Level 42 -- Running in the Family

 

It's been said that Level 42's "Something About You" from 1985 remains as the band's biggest accomplishment, and I couldn't disagree since it was the first song that I heard by the English group on the radio and it really grabbed me by the shoulders and has never let go. However, having said that, I think Mark King and his guys released a lot of other great tunes as well, some of which I'll be writing about on this week's Reminiscings of Youth...this time as an album, namely their March 1987 "Running in the Family".

Buying the LP and then recording it onto audiotape, "Running in the Family" became one of those go-to albums that I played whenever I had to pull an all-nighter during university. In fact, it was one of three LPs that I put onto tape, the others being Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）1986 "Wagamama"（わがまま）and "Uchuu Senkan Yamato Kanketsuhen Tehma Ongakushuu II"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト 完結編 テーマ音楽集Ⅱ）, one of the soundtracks for the 1983 anime movie "Final Yamato". Yes, it's a rather eclectic musical triumvirate but I was playing these guys non-stop while typing away to desperately get my thesis done and keep away that bothersome gnat called sleep. The cups of green tea helped as well.

I just wanted to feature my three favourite tracks from "Running in the Family" although the entire album is great. These three were all released as singles with arguably the most famous one being "Lessons In Love" that had actually been released almost a year before the album itself. The album, by the way, has been categorized as a sophisti-pop creation which I'm not sure about. Sophisti-pop is something that I actually think has plenty of champagne-clinking strings and brass along the lines of Swingout Sister. "Lessons In Love" certainly sounds more like funk-rock plus pop, and it's an infectiously fun piece either in its original four-minute-and-change form or the longer extended take, and I think it was the latter where I first heard "Lessons In Love" which was another grab of my shoulders. I got to know more about the famous King slap-bass technique through this one, too.

"Lessons In Love" reached No. 14 in Canada and No. 12 in the United States while it reached No. 1 in nations like Denmark, Finland and Spain.

The second of my favourites is the title track. "Running in the Family" is a cheerful melodic treatise on the average family with average rambunctious kids. In a way, although the band's description of the family is not really dysfunctional, I've often wondered if this could have made for a pretty cool theme tune for a movie on a really dysfunctional family such as "The Royal Tenenbaums". The blasting synth riff will always live rent-free in my head. The single was released in February 1987 and it was also hitting the Top 10 in several countries including the band's own UK.

"To Be With You Again" starts off on Side B of the original LP and it has such a great intro that I was always looking forward to it on the tape to get my eyes and brain fully awake once more in the overnight hours. It's quite the soaring piece and I have to mention here that I've always liked the vocal combination of keyboardist Mike Lindup with his high voice and King's deeper and grounded tones. The song was also the first single from "Running in the Family" to be released after the album's release by coming out in April 1987. It did more modestly than the aforementioned songs although it did come in at No. 6 in Italy and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the album reached No. 6 in Canada, No. 23 in America and No. 2 in the UK. I haven't done all-nighters since the first George Bush was US President but wouldn't it be nice to place that audiotape into the machine again (although I'm still worried about Jaws!)? Then again, I have a perfectly benign record player that can handle the LP.

So, what were three singles in Japan that were being released in the merry month of March 1987?

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Abaredaiko (あばれ太鼓)

Checkers -- I Love You, SAYONARA

Miho Nakayama -- Hade!!!（「派手!!!」）

Whitney Houston -- How Will I Know

 

So far, in the Reminiscings of Youth file, I've only put up one Whitney Houston article and that was for the fabulous "Saving All My Love for You". She was one of the great love song balladeers.

But of course, Houston could do the upbeat stuff, too. And this one, her November 1985 single "How Will I Know" was one long-lasting hit on the airwaves as well as the video ones. I think it was pretty much fait accompli that I would see the music video for "How Will I Know" weekly for months on end. My impression of the video was that Whitney and her dancers were going through a labyrinth designed jointly by United Colors of Benetton and the makers of fruit-bottom yogurt. The song was a synthpop-funk treat that was created by George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam and Narada Michael Walden, and I couldn't quite believe that it had been first offered to Janet Jackson but was passed over to Houston.

In Canada, "How Will I Know" reached No. 1 while in America, the song was also a No. 1 hit. It also hit the top spot in Iceland. At the time, everything Houston touched turned to gold. So, what else was hitting the charts over in Japan on November 25th 1985, a few days after "How Will I Know" had been released?

1. Akiko Kobayashi -- Koi ni Ochite (恋におちて）

2. Checkers -- Kamisama Help!（神様ヘルプ！）

3. Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe -- Garasu no Palm Tree（ガラスのPALM TREE）

Prince -- When Doves Cry

 

A commenter told me a few weeks ago that the 10th anniversary of Prince's untimely death had occurred on April 21st and so I said that I would try and get another Prince song up as soon as possible. Well, just a couple of days shy of the 42nd anniversary since its release on May 16th 1984, I give you "When Doves Cry".

