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.
Aye, it is November 25th and within the world of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", that means the Christmas season has begun and so over the next month, there will be a liberal sprinkling of J-Xmas tunes popping up here and there like Keebler elves until December 25th. It looks like I may have accumulated a fair number of them for this year.
The first one for Xmas 2025 is a duet with Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）, the same fellow behind the Group Sounds classic"Blue Chateau"（ブルー・シャトウ）back in the 1960s when he was part of the Blue Comets, and the splendid Cindy. "Namida yori mo Merry Xmas" (Merry Xmas Over Tears) was released in November 1990. Composed by Inoue and written by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）, this is a most bittersweet ballad in a contemporary pop style of the times that's quite typical of a number of Christmas tunes from Japan in which someone is waxing nostalgically over a past romance which had been sealed with that first kiss on Christmas Eve. Can't have Christmas songs be totally cheerful, after all.
Well over a dozen years ago, my good friend and KKP contributor JTM posted one of the most epic articles for the blog regarding the "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）franchise. Unfortunately, a lot of the links to the music incorporated in the various seasons have gone dead so I'll have to somehow reconnect them.
However, I can provide my take on one of the songs that was included in there, "Shadow Hunter" by actress/aidoru Yuka Onishi（大西結花）. This came out as her 5th single from February 1987 and it was actually an insert song in "Sukeban Deka III". Considering how exciting it sounds, I was surprised that it hadn't been used as an official opening or ending theme. The intro to "Shadow Hunter" sounds like something I would have heard as a theme for a 1970s American suspense-thriller series like the ones that Quinn/Martin used to make...for that matter, maybe it could have been used as the music accompanying a transformation scene for "Sailor Moon". The rest of the song as composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）and arranged by Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）has that familiar feeling of an oomphed-up late 1980saidoru tune. Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）provided the lyrics. "Shadow Hunter" was Onishi's first song to make it into the Oricon rankings by peaking at No. 17.
Through some of the Author's Picks lists that have been posted up recently, I've come to realize that kayo kyoku songwriters enjoyed certain common words in their titles. Another one is "odoriko" or "dancing girl" (but also "dancing boy" although the former seems to be more common) for some reason. I don't have enough songs in my knowledge to put up another Author's Picks under that theme quite yet, but I can mention that I remember Kozo Murashita's（村下孝蔵）wistful "Odoriko" and Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）swift and stately "Izu no Odoriko"（伊豆の踊子）.
Well, here's another "Odoriko"...this time, the 31st single by the Johnny's aidoru group Four Leaves（フォーリーブス）released in June 1976. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）when he was still writing as Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）, formerly of the Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）, this is quite the brassy tune with a touch of that GS despite it having gone the way of the dodo in the very early 1970s. Compared to the other two songs that I cited in the previous paragraph, the whole thing about Four Leaves' "Odoriko" is a fair bit more sad and salacious as a dancer-for-money slips off the nice-person act and the latest conquest like lint off a sleeve.
For listeners who've picked up on the observation that there seems to be another earlier and more well-known song lurking in the background of "Odoriko", well, I searched that out and I discovered that it takes the riff and chorus from "Let's Live For Today", the 1967 hit by rock band The Grass Roots. "Odoriko" itself scored a No. 41 ranking on Oricon and proved to be the ticket for Four Leaves' 7th and final appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen in their first run between 1968 and 1978.
This entry will probably go down as representing a song that slipped through the fingers of my mind (as bizarre as that might be to envision, so please don't). After all, this was my introduction to the Johnny's aidoru group Shibugakitai（シブがき隊）.
Yup, I first saw Masahiro Motoki（本木雅弘）, Toshikazu Fukawa (布川敏和）and Hirohide Yakumaru (薬丸裕英）on the 1982 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen doing this very number, "100%...So Kamo ne!" (100%...Maybe So!). Shibugakitai's second single from July 1982, it's quite the super-caffeinated tune about a teenage guy whose hormones have been unleashed due to the possibility of first love. At the time, when I saw them perform on that New Year's Eve special and didn't really listen to the lyrics, it was like listening to three times the Matchy or Toshi-chan who I heard the previous year. All that prancing about and singing at full volume would have had the boys desperately reaching for their Max Coffee.
Written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and composed/arranged by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）, "100%...So Kamo ne!" won Best New Artist honours for Shibugakitai at the Japan Record Awards, and also that invitation to the Kohaku. It peaked at No. 6 on Oricon and ended up as the 43rd-ranked single for 1982. Just glad that it's finally up here after over thirteen years of this blog.
Recently, on one of the episodes of the NHK information variety programs "Chiko-chan", I found out that the whole thing about the penlight phenomenon at concerts in Japan could all be credited to the one-and-only Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）. Apparently when he was doing his first concerts back in the early 1970s, he had expressed some disappointment that he couldn't see his fans' faces while performing on stage. So through the media of the time, he asked fans for his next concert if they could bring something like a flashlight to light up so that he could see the lights beaming so that he could also see his fans beaming. Of course, since then the rest is history as the penlight not only evolved but a certain choreography around it evolved as well.
