Morton Gould -- So In Love/Night and Day

Wikimedia Commons

This week's Reminiscings of Youth will be a little more unusual and involved so please bear with me today. For one thing, this really ought to be one of those Reminiscings of Babyhood articles actually, but I'll explain as we go along.

For citizens and international residents of Japan of a certain age such as myself, there was the weekly Sunday night Hollywood movie of the week on TV Asahi that lasted for decades since the 1960s. So, folks could watch anything from that decade to something more contemporary like a Steven Seagal action flick but it had to fit within the tight two-hour slot with commercials...which often meant that the movie had a fair amount of footage slashed out. Annoying as heck, but that's the way it was. 

The host of "Nichiyou Youga Gekijo"（日曜洋画劇場...The Sunday Western Movie Theatre） for most of its time was the avuncular and dapper movie critic and tarento Nagaharu Yodogawa（淀川長治）. He always showed up at the beginning of the show to introduce the film and then wrap up with his thoughts about it for a few minutes before signing off with "Sayonara, sayonara, sayonara". 

Then, there were the ending credits for "Nichiyou Youga Gekijo" which had stills or slow-motion footage of the movie just presented while this really dramatic and melancholy-sounding song played in the background. In fact, I found the music so sad that I was more than happy to switch the channel. I wouldn't find out until literally several days ago that the piece was a Cole Porter standard called "So In Love" as interpreted by conductor and arranger Morton Gould.

"So In Love" was a song used in one of Porter's famous musicals "Kiss Me Kate" from 1948. It was also used in the 1953 cinematic adaptation, but Gould's interpretation was presumably from 1951. Now that I've heard the whole thing above, I have a better view of it as something more epic and moving. Japanese commenters have complimented it as being very nostalgic since they used to watch the Sunday movie of the week when they were younger.

But "So In Love" hadn't been the main target for my ROY ROB this week. That was merely a happenstance stumbling discovery. Actually, it was for another Porter classic "Night and Day" which had been created in 1932. I remember getting to see it performed on the 2004 "De-Lovely", the Porter biopic musical starring Kevin Kline where I could glean some more insight into what the song was about.

Now, I realize that there have been many renditions of "Night and Day", sung and instrumental. But the reason that I started all this was that I remember the very first rendition that I heard of this song and it was by the aforementioned Morton Gould through his 1961 record "Kern/Porter Favorites" although that track later showed up on our "RCA 50 Years Of Hits In Stereo" that I wrote about last October. 

According to his Wikipedia article, Gould was a master of interweaving different musical genres into formal classical structure without losing any of the main elements from either the adopted genres or the original song. Gould had a few more contributions to my family's "RCA 50 Years of Hits In Stereo" which were "Brazil" and "Blues in the Night" and I note that he was epic and playful with those.

With "Night and Day", he showed that same verve for grandness. His take took the ultimate song of pining away in love and made it into his own overture movie. To me, his "Night and Day" sounds like a romance between two people rudely interrupted by war with the happy and grateful return interpreted as this huge orchestral rush. And it just happened to be a song that I heard often enough as a kid on the old RCA stereo.

So, let's see about some of the major singles of 1961 in Japan.

Kyu Sakamoto -- Ue wo Muite Arukou (上を向いて歩こう)

Yujiro Ishihara & Junko Makimura -- Ginza no Koi no Monogatari （銀座の恋の物語）

Hitoshi Ueki -- Suudara Bushi (スーダラ節）

Crazy Cats -- Hondara Koushinkyoku（ホンダラ行進曲）

 

The above image by Doryana02 is about the closest that I could get to a crazy cat through Wikimedia Commons. To be honest, I think the little one is quite cute and adorable actually and approaching something approaching a feline haute couture.

But it's all to introduce the comical band Crazy Cats（クレイジーキャッツ）with another one of their zany songs from the 1960s. The band, which included Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）, Hajime Hana（ハナ肇）and Kei Tani（谷啓）, was known for their wild n' crazy antics while dancing and singing about nothing in general...which was the point. They reveled in being portrayed as the most irresponsible representatives of Japanese society (while still wearing suits, mind you) through movies and novelty songs such as "Musekinin Ichidai Otoko"（無責任一代男）.