Prince already has half a dozen songs up on KKP but this is just his third ROY article as a performer after "Batdance"; the rest of the articles are up here because he contributed to the songwriting whether it be for Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）or other fellow artists such as Chaka Khan. But although I provided "Batdance" as his first ROY on the blog, I think it's safe to say that "When Doves Cry" is the more significant one in terms of his discography and legacy within music (it's ranked No. 37 on the "Rolling Stone" 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list).

Personally, my memories of "When Doves Cry" is the video which had heavy heavy airplay on the various music shows. For a period of several months, I frankly thought that it would become a permanent entry on any Top 10 video list. I had a friend who lived in a university dormitory who often woke up to this song along with one other tune; apparently he'd dance to it as well which is one good way to wake up for classes, although I'm not sure how his downstairs neighbour felt. 

Now that I've listened to it once more after a very long time, I realize that I'm having a tough time trying to categorize it. And apparently, Wikipedia has had a tough time of it, too, throwing a number of genres at it including avant-pop and neo-psychedelia which I never would have thought of. In the end, my Labels list has it as pop and R&B, but you readers may have different opinions. It is indeed a distinct song in the universe and many folks came to the same opinion as well as it topped the Billboard charts for months in America. It did the same in Canada, too.

Well, exactly 42 years ago to the day, what was up on the Top 10 of Oricon just about when "When Doves Cry" was released?

1. Checkers -- Kanashikute Jealousy （哀しくてジェラシー）

2. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

3. Off-Course -- Kimi ga, Uso wo, Tsuita（君が、嘘を、ついた）

Checkers -- Yoake no Breath（夜明けのブレス）

 

A couple of nights ago, I caught the penultimate episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）for the year. Usually, the NHK music show alternates venues between Tokyo and Osaka, but for the first time, it held its performances in Fukuoka at a new hall. Not surprisingly, a lot of the guests, if not all of them, were from that particular area such as Chisato Moritaka（森高千里）and Fumiya Fujii（藤井フミヤ）, formerly of Checkers.

My long odyssey down the kayo kyoku/J-Pop path can be described as one where stretches of that road were populated by certain regular singers and bands, so the 80s part was filled with folks such as the aforementioned Checkers, Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）and Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）. That started with my trip to Japan in 1981 and continued throughout my high school and university years. But when I got to Japan to start my first post-university job as a teacher in Gunma Prefecture in 1989, I felt that there was a phasing out of the "old guard", so to speak, from my perception, to be replaced by acts including Princess Princess, Wink, Kome Kome Club（米米CLUB）and Miki Imai（今井美樹）.

Fujii performed a song that I hadn't heard in decades on "Uta Con" on Tuesday. It was the Checkers' 23rd single from June 1990, "Yoake no Breath" (Breath of Dawn). My impression of the popular band has always been stuck in those mid-1980s when the band was doing their 50s rock-n-roll stuff but I also realize that Fujii could come up with the emotional ballads such as "True Love" later in the 90s, and such was the case with "Yoake no Breath".

Written by Fujii and composed by Checkers' keyboardist Masaharu Tsuruku（鶴久政治）, it's been described as a straight love song although I can pick up on some of the old Checkers' proud swagger and perhaps a bit of gospel soul as well. On Oricon, it reached No. 2 and eventually became the 34th-ranked single of the year. 

According to the J-Wiki article for "Yoake no Breath", this song and one other were vying to get that position of getting released as a single, and what ultimately got "Yoake no Breath" the brass ring was the fact that Fujii was getting married at around the same time, so why not have a love song come out next for Checkers? Well, it did more than that. It also got the band their 7th invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen and was also used as the campaign song for the movie "Tasmania Monogatari"（タスマニア物語...Tasmania Story）.

The Manhattan Transfer/Anita Baker -- Mystery

 

Once again, I bid you welcome to the weekly Reminiscings of Youth where I post an article on an old song from outside of Japan that I have cherished since my days as a young lad in Toronto. It's been a while, so I wanted to write something on one of my favourite pop groups, The Manhattan Transfer.

I actually saw the guys perform this on an episode of that music show "Solid Gold" decades ago, and thought it was a pretty darn cool tune. This would be "Mystery", straight from The Manhattan Transfer's September 1983 album "Bodies and Souls" which also has one of their biggest hits, "Spice of Life" that I've covered in a past ROY article. And as with "Spice of Life", the late great Rod Temperton took care of this urbane and soulful ballad. Both songs were the many examples of the Transfer's urban contemporary phase spanning from the late 1970s going into the 1980s.

Now, it was just a couple of weeks ago that I devoted the ROY that time to Anita Baker's scintillating "Rapture" album. It was there that I mentioned that there was especially one track on the album that I wanted to focus upon, and indeed, it's this one, the Queen of Quiet Storm's own cover of "Mystery". Her take fits very well with the overall mood of the album and she handles it with absolute aplomb. If I had to make a choice between the two, though, I would have to go with The Manhattan Transfer's original because of those wonderful harmonies elicited from the group.