We've also got some Hideki and some light here as well in the form of his 50th single, "Ichi-man Kounen no Ai"(10,000 Light Years of Love) which was released in February 1985. I guess to commemorate this auspicious single and the subject matter, a heavenly pipe organ was brought in along with some major rhythm machine drumming. Saijo sings about courting this beautiful cosmos-weary lady soaring through space and time. Akira Ohtsu（大津あきら）was the lyricist here while Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）was responsible for both music and arrangement. It peaked at No. 12 on Oricon, selling around 100,000 records, and first appeared on the album "'85 HIDEKI Special in Budokan - for 50 songs -", a live album from March 1985.
I know that they are completely different songs but there's something about "Ichi-man Kounen no Ai" that reminds me of Europe's "The Final Countdown" although that song wouldn't arrive until May 1986 in the United States. As for that cosmos-weary lady, I can only think of one example.
The J-Wiki profile on this sextet singing group Poppies（ポピーズ）is fairly sparse, but they formed in 1974 and at the time of their formation, they consisted of Junko "Jun" Yamada（山田順子）, Sayoko "Boku-chan" Nishida（西田さよ子）, Yukiko "Mikki" Katada（片田雪子）, Tomoko "Monroe" Sugiyama（杉山智子）, Akemi "Eve" Sakamoto（坂本明美）and Sachiko "Lark" Matsumoto（松本祥子）*. Poppies debuted in April 1974 with "Koi no Chance"（恋のチャンス...Love Chance） but for this article, I'm featuring their sophomore effort, "Koi wa Kibun" (Love is a Mood).
My impression of "Koi wa Kibun", which was created by veterans Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫） (who would change his name to Daisuke Inoue/井上大輔), is that all involved wanted to put out a rapid-fire tune with old-fashioned 60s girl pop mixed in with a bit of ABBA disco and a soupcon of sex kitten. Think of it as Candies（キャンディーズ）fare with some of that Pink Lady kick-step although both girl groups still had their best days ahead of them when this single was released in September 1974.
After their third single, there were some major changes in the lineup and Poppies went down to being a group of five ladies with only Nishida and Sugiyama remaining from the original team. When their final single was released in 1978, they were down to just four.
*The given name kanji for Ms. Matsumoto can be read in many ways. I've gone with Sachiko for now but if anyone can confirm or correct this reading, that would be greatly appreciated.
Man, do I remember these old Japanese phones of different colours and shapes when I first visited the nation in 1972. They all had their purposes but for the life of me, I can't remember what they were.
Yesterday I was talking about airports being a popular subject for kayo kyoku. Well, another object that's also been quite the target in the old Japanese songs has been the good ol' telephone whether it be for romantic continuation or dislocation, often the latter.
This time around, I have "Naga Denwa"(Long Phone Call) which was the final track on Yukari Ito's（伊東ゆかり）October 1981 album "Aisuru Uso wo Shittemasuka. Onna ni Kansuru 10-shou"（愛する嘘を知ってますか。女に関する10章...Know Any Loving Lies? Ten Chapters About Women）. And it was a good choice to finish things up on because it is a slow and lush 1970s-style ballad that seems to have been done with some inspiration from folks such as Barry Manilow, Boz Scaggs and Carly Simon. I would place it as an AOR tune but there is that middle part which dives right into classical, so I've also thrown in the Fashion Music tag, too.
Yoko Yamaguchi（山口洋子）was responsible for the lyrics while Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）took care of the melody. The arrangement was handled by the City Pop duo DEW. Some years ago, I also wrote about another track on "Aisuru Uso wo Shittemasuka. Onna ni Kansuru 10-shou" titled "Gigolo", so give that one a try as well.
For some background, there is a luxury hotel in Nice, France called Le Negresco. Being a five-star hotel, I will probably never get anywhere near it myself but it's nice that there are platforms like YouTube to vicariously enjoy a tour.
Not sure if singer-songwriter BORO had been inspired by a visit there to come up with his 7th single"Negresco Hotel" which was released on New Year's Day 1983. I had only known BORO up to now for his famous and famously long ballad "Osaka de Umareta Onna"（大阪で生まれた女）, so it was a surprise to find out about this classy AOR creation to which he provided lyrics and vocals while Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）came up with the groovy melody. For a song based on a hotel on the southern coast of France, it sounds quite West Coast.
"Negresco Hotel" did fairly well on the charts by scoring at No. 31, selling a little over 60,000 records. Plus, it was used in a commercial that you can see above. True to a lot of Japanese television ads, I was kept in the dark as to what it was trying to sell (Japanese commercials are often about image and atmosphere) until I finally realized that it was for a drink called Sinvino for those who are more on the teetotaler side of things. I frankly doubt that Sinvino was ever found on the grounds of the Negresco.