Another one is "Hondara Koushinkyoku" (The "Well, Then..." March) which was released as Crazy Cats' 5th single in April 1963. Created by the same duo behind "Musekinin Ichidai Otoko", lyricist (and future governor of Tokyo) Yukio Oshima（青島幸男）and composer Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）, it's another goofball tune set to some raucous orchestral marching music as the gang sings literal nonsense for the most part with the overall message being that any particular action will ultimately be meaningless so why even bother taking it? Aoshima did admit to a bit of nihilism in his approach. I'm not sure how popular the song got but I can imagine a bunch of drunken salarymen shaking off the tension at the local watering hole by singing this one.

Crazy Cats -- Musekinin Ichidai Otoko（無責任一代男）

The last time I wrote about the comical band Hajime Hana & Crazy Cats（ハナ肇とクレージーキャッツ）, it was for a B-side called "Hai Sore Made yo"（ハイそれまでヨ）which also made its way into one of their movies "Nippon Musekinin Jidai"（ニッポン無責任時代...Japan's Irresponsible Generation） which had come out in 1962. The trailer above was interesting to view since Cats vocalist Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）who had the lead role of Hitoshi Taira（平均）looked like a rather nerdy type but with a personality that would more match that of a juvenile delinquent.

Well, that B-side was on the other side of the main song, the theme for the movie itself "Musekinin Ichidai Otoko" (Irresponsible Man of His Generation) also sung by Ueki. Created by the same duo behind "Hai Sore Made yo", lyricist Yukio Oshima（青島幸男）and composer Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）, it's a Crazy Cats comical march with Ueki no doubt touting the slacker life. Incidentally, this was also the Cats' 3rd single, and both it and the movie were big hits.

Despite his unrepentant lackadaisical character from the movie, Ueki cut a dapper silver fox figure on the stage, didn't he?  As I mentioned above, the song was a big hit for Crazy Cats and according to a biography on Ueki by author Juugatsu Toi（戸井十月）, it made quite an impact on the postwar baby boomer men of that time, although I think that considering what happened to Japan during and afterwards, not a lot of those guys became Hitoshi Taira. Also from the J-Wiki article on the song, according to lyricist and future Tokyo governor Aoshima, "Musekinin Ichidai Otoko" had a profound effect on comics such as Tamori（タモリ）and Beat Takeshi（ビートたけし）with the latter's view of the world turned upside down. The song would also make an appearance in the Cats' 2nd movie, "Nippon Musekinin Yaro"（ニッポン無責任野郎...Japan's Irresponsible S.O.B.） which was released in December 1962, just 5 months following the first movie.

The Oricon charts hadn't existed at that time, but if they had, I'm pretty certain that the song would have hit the top spot.

Crazy Cats -- Hai Sore Made yo（ハイそれまでヨ）

Last week on NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, the theme was comical kayo which definitely meant that the works of the comical band Hajime Hana & Crazy Cats（ハナ肇とクレージーキャッツ）would be included in the festivities. Sure enough, "Hai Sore Made yo" (Yeah, Until Then) was featured.

I\d never heard of this song until last Tuesday. For me, Crazy Cats, and notably the late Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）, meant "Suudara Bushi" (スーダラ節）from 1961. At the time, Ueki, through that 1961 hit and the Crazy Cats movies, was self-styling himself as Japan's most feckless man, and this apparently continued in a 1962 entry titled "Nippon Musekinin Jidai"（ニッポン無責任時代...Japan's Irresponsible Generation）. The main theme was "Musekinin Ichidai Otoko"（無責任一代男...Irresponsible Man of His Generation）which did come out as the Cats' 3rd single in July 1962.

The B-side was "Hai Sore Made yo" which is an interesting comical tune. First off, it has Mr. Irresponsible himself launch into a heart-on-his-sleeve Mood Kayo as his voice dips into a heartthrob baritone. But then, the usual Ueki nasal twang boomerangs back as his character seems to loudly lament the latest situation he has put himself in, thanks to his shenanigans. The music also returns to brash and brassy.

I'm not sure whether the above video is an actual scene from "Nippon Musekinin Jidai" but Ueki really puts in the performance as he switches from the usual Mood Kayo stroll of introspection to crazed comical and twisty. And may I say that is the largest performance space in an izakaya that I've ever seen.

Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）came up with the song while future Tokyo Governor and then-comedian Yukio Oshima（青島幸男）was the lyricist.

Hitoshi Ueki -- Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi（だまって俺について来い）

Well, today wasn't exactly the greatest day in terms of my surrounding environment. There was a small leak in the unit above that was affecting my unit, and there was a misunderstanding in terms of logistics earlier for the plumber's arrival, so I got to see my usually cheerful superintendent go ballistic on the property manager (but the plumber came an hour ago and now everything is copacetic). Then, around the dinner hour, the power went out due to the high winds outside affecting power lines, but that was only an hour's worth of inconvenience.