Going with the September 1983 release of "Bodies and Souls", what were some Japanese singles being released that month?

Naoko Kawai -- Unbalance （ＵＮバランス）

Checkers -- Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta （ギザギザハートの子守唄）

Yu Hayami -- Lucky Lips (ラッキィ・リップス)

Anita Baker -- Rapture

 

Welcome to the regular Reminiscings of Youth article where I post about a song or an album from the West that caught my ears back in my adolescence or childhood. And one of the biggest and happiest purchases that I ever made was for Anita Baker's "Rapture", her second album from March 1986. Back in early 2021, I put up a ROY recognizing the Queen of Quiet Storm's big hit "Sweet Love" which launches "Rapture", and you can read about all the emotions I got from hearing that one for the first time on radio. Well, for this ROY, I've decided to also give some of the other great tracks their time in the KKP sun.

"Caught Up In the Rapture" isn't only the third track on "Rapture" but the third single to come out from the album. It did pretty well on the Billboard charts by coming in at No. 37 but also No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart. Back on my "If I Had an All-Night Radio Show..." article, I had placed "Sweet Love" as one of the songs to play on the first show; my second show would have automatically followed up with "Caught Up In the Rapture". It's a wonderful soul ballad.

"Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)" is the fourth single that came out in February 1987 which also broke the Top 10 on the Hot Black Singles chart by placing in at No. 8 and doing more modestly on the Billboard general chart at No. 44. I've often written about how certain songs have reminded me of certain places, and for "Same Ole Love", I've reminisced about the Toronto Blue Jays' old base of operations, Exhibition Stadium, downtown before Skydome was constructed and opened in 1989. When I was there for one game at the old stadium, "Same Ole Love" just happened to be playing before the teams made their way out onto the field.

"You Bring Me Joy" wasn't released as a single. Instead, it is the second track following "Sweet Love" on the album which I have always thought somewhat strange because I feel that it should have been the final track on "Rapture". This gospel soul ballad is so explosively sung by Baker that it could have been one showstopper of an ending to a brilliant album especially when she and the chorus yell out "MY JOY!". I was at one party at the end where I was dancing with a lass to this one; that was quite the surge of energy to finish off things.

There are other tracks but I'll leave it here for now because there is especially one other track on "Rapture" that I'd like to feature solo. "Rapture" peaked at No. 11 on Billboard, won two Grammy awards and sold three million copies by October 1987. In Canada, it reached No. 25 on RPM.

So, what was hitting the Top 10 of Oricon just a few days before the release of "Rapture"? I give you Nos. 3, 4 and 5.

3. Misato Watanabe -- My Revolution

4. Akina Nakamori -- Desire

5. Checkers -- Oh!! Popstar

Shuki Levy -- Theme from "Inspector Gadget"

 

It's a local holiday Monday here in our neck of the woods so I figured it was time for a Holiday edition of Reminiscings of Youth. 

Now, just to be completely transparent and as I have mentioned in other articles, I never became a bona fide fan of the September 1983 cartoon "Inspector Gadget" (produced in Canada for its first season), although I knew of the character's famous catchphrase, "Go, go, gadget (fill in the blank)" and the iconic voice work of the late Don Adams of "Get Smart" fame. Also, there is the supremely catchy theme song by Shuki Levy (that I used to hear in the mornings and the afternoons), and for you regular KKP readers, if that name sounds familiar to you, then worry not because he has been in the pages of this blog due to his contributions to the Great Japanese Songbook by providing kayo kyoku to singers such as 1970s aidoru Sakiko Ito（伊藤咲子）and even taking part in the duo Shuki & Aviva during that same decade.

But since then, Levy has provided plenty of music, a lot of that within the children's show realm and "Inspector Gadget" was one of the themes. What I was surprised about but should have realized was that Levy had been inspired by the famous "In the Hall of the Mountain King" when he came up with the theme song for the intrepid inspector. But Levy created the theme by mixing a splendid combination of humour, mystery and lighthearted adventure which is what the show was all about.

So, what singles were coming out in Japan in September 1983 when Inspector Gadget was solving his crimes haphazardly?

Jiro Atsumi -- Busan Ko e Kaere (釜山港へ帰れ)

Checkers -- Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta（ギザギザハートの子守唄）

Yu Hayami -- Lucky Lips (ラッキィ・リップス)

Animotion -- Obsession

 

The first time that I heard of the word "obsession" was via the 1967 episode of the original "Star Trek" which had that very title. Basically in that adventure, Captain Kirk goes all Captain Ahab about a big white alien cloud which loves to suck blood. It's also notable for the fact that two of the usually doomed red-shirted security guys gets a bit more attention and a name to boot: Ensigns Rizzo and Garrovick. The latter guy even gets to punch out his captain.

