've enjoyed. That would be Active Otaku Channel which has a very congenial fellow describe in Japanese his expertise in Akihabara from various angles. Nice and calming bossa nova background music!
A grand start to the long weekend today with the sun and heat out there. Teaches me not to wear a black T-shirt out for a walk even in the morning. I may lose an extra few hundred grams here and there which isn't too bad a thing...as long as I stay hydrated. That sangria above would be a very welcome libation at this time.
So, how about the melodic version of sangria then? I bring you fusion band Casiopea's "Dazzling" from their April 1983 album"Photographs". Composed by band leader and guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）, it fulfills the title quite nicely as a summer tune with plenty of pop and a bit of Latin in there, too. Wouldn't mind being in an al fresco environment sipping on that cocktail while listening to this one.
I've read about the comparisons of "Dazzling" with Patrice Rushen's tour de force "Number One" from 1982, and I'm even more impressed with this song since I read that Rushen was responsible for nearly all or all of the instruments. If Jerry from Come Along Radio hasn't already included "Dazzling" and "Number One" in his videos of comparisons...well, here is another one.
A little over a decade later, groovy unit Mondo Grosso released their self-titled debut album in June 1993 with a cover of "Dazzling". It's got more of a downtown club feeling but with the sound of that vibraphone or similar instrument in there, it even has that sense of nostalgia from decades past with me getting reminded of Lionel Hampton. Still, I like both versions.
I only did a Casiopea（カシオペア）article just a couple of weeks ago, but I'm going to break my own rule of no two songs by one artist in one month since I've been fascinated by this particular subject.
Oh, bring on some of that specially carbonated Perrier! I've been charmed by this one track on Casiopea's 7th album"Mint Jams" from May 1982 called "Take Me". It has taken me. The first thing that I was surprised about was that "Mint Jams" is also a live album, the fusion band's second, since "Take Me" at least sounds like a totally studio-recorded production.
As for "Take Me" itself, it's just another Casiopea classic bringing in plenty of sun, class and good vibes. Guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）took care of the composition of all of the tracks on the album but keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya（向谷実）especially holds court with this particular song that swings and funks it up at the same time.
(cover version)
What has doubled the pleasure for me in writing this article is that there was a cover version of "Take Me" by Masae Ohno（大野方栄）. The Tokyo-born singer has been dubbed as "The Queen of Commercial Songs", and apparently according to the liner notes in her first solo album"Masae A La Mode" from 1983, she's been responsible for singing more than 800 commercial jingles.
Well, based on her cover of "Take Me" alone, I will buy whatever she's selling. With Ono providing the lyrics, there is some more swinging jazz in this take including a piano and her own vocals which have this wonderful harmony near the end. If I could describe her delivery, I would have to say that it's a mix between Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）and Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）with the nasality of the former and the whispery nature of the latter.
Years ago, I once heard a theory that no matter what one's age is, one will only remember the latter half of his/her life up to that point with any form of clarity. The first half of life will now only be remembered as photographic bits or brief "footage" here and there. If that is indeed true, then memories of my entire time on the JET Programme have now become as spotty as a windshield after a rainstorm. To be honest, though, I think a much larger percentage of my memories have already become that way.
Moving on from a rather melancholy preamble, I would like to introduce a much more cheerful song titled "Long Term Memory" by the fusion band Casiopea（カシオペア）. It's indeed been a while since I've featured these guys so I'm happy to bring out this very mellow song that would sound perfect for a sunrise or sunset view. Composed by leader Issei Noro（野呂一生）, this would make for some fine listening in a darkened high-rise condo during those two key times of the day. "Long Term Memory" is a track on the band's 9th album"PHOTOGRAPHS" from April 1983.
Photographs would indeed help the long-term memory out. But so would music such as this. It's enhancing and entrancing.
This is gonna be one of my more rambling articles in terms of traipsing the pop cultural spectrum, so hopefully you will bear with me.
("Eyewitness News" starts at about 1:18)
First off, I will begin with the fact that being a born-and-bred Torontonian, I not only had access to the local Toronto TV but also to the three major American affiliates across Lake Ontario in Buffalo, New York...and that was even before the advent of rudimentary cable TV!
I think some of the older readers of this blog who also hail from my area will probably swoon with nostalgia as they go down this paragraph, but as a kid, I remember watching the legendary anchorman Irv Weinstein helming the news broadcast of ABC's Buffalo affiliate, WKBW. Of course, it starts off with weatherman Tom Jolls saying, "It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" before "Eyewitness News" starts off. And boy, I thought the theme song for that show was just the coolest thing! A timpani blasts out a chorus of voices and an orchestra into a theme that would inspire the most timid cub reporters into hitting the beat and stuffing their mikes into the face of the most feared gangster and demanding "OK, WHERE ARE THE BODIES BURIED?"
Well, a couple of years ago, I re-acquainted myself with that old theme and started digging on YouTube and elsewhere about its origins. And I found out that it was originally created by the late American composer Al Ham and titled "Move Closer To Your World". With that title, I would have expected some uplifting religious song played on Sundays instead of a kickass theme to a news broadcast, but I digress. Apparently, "Move Closer To Your World" was not only used in Buffalo but elsewhere across the United States, with Philadelphia being one of the key cities via one of the affiliates there.