I seem rather sanguine, don't I? Look, after all the sturm und drang of my youth and younger years, I've come to the conclusion that life is now too short (especially since passing 50 a few years ago) to go nuts on something that is not really worth getting all worked up about. Plus, taking it out on folks who are trying to help only leads to massive guilt afterwards, believe me.

Come to think of it, the late entertainer Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）of the comical band Crazy Cats（クレージーキャッツ）probably had something akin to the right idea. Perhaps more accurately put, it was his onscreen persona of the most feckless salaryman who had the right idea since I've heard that the real Ueki was a fairly serious and dour fellow.

Last night on "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, enka prince Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）did a cover of Ueki's November 1964 single "Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi" (Shut Up and Follow Me). Never having heard this lively kayo that seems to fit Ueki's Mr. Irresponsible to a well-crossed "T", I looked it up on YouTube and found the original as you can see above.

With some brassy brass and a hearty cackle that would even make The Joker stand up and applaud, Ueki is the guy you want at your side while singing this song. If you haven't quite reached that sanguine point in your life, he's the fellow who will kick you out of your blues and pull you over to a bar for some drinks and lively conversation.

Written by Yukio Oshima（青島幸男）and composed by Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）, the same duo behind Ueki's most famous song, "Suudara Bushi"（スーダラ節）, "Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi" got the singer to perform it on the 1964 Kohaku Utagassen on NHK. Perhaps after all of the hoopla and stress surrounding the Tokyo Olympics that year and the need to show Japan's best side in the postwar era, a little bit of silly and whimsical was perhaps what the doctor ordered, thanks to Ueki.

Shabondama Holiday（シャボン玉ホリデー）

Folks of a certain age (for example, ME) might go back to their childhood television history and remember a musical-variety show featuring an amiable conductor-host, champagne music and lots of bubbles (along with Geritol as the main sponsor) to start each episode. Well, that was "The Lawrence Welk Show", and yup, I remember Lawrence and his band along with young and smiley dancers Bobby & Cissy, Norma Zimmer, clarinetist extraordinaire Henry Cuesta and Myron Floren the accordionist.

Now, the above footage is from 1960 (the show had already been on for nearly a decade), a few years before my birth. My memories of "The Lawrence Welk Show" have all been in colour, but it was a regular part of our viewing lineup along with all of those farm-based shows on CBS, and "Mr. Dressup" on CBC.

Scoot ahead a few decades when I was teaching in Japan. I was teaching my weekly English circle with my gang of middle-aged and senior citizen mothers, when one of my students revealed that she used to be a dancer on a NTV variety series back in the 1960s called "Shabondama Holiday" (Bubble Holiday). I'd already known that my student was a ballet teacher and she certainly looked very graceful and lithe, so it was no surprise when I heard that she'd had her time on telly as a young dancer.

Premiering in 1961 and having a long 11-year run, with that title and the nature of the product, I figure that it must have gotten some sort of impetus from "The Lawrence Welk Show". I couldn't confirm it for sure, but looking at the old footage on YouTube, the half-hour show on Sundays certainly had the look and feel of a launch pad for those classic standards, and it always starred famed duo The Peanuts（ザ・ピーナッツ）and comic band Hajime Hana & The Crazy Cats（ハナ肇とクレージーキャッツ）which accounted for the higher comedy ratio than in "The Lawrence Welk Show".

According to the J-Wiki account, there is a long list of celebrities who made their appearance on the show including Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）, Kiyoko Suizenji（水前寺清子）, The Drifters（ザ・ドリフターズ）and Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）.

All of the goofy cornball comedy aside, though, when The Crazy Cats get into one of their many music session, they can cook, and the first part above with The Peanuts getting into the rhythm is pretty cool. Still, The Cats can't resist pulling on their comic side.

What I hadn't known before I started thinking about doing this article was that even after "Shabondama Holiday" had finished its original run in 1972, there was a second run of sorts which lasted for a far shorter 6 months between 1976 and 1977 on late-night Saturdays. And this time, The Peanuts were replaced by Pink Lady（ピンク・レディー）. Sorry that I haven't been able to find any footage for that short season.

However, I did find footage of one special episode of the series which was televised in 1989.

Crazy Cats & Yuming -- Still Crazy For You

Imagine the Queen of New Music with the Kings of Japanese comic bands. Imagine a nutty group of funny musicians whose heyday was in the 50s and 60s collaborating with one of the most influential singers in Japanese music who had her effect on the 70s through to the 90s. I never would have heard myself saying "Ahh...together at last" for Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）and Crazy Cats, but in 2006, that's what happened.