But then seventeen years later, the word pops up again far more frequently. In this edition of Reminiscings of Youth, I give you "Obsession", the biggest single by the American synthpop band Animotion. And for a while by my recollection, it was a lot of pop music lovers' obsession after its release in October 1984, especially its video which I saw on heavy rotation on the various music shows on television here in Canada. I always thought it looked like a combination of extras from "Ben Hur" and a party that Crockett and Tubbs from "Miami Vice" would love to infiltrate secretly.

In Canada, it hit No. 7 on the RPM charts while in the United States, "Obsession" scored a No. 6 ranking. That bass rhythm and the crash-and-bang synthesizers made it not only a hit on its own but became a pop culture go-to song for TV shows such as the WWF's "Saturday Night's Main Event" and our own national program "FT ~ Fashion Television".

So the word "obsession" became a part of my own pop culture lexicon through "Star Trek" and Animotion. But then, not too long after the song became a hit, a certain American fashion designer jumped into the mix with his take on the word.

Let's see what was at the top of the Oricon charts in October 1984.

1. Kyoko Koizumi -- Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge （ヤマトナデシコ七変化）

2. Checkers -- Hoshikuzu no Stage （星屑のステージ）

3. Masahiko Kondo -- Eien ni Himitsu sa（永遠に秘密さ）

Pete Townshend -- Face the Face

 

Welcome to the weekly article for Reminiscings of Youth where I bring forth a song that I remember from my childhood and adolescence (most of the time) and give some of my memories about it. 

I was never a fan of legendary rock band The Who although even as a rock-averse child, I'd known about Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon going nuts on the stage and smashing guitars via television footage and radio station commercials. In my first year of high school and final year of ever picking up a clarinet again, we even had to practice selections from The Who's 1973 "Quadrophenia" album. I can guarantee that our attempts to play those selections didn't help me to appreciate or even remember any of the tracks.

But my image was set that The Who was a very angry group of musicians and singer-songwriters. And of course, in the decades to come, the "CSI" franchise made it a tradition to use their songs as themes for their individual shows. Personally, I've learned to enjoy the scream-worthy "Won't Get Fooled Again" for "CSI: Miami" while watching sunglasses-toting Lt. Horatio Caine spout one of his droll musings.

However, that was obviously much later in the century. Some years earlier, when I had that image of Townshend raging and transforming his Fenders and Gibsons into so much kindling and metal parts, he rather surprised me when I was a university student. I caught a music video of his where he transformed himself into an old-fashioned 1940s bandleader in a cheesy tuxedo in charge of a group of happy musicians playing some high-energy jazz and rock. Townshend looked stylish (as a mix of Nicolas Cage and Ralph Fiennes) and apparently absorbed a bit of Cab Calloway showmanship. 

I've read that "Face the Face" and its November 1985 source album of "White City: A Novel" weren't exactly warmly welcomed by critics who probably didn't enjoy seeing and hearing a hardcore rock musician going all Joe Jackson jive all of a sudden. However, I actually was good with the catchy song, and according to what I've read in the comments for the various YouTube representations of the tune, the song has amassed its popularity. For example, whoever was on the drums all throughout "Face the Face" should have received a massive bonus for providing that cool and percussive storm to get the folks up and dancing along with those happy and jamming horns.

"Face the Face" reached No. 17 on Canada's RPM and then No. 26 on America's Billboard charts. The highest that it got anywhere else around the world was in Sweden where it hit No. 8. Now, what was hitting the Top 3 of Oricon in November 1985?

1. Akiko Kobayashi -- Koi ni Ochite (恋におちて）

2. Checkers -- Kamisama Help!（神様ヘルプ！）

3. Anzen Chitai -- Aoi Hitomi no Elise（碧い瞳のエリス）

Madonna -- Holiday

 

It took its sweet time but it's finally here...American Thanksgiving! Of course, on behalf of everyone at "Kayo Kyoku Plus" including Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico, I hope everyone down in America is having a Happy Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings. I realize that Kayo and her feline manager/pet are living in Canada and Japan, but heck, they seem to enjoy celebrating holidays all over.

As an appropriate holiday song on the weekly Reminiscings of Youth, I'm going with Madonna's "Holiday" from September 1983. I mentioned this song when I posted about her "Borderline" which came out several months later. And as I said there, it was often the time that my family were in the car driving around Toronto doing errands in the evening so we got to hear the old local radio station CFTR doing the "Top 6 at 6" countdown. Madonna's "Holiday" was often at the top of the list and at the time, I was like the many people who had thought that the late Bobby Caldwell, behind the amazing "What You Won't Do For Love", was black. I had assumed that Madonna herself was black after hearing "Holiday" many times.

So, cue ahead several months, and I would finally get to see Ms. Ciccone performing at what I think is "Top of the Pops" from the UK. I first saw three backup dancers prancing away on the stage and once I heard the singing, I started wondering where Madonna was. And then I find out that the young lady in the middle is singing away, and that was Madonna! Well, count me gobsmacked! That's how I made my first acquaintance with the Material Girl.