(1:43)
Now, why am I using this Japanese music blog to wax nostalgic about an ancient TV news theme in America? Well, 1) in my old age, I like to wax nostalgic, and 2) I also like to segue from American pop culture to Japanese pop culture from time to time.
Therefore, to jump across the Pacific, when I was living in Japan, I did watch my fair share of the nightly news. NHK was one of the major stations for me along with TBS at 6pm since both networks had a simultaneous English track. But also when it was time to retire for the night, I would do some channel surfing and catch one of the late night news broadcasts. There was "NNN Kyo no Dekigoto"（NNNきょうの出来事...NNN's News of the Day） at around 10:55 or 11:00, and the above intro was what I was accustomed to...a nice technopoppy news-sounding theme before the cameras started showing the anchorperson on a set which looked remarkably like someone's really nice house.
What I hadn't known that for much of the 1980s, "NNN Kyo no Dekigoto" had a soothing theme song starting and ending its broadcasts. "Tonight Aishite" (Love Tonight) was performed by the folk/City Pop duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）, and as one commenter on YouTube put it, after hearing some pretty depressing news on the broadcast, listening to this song brought about some reassuring balance.
Written by Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）and composed by Shigeaki Saegusa（三枝成章）, "Tonight Aishite" must have made for a relaxing lullaby. The theme was used between April 1980 and March 1988 with Bread & Butter releasing it as their 21st single in 1981. An instrumental version of it was used at the beginning of the news; according to J-Wiki, it was the fusion band Casiopea（カシオペア）that was responsible for that. The end of the show had either another instrumental version or the actual song playing in the background. The video below is of a 1983 broadcast of "Kyo no Dekigoto" with the theme song.
(11:09)
Perhaps it was the Japanese thing to have a nice urban contemporary ballad act as a melodic balm after all of the intensity of a late-night news broadcast. I'm reminded of another ending theme for a late-night show, "Aitai"（会いたい）by Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子）.
There was a spoken intro on some ancient TV show about there being a million stories out there in the city. Well, in my beloved hobby, I've come across quite a few stories myself as we have worked on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" as we approach our 5th anniversary.
But first some prelude. During my short walk through YouTube last night, I encountered another one of those Future Funk creations by Macross 82-99 with Conscious Thoughts titled "Idol Talk Pt. II". Sometimes I give these videos a shot since I have heard some pretty good Japanese City Pop through all the remixing, and that was certainly the case back in the summer when I discovered Cindy's "Watashi Tachi wo Shinjiteite"（私達を信じていて）through an Artzie Music video.
Lightning struck again! I found the song being kneaded and molded in the Macross remix to be quite cool so I started searching. And it didn't take too long before I found out that the original was "Solid Dance" by the group SHAMBARA.
Perhaps I should say supergroup here since the band consisted of folks from the realm of J-Fusion and City Pop. There were two members from the legendary fusion group Casiopea (カシオペア), Tetsuo Sakurai/櫻井哲夫 (bass)and Akira Jimbo/神保彰 (drums & percussion), joined by two lovely vocalists, Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）and Kaoru Akimoto（秋元薫）who have given their contributions to the Japanese form of urban contemporary during the 1980s, and the latter lady has even had one of her own songs made into a popular Macross 82-99piece. Nozomi Furukawa（古川望）and Kunihiko Ryo（梁邦彦）rounded out SHAMBARA on guitar and keyboards respectively. Although I have only heard the one song by the band so far, it seems like Sakurai and Jimbo wanted to go for a more active and funky sound.
I don't know about the dance in "Solid Dance" but the song is solid. You've got these funky musicians and songbirds putting out this tune that rather screamed out Bubble Era Tokyo just before the bubble did inevitably burst. There is the fat bass, the champagne synths and the wonderful shared vocals by Kokubu and Akimoto for a musical trip through the nighttime megalopolis.
The track which may have been whipped by the two fellows from Casiopea (couldn't track down the information on words & music) was put onto SHAMBARA's first and, I assume, only self-titled album from 1989.
As for the story part, I got this from the J-Wiki article on the band which dealt virtually with just some of the sturm und drang that accompanied the birth of SHAMBARA. Supposedly, Sakurai and Jimbo had been having some differences in opinion in terms of the direction of the band with the rest of the Casiopea members for some time so when they decided to start up this SHAMBARA project in 1988, there was resistance from those members. At the time, Casiopea had just decided to take a break from performing but its leader and guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）along with keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya（向谷実）believed that the continuation of SHAMBARA would lead to some problems in getting Casiopea back up and running so they demanded that Sakurai and Jimbo cease and desist. But the conclusion was that the two decided to leave the band permanently (although according to the Casiopea J-Wiki article, it looks like Jimbo at least mended fences as a current support drummer). Usually I'm not too crazy about airing dirty laundry on these pages but it was interesting on how the band got started. Still, if any of the members do read this article and disagree with what I've translated above, please let me know.
However for all that, the life of SHAMBARA didn't last that much longer. In 1990, Sakurai and Jimbo decided to bring things back to fusion but instead of heading back to Casiopea, the duo created another unit called Jimsaku (ジンサク) which lasted for 8 years. From what I've read, the album "SHAMBARA" is about as rare as one can get since any production has been discontinued.
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