I'm not quite sure how Yuming and the Cats met up, but according to J-Wiki, the huge entertainment production company, Watanabe Productions wanted to celebrate its 50th anniversary and thought that a theme song to commemorate it would be just the capper. And it just so happened to be the Cats' golden anniversary as well. And so Yuming was able to whip up this ditty dripping with nostalgic jazz with the help of sampling from some of the Cats who had already left this mortal coil. Shades of Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.

Although "Still Crazy For You" was released in April 2006, it sounds almost old-time Christmas-y right from the opening strings, and that video reminds me so much of my childhood memories of those Rankin & Bass Yuletide cartoons such as "Frosty The Snowman". And it's quite something to see trombonist Kei Tani（谷啓） croon it up with a Yuming dressed up as if she were heading to a Cleveland suburb dinner party in 1955. I have to say that her voice, which has gotten more nasally and reedier over the last couple of decades, actually fits quite nicely here since the seeming aim for the song is to have a couple of old pros dusting off their tux and gown for one more sentimental go behind the mike.

Tani and Yuming are the singers here, but there is the middle voiceover that probably had a lot of the Crazy Cats' fans lumping their throats up a bit as Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）, arguably the most famous member, has some friendly banter with her. Just a little less than a year later, Ueki would pass away at the age of 80. And then in 2010, Tani would head to that bandshell in the sky at the age of 78.

"Still Crazy For You" managed to make it up to No. 14 on the Oricon charts. The above not only has the official animated video but also a "Making Of" segment which has Tani and Yuming meeting for the very first time. Being born just smack dab in the middle of all those musical tropes that have been mentioned in the article, the song has a little bit of everything to make me smile. And I have to say that the title is well-chosen for its double meaning.

Hitoshi Ueki -- Suudara Bushi (スーダラ節）

One year during the 90s, there was an old entertainer who just seemed to take over the stage and screen again, years after his heyday in the 50s and 60s. Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）of The Crazy Cats was back on top with his old chestnut, "Suudara Bushi"(The Suudara Song). It didn't spark a mass revival of 60s Japanese comic jazz bands on the same level as lounge and jive did back in North America at around the same time, but the Japanese seemed to embrace Ueki like a beloved long-lost uncle.

The Crazy Cats were originally known as The Cuban Cats when they first formed in 1955. Doing the army base circuit, supposedly one soldier, after seeing one of the members smash another bandmate's head with a sink, apparently said, "You, crazy!". And the change in name was made. The most famous members of the band were the leader and drummer Hajime Hana（ハナ肇）, trombonist Kei Tani（谷啓） and guitarist/vocal Hitoshi Ueki....all of whom left this mortal coil in the last 20 years.

Fellow comedian and one-time Tokyo Governor Yukio Aoshima（青島幸男）wrote the lyrics while Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）took care of the melody. "Suudara Bushi" has the underlying element of raucous old-time enka/kayo kyoku while bits of dissonance come in as the comedy. Hagiwara composed the song in the aims of matching Ueki's amiable but feckless character on stage, and even lifted, with Ueki's approval, the singer's favourite nonsensical phrase of "Sui, sui, suuuuuidararatta..."to incorporate into the main chorus of the song.

Aoshima's lyrics were ironic, to say the least. In a country of steady hard-working tortoises in the early 1960s, Ueki portrayed himself musically as the irresponsible procrastinating hare. With the face of a sly fox, he was the lazy salaryman who loved his mug of beer and betting on the horses far more than work. For him, vice over virtue was his mantra. One repeated line was the gleeful "Yeah, I know, I know....but I just can't help myself!"

Even more ironic was that Ueki the man was an extremely serious fellow outside of work. As his father had predicted, "Suudara Bushi" was a huge hit, selling 800,000 records in the pre-Oricon days. Even so, on hearing about the massive success of the song, Ueki forlornly remarked, "For this song to become a hit is pretty sad." He was also quoted as saying, "This as a hit makes me wonder if the Japan I know and the real Japan are two different things." Not a happy camper, was he? In any case, he was the consummate professional on stage and screen. Despite his misgivings about the Frankenstein he had wrought, he and the rest of the Crazy Cats made a series of movies based on the song's character in what has been called the "Irresponsible" series. And every time he came out to perform the song, that leering grin of the feckless man always beamed...

March 27, 2021: The song's legacy continues here.