"Holiday" was created by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens-Crowder with the producer being Jellybean Benitez as an antidote of sorts to all of the bad news that seemed to be infesting television at that time. Folks need a holiday and certainly we could all use a similar musical antidote right now. The song has always been upbeat and infectiously catchy with Madonna's plaintive vocals begging for that vacation in happier climes. The song reached No. 32 in Canada while in the States, "Holiday" got as high as No. 16. As one website put it, Madonna's classic is one of the most memorable songs of the 1980s up there with Rick Astley and Pet Shop Boys.

Now, what was also being released in the same month as "Holiday"? Well, the first of the three below came out on the same day as Madonna's tune.

Akina Nakamori -- Kinku （禁区）

Naoko Kawai -- Unbalance （ＵＮバランス）

Checkers -- Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta （ギザギザハートの子守唄）

Tina Turner -- Private Dancer (single)

 

It's been over a year since legendary singer Tina Turner left this mortal coil. I paid tribute to her at the time with a ROY article on her 1984 pop hit "What's Love Got to Do with It". It was also a track on Turner's multi-Platinum album "Private Dancer" when it was released in May of that year.

As much as I have liked "What's Love Got to Do with It", however, I have to admit that I've had an even bigger attraction to the title track "Private Dancer". I remember standing ready with the tape recorder on the radio to tape the long version of the song from any of the easy-listening stations because I'd become so enamored with it. The reason is the same reason that I've loved Sade's "Is It a Crime?" and Anita Baker's "Sweet Love", both from 1986..."Private Dancer" straddles that fine line between Quiet Storm and sophisticated pop...two districts within the city of urban contemporary that I've appreciated for decades. In fact, the long version was sought out by me specifically because of that additional bluesy nocturnal saxophone along with the piano.

Thinking all these years that "Private Dancer" had been created by someone in the soul genre, I was gobsmacked on realizing that it was Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits who had come up with the song. Just knowing about Knopfler and Dire Straits, my image of them was always T-shirts, headbands and rock n' roll...not tuxedos, exclusive nightclubs and crisp linen which is what I think whenever I listen to "Private Dancer". According to Wikipedia's article on the song, Knopfler had meant it for the band's 1982 album "Love Over Gold" but ditched it when he found it to be unsuitable to be sung by a male singer. With those lyrics...uh, well, yeah, and thank you, Ms. Turner for picking up the baton on that one.

On Canada's RPM chart, "Private Dancer" managed to rank in at No. 11 while in the United States, it broke the Top 10 by reaching No. 7. The single was released in October 1984 so what were the Top 3 on Oricon in that month?

1. Kyoko Koizumi -- Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge （ヤマトナデシコ七変化）

2. Checkers -- Hoshikuzu no Stage （星屑のステージ）

3. Masahiko Kondo -- Eien ni Himitsu sa（永遠に秘密さ）

Chaka Khan/Prince -- I Feel For You

 

It was a good day today. Met up with a couple of friends, one of whom was Larry, co-administrator here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" who's back here in Toronto for a vacation. We had lunch at our favourite izakaya, Kingyo and then a lot of chat. Hopefully, we'll have at least one more opportunity for a meal together although there is that threatened transit strike looming at 12:01 am Friday. And indeed, for those commuters who depend on the TTC, I feel for you.

Today is Thursday which means we've got Reminiscings of  Youth where I post a song from the classic MTV era of my teenage and university years. And sure enough, I have "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan from October 1984. Seeing that famous video and hearing that funkster of a song, I really get those nostalgic feelings; the 80s were a fun time. My brother and I also had a laugh at trying to sing Grandmaster Melle Mel's "Cha-cha-cha-Chaka Khan?" that starts things off. And in yet another case of a pop culture example of a mistake being made into an asset, the inadvertent scatting of the singer's name was just an error by the producer who decided to keep it in there to great effect.

"I Feel For You" is a great tune and just to see all those 80s breakdancers and a very happy Khan in the video again brought some nice memories of back then. Not that I actually got into breakdancing, though. The only thing I would have broken there was physics. But getting back to the song, look at the folks who were involved in it...alongside Khan was songwriter Prince, the aforementioned Melle Mel from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and the legendary Stevie Wonder on harmonica.

Of course, we gotta have the 12" remix like I used to hear on the Saturday-night radio remix broadcasts. In Canada, "I Feel For You" hit No. 2 while in America, it hit No. 3 on Billboard. It did reach the top spot in the UK and Ireland. 

Once again, it was to my surprise on finding out that Chaka Khan's splendid song was actually a cover version of the original by Prince who released "I Feel For You" in October 1979 as a part of his self-titled album. I literally listened to it for the first time last night, and I've been struck at not just the funk but also the smooth and mellow grooviness to it. It almost takes things into the AOR genre and it feels like one happy walk in the morning. One reason that I posted the song here tonight was that, as I'd mentioned back in GWINKO's "GET ON" a couple of days ago, Prince's birthday is on June 7th so I would like to wish all the fans a Happy Birthday for him, who would have turned 65.

So, which songs were on the Top 3 of Oricon in October 1984?

1. Kyoko Koizumi -- Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge （ヤマトナデシコ七変化）

2. Checkers -- Hoshikuzu no Stage （星屑のステージ）

3. Masahiko Kondo -- Eien ni Himitsu sa（永遠に秘密さ）

To wrap up, you gotta have all three of them here for this performance!

Thank You, Shigeichi Negishi!

 

In the last few days, I saw reports that the inventor of karaoke (there have been a couple of theories on that), Shigeichi Negishi（根岸重一）, who had come up with something called a Sparko Box in 1967 for those who wanted to sing their favourite kayo kyoku, passed away on January 26th at the age of 100. First off, my condolences to his family, friends and fans.

Secondly, although I've already posted some of my own personal choices when it comes to karaoke such as my five go-to karaoke tunes, I still would like to provide my own tribute to the man and his invention by putting up another five songs. However, these are songs that I didn't personally try out but are those entries that my friends and other customers tackled quite often at our karaoke haunt of Kuri back in our university years.

Ah, by the way, as of this writing, we're getting close to 7 million views since we got started back in 2012. Maybe by the time I get back here tomorrow, we'll have reached it! Thanks to all of you!

Anri -- Kanashimi ga Tomaranai (悲しみがとまらない）

Checkers -- Namida no Request （涙のリクエスト）

Seiko Matsuda -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

Akina Nakamori -- Shojo A （少女Ａ）

Shinji Tanimura -- Subaru （昴）

Sheila E. -- The Glamorous Life

 

When I arrived in Tokyo for my second stint as an English conversation teacher in the mid-1990s, little did I know that I would end up witnessing the Komuro Steamroller. It was the pop music phenomenon powered by music producer and musician Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）in which it seemed that any up-and-coming singer was not only being sponsored by the man but was also rolling sevens in success. Whether it be Namie Amuro（安室奈美恵）, Tomomi Kahala（華原朋美）or trf, a good time was had by all under his aegis for a while leading into the last few years of the 20th century.

In retrospect, I think that was also the case a decade previously with the legendary Prince. At that time, I was an undergrad and seeing the flood of music videos which was constantly flowing through the television, Prince and his associates were taking over the airwaves to a certain extent for a few years in the mid-1980s themselves. There was Prince of course, but there was also Morris Day and The Time, Vanity 6 and Sheila E.

For me, Sheila E. was the one who stood out because of her dynamic percussion and "The Glamorous Life", her debut single from May 1984. Prince created the funkadelic dance song (and backed her up on vocals and instruments) about a woman swimming in all of the decadence and hedonism (in the 80s?! Pshaw...perish the thought!) of the titular glamorous life but finding it all rather empty without someone to truly love and to love her back. It might be a sad story but dang, the melody is irresistible along with the music video (especially when she kicks the cymbal).

Gotta have the 9-minute remix, too! Anyways, "The Glamorous Life" hit No. 3 on Canada's RPM and No. 7 on America's Billboard. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club chart.

So, what was on top of the Oricon chart in May 1984?

1. Checkers -- Kanashikute Jealousy （哀しくてジェラシー）

2. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

3. Seiko Matsuda -- Jikan no Kuni no Alice（時の国のアリス) 

J-Canuck's "America" Tunes

 

goodfreephotos

For everyone reading this in the United States, Happy 4th of July. If I'm not mistaken, America is celebrating its 247th birthday today...getting close to that special 250th anniversary. According to Wikipedia, the word that you can use to describe such an occasion is a Sestercentennial which is probably a whole lot easier to pronounce than Bicenquinquagenary which is an alternate term. But we can all worry about that a few years down the line in 2026, eh?

Anyways, I was figuring that since I did a "Canada" Tunes article on Canada Day, I thought that I would do the same thing for the United States of America south of us. Of course, there is plenty of variety in terms of the music involved.

(1986) Checkers -- Song for U.S.A.

(1982) Anri -- Omoikiri American（思いきりアメリカン）

(1979) Circus -- American Feeling

(1978) Shigeru Suzuki -- Kennedy Airport

(1980) Junko Yagami -- Purpletown (パープルタウン）You Oughta Know By Now

July 4th 2026: I've made a sequel!

Robert Armes -- Jump To It

 

Consider this week's Reminiscings of Youth segment as a successful All-Points Bulletin re-discovery for me as well. What I mean is that I've been searching for this song for literally decades since I used to hear it often on radio without being 100% sure on the title and having forgotten the singer's name.

I was fairly certain that the title was "Jump To It" or something along those lines but when I put it into the various search engines including the one for YouTube, what I usually got was The Pointer Sisters' "Jump (For My Love)" (which is also a ROY entry here), a song that was also released in the same year as my mystery search song. So, the search continued as I wondered whether my ears would ever be reacquainted with this tune that I heard on easy-listening stations such as CHFI-FM.

Then, a few days ago I went over to West Coast 99, a YouTube channel that specializes in AOR and all things Yacht Rock. I was listening to one of the songs there when I saw this name listed in the blurb: Robert Armes. Suddenly my mind went CLICK!💡 Could it be? Well, I put his name and the title once more into the search engine and voila! YouTube channel ATN Records had the song "Jump To It". The melody had always remained in my memory so I could definitely identify it if I heard it again, and sure enough, the above video had it. Another decades-long search has ended happily.

One reason that "Jump To It" kept jumping in my mind was that it was a cool AOR tune because of the saxophone and the keyboards. Plus, I've always imagined flying in a helicopter or a Cessna overlooking Toronto while listening to it (not that I ever would be caught in those contraptions since I have a problem with flying). Anyways, it was a shocker to realize that Armes is as Torontonian as I am; I'd always thought the singer and the song were pure Los Angeles. I've read that the singer-songwriter started out in folk music in the 1970s but this website doesn't really mention this but has Armes himself stating that he has provided music for sports telecasts since music and sports are the two big passions in his life. Not surprisingly, one of those shows is "Hockey Night in Canada".

"Jump To It" is a 1984 song but the month hasn't been specified. Therefore, I will just go with May 1984 to search for any Japanese songs that came out in that month. I'm going to go with the Oricon Top 20 list with Nos. 4, 6 and 12.

4. Off-Course -- Kimi ga, Uso wo, Tsuita（君が、嘘を、ついた）

6. Checkers -- Namida no Request （涙のリクエスト）

12. Meiko Nakahara -- Kimi Tachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne （君たちキウイ・パパヤ・マンゴだね。）

Ollie & Jerry -- Breakin'...There's No Stopping Us

 

Although I've known comedian and actor Takashi Okamura（岡村隆史）for a few decades because of his time as one of the two fellows in the Osakan comedic duo 99, the last several years have had him primarily showing up as the co-host of the popular NHK information variety program "Chiko-chan ni Shikarareru!"（チコちゃんに叱られる!...Chico Will Scold You!）. Last week's episode included a question on the origin of the term breakdancing.

Okamura's crazier antics in 99 have largely given way to a more self-effacing sort of humour so it was no surprise that despite the question, he didn't toot his horn all that loudly about the fact that he had once been a breakdancer himself in his much younger years. His nickname was "KID" and he really did cut up a rug. I knew that he had the legs for it since during my Japan days, I did see Okamura in a commercial for a drink in which he was showing his fine moves on the dance floor.

Along with the breakdancing question on "Chiko-chan", there has been attention paid recently on NHK news toward the activity due to the fact that Japan is sending a breakdancing team to the Paris Olympics next year since it has been included as a new event in the upcoming Summer Games. Nostalgia has been flooding my brain ever since because I remember as a high school kid here in Toronto that breakdancing and the music surrounding was a big thing in pop music and culture for some years in the 1980s although this form of street dance had originated back in the early 1970s in New York City.

There was always that sound with the funk and the synthpop mixing together, and one of my biggest memories connected with breakdancing music was the single "Breakin'...There's No Stopping Us" by dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry from the soundtrack of the May 1984 movie "Breakin'". Depending on which area of the Wikipedia article for the song you read it, the single was released in either May or June 1984. Anyways, the music video with scenes from the movie itself was on heavy rotation for weeks on television. I never got the dancing bug that Okamura did but it still made for fascinating viewing watching the cast and the dancers spinning and popping away like no tomorrow. Apparently, a young Jean-Claude Van Damme was in the video himself dancing away as an extra. 

I don't know how it did in Canada but Stateside, "Breakin'...There's No Stopping Us" hit No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 while it got to the top spot on the dance charts. Although through my limited rentals of video tapes of Japanese television, I never really saw any evidence of breakdancing in Japan, there apparently was some popularity in the activity there on reading that people were getting into it in Yoyogi Park, the same venue where a few years ago, the young folks were making like 50s and 60s bobbysoxers and greasers. Of course, Okamura got into it. In any case, when I do see those breakdancers perform and compete in Paris next year, I'm gonna wonder whether I'm seeing the future or the past.

So, what was hot on the Oricon charts in May 1984? Let's look at the Top 3.

1. Checkers -- Kanashikute Jealousy （哀しくてジェラシー）

2. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

3. Seiko Matsuda -- Jikan no Kuni no Alice（時の国のアリス)

This was a special ROY article since Monday was a holiday of sorts but I didn't get this published until 12 minutes past midnight into Tuesday. The regular ROY will be back on Thursday.

The Pointer Sisters -- Jump (For My Love)

 

As mentioned in the previous Reminiscings of Youth article regarding Earth Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland", this is a ROY twofer because not only of the passing of EWF percussionist Fred White on New Year's Day but also of the passing of Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters on New Year's Eve.

Now, I first heard of The Pointer Sisters back in the 1970s through their television appearances on various talk and/or music shows. Back in those days, I think that they were doing quite a lot of boogie jazz and even some country music. If I'm not mistaken, Anita, Bonnie and June even showed up on "Sesame Street" with some of their golden harmonies.

However, going into the 1980s, I remember that The Pointer Sisters also discovered the novelty and power of the music video, and one song and video that really had them soaring up on the charts was their April 1984 single "Jump (For My Love)". This video was on such heavy rotation on the local shows that I assumed that it would apply for permanent resident's status.

Created by Stephen Mitchell, Marti Sharron and Gary Skardina, listening to that beat again after so long had me swooning over how the pop music of the 1980s were. Also, The Pointer Sisters were already being seen as chart-topping superstars during the decade. Its release just before the Los Angeles Olympics was timely, especially with that title, so excerpts of athletes doing their amazing thing were included in the video. "Jump" jumped to No. 8 on Canada's RPM singles (while hitting No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts) and it got up to No. 3 on America's Billboard.

My condolences to the family, friends and fans for Anita Pointer.

So, what was scoring on Oricon in April 1984? I have Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

1. Checkers -- Namida no Request （涙のリクエスト）

3. Anzen Chitai -- Wine-Red no Kokoro （ワインレッドの心）

5. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

New Order -- Blue Monday '88

 

Following a few weeks of Xmas-themed Reminiscings of Youth articles, it's time to return to normal somewhat, although I know that we're still in the Holidays. And for this final ROY of 2022, I wanted to bring in something danceable and nostalgic since we're approaching the final party season of the year. Not that I will be going anywhere near a club on December 31st; I'm simply too old for that now. It's gonna be toshikoshi soba for dinner on that night.

My first ROY regarding the legendary 80s band New Order revolved around "Bizarre Love Triangle" which was a favourite on the dance floor in all of those discos that my university buddies and I had used to frequent such as The Copa and RPM in Toronto. As soon as we heard the familiar intro, we were up and at 'em. However, we also had an affinity for the band's darker but still plenty danceable song "Blue Monday".

When I saw the Wikipedia information on the song, I was surprised to see that it had been released so early...in March 1983. I certainly don't recall hearing it that early in the decade. But then, I realized that the version that we'd been used to hearing and dancing to was "Blue Monday '88" (a lot of us liked to do a march to it) remixed by Quincy Jones and released in April 1988. Indeed, I did get my copy of the record as you can see in the thumbnail photo at the top. And the video above us here is of this remixed version while the video below has the original 1983 song.

I figure that there are plenty of representatives for 1980s music. New Order's "Blue Monday" would be the ambassador for the UK dance territory. The combination of the rat-a-tat drum, the synths and the bass/bass synth and especially Bernard Sumner's vocals is iconic. If there is ever a movie set in the 1980s, this is the song for the trailer as much as "In the Mood" has usually been utilized for any flick taking place in the 1920s or 1930s.

Apparently, the movie was no great shakes but "Wonder Woman 1984" had Sebastian Böhm making his mark on its trailer with his own version of "Blue Monday". It would have been cool to use it during an action scene there.

So, what were up at Nos. 1, 3 and 5 on Oricon for April 1988?

1. Hikaru Genji -- Paradise Ginga (パラダイス銀河）

3. Checkers -- One Night Gigolo

5. Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi -- Kanpai （乾杯）

WHAM! -- Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

 

Well, after about a month, Reminiscings of Youth is back in the 1980s.

Fun fact here: there are already three WHAM! articles on KKP (two of them based on the same song) and yet this one is the first one to be placed as a ROY article. In fact, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is the first song by George Michael and Andrew Ridgely that I had ever heard, so my initial impressions of the duo had been of some really nice and insanely happy young men with an "UP WITH LIFE!" attitude. It wouldn't be a little later that I got to see their earlier videos with George and Andrew acting like antisocial London toughs in songs like "Wham Rap". 

Released in May 1984, little did a lot of us know at the time that this was just the beginning of the WHAM! steamroller, but with Michael's smoldering good looks and incredible voice, perhaps we should have known. Strangely enough, I don't think I ever heard "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" on the radio for some reason, and as such, I'm always going to experience it in my head with that impossibly cheerful video. I mean, I didn't know that oversized T-shirts were a fashion fad; in my case, it was always a necessity. In any case, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" hit No. 1 on the American, Canadian and British pop charts.

So, what was also hitting the top of the Oricon charts in May 1984?

1. Checkers -- Kanashikute Jealousy （哀しくてジェラシー）

2. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

3. Seiko Matsuda -- Jikan no Kuni no Alice（時の国のアリス)