In my career as an English conversation teacher, along with my base schools, I also had my side gigs teaching private lessons. Some of them went swimmingly and therefore, they lasted for a number of years while others seemed to just stumble a lot (i.e. kids' lessons). However, I made my yen and it was a nice living for a long time.
Of course, I don't think I was ever in Miyoko Yoshimoto's（芳本美代子）situation in her rendition of her 2nd single"Private Lesson" from June 1985. A nice bloopy and shuffling aidoru tune about a student falling for her private tutor, I'm not sure how the kid could focus with all those valentines flying around her head all the time. For that matter, it must have been frustrating for the handsome tutor trying to pound in some education into her head.
"Private Lesson" managed to reach No. 18 on Oricon. The lyricist was Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）with Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）as the composer and Satoshi Nakamura（中村哲）arranging it all.
Well, I just popped the turkey into the oven because we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving on this long weekend. Meanwhile, Japan is having its own long weekend due to Sports Day on Monday. Rather ironic since while the Japanese will be taking part in all sorts of athletic activities, we Canadians will be engorging ourselves on pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and the celebratory bird.
Of course, Canadian Thanksgiving means that the weather is quite a bit cooler now here which may have some of the summer worshippers in a bit of a funk. However, maybe for those of those folks who are reading "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I can provide some solace through this Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）song. And yeah, that's quite a look for him on the cover of his 51st single"Yakshini"（ヤクシニー）which hit the record store shelves in June 1984.
But it's not "Yakshini" I'm looking at today, but the B-side"Hachi-gatsu no Etranger" (August Stranger). Though the title might sound ominous, the melody and arrangement by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔） more than makes up for that with a disco/samba celebration underlying Go's familiar nasal vocals. Masao Urino（売野雅勇）provided the lyrics for this dance number that scored a No. 21 ranking on Oricon.
Ahh...once again, we're treated to another urban contemporary tune with something to do with "twilight" in the title. It was a few weeks ago when I noted that trend in kayo kyoku in an Author's Pick and indeed Twilight Time continues.
This is the first time for me to know about the singer Keiko Saijo（西城慶子）but what a short, sweet and succulent song to be introduced to. "Twilight Silence" is the title track from her 1981 album and with its bossa jazz background and Saijo's smoky vocals, the song practically demands a date, a steak dinner and the best red wine (I've read that it's probably Cabernet Sauvignon) while this is playing...oh, and a penthouse apartment overlooking a bay. My delusions of budget-sapping grandeur aside, "Twilight Silence" is quite the classy tune which has some echoes of "This Masquerade" by George Benson. Mimi Yokosuka（よこすか未美）and Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）were responsible for words and music respectively.
As for Saijo, she was born in Ibaraki Prefecture and has tackled music ranging from jazz to kayo kyoku. Her career began in 1958 when she was 20 years old and since then she has released her fair share of singles and albums along with a lot of commercial jingles.
It's been a good long while since I've seen former 80s aidoruand tarento Mami Yamase（山瀬まみ）on Japanese television because it seems that TV Japan and the new Jme don't have the programs that feature her. She was always known for that strangulated voice which I've always thought was more of an affectation for show business rather than her real voice. And I believe that in recent years, the squeakiness has possibly mellowed down.
For that matter, it's been five years since I posted the last Yamase article onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". That was for the zany "Go!"（ゴォ）from 1989 which took more advantage of her stage speaking voice. However, as mentioned in that article, her earlier aidoru tunes had her sounding much more pleasant and creamy. In fact, I got another demonstration of her singing prowess through her 7th single from September 1987, "Starlight Serenade" which also served as the second opening theme for the mecha anime"Kikou Senki Dragonar"（機甲戦記ドラグナー...Metal Armor Dragonar）.
Composer Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）and arranger Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）went for a loud-and-proud pop/rock arrangement that could be considered to be Pat Benatar-lite. Meanwhile, Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）provided lyrics about pining for that hero out there while reminiscing about more innocent times when the lad was still within arm's distance. And Yamase sounds like she was channeling her inner Ayumi Nakamura（中村あゆみ）singing this.
A couple of days ago, I wrote up an article on one of composer Hiroshi Miyagawa's（宮川泰）delectable pieces for the "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）TV series, and as a result, I ended up looking at some of the old YouTube videos of various scenes from throughout the history of the original franchise from the 1970s into the 1980s.
Then, I re-encountered "Final Yamato" which was, as the title would suggest, the final entry of the entire odyssey in 1983. And them I remembered this scene when everything was all fine and dandy at the end which was represented by the remaining crew (sorry, Mr. Shima) running toward the seashore to admire the safe and happy Earth. It was a chance for fans to say goodbye to the veteran officers and some of the newer crew that joined in the more recent years.
It was all accompanied by a relaxing song ("Have a nice dream") that I had first assumed was by either the vocal group Circus（サーカス）or Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）just from how the folks sounded. And I now notice that "Ashita ni Kakeru Niji" (Rainbow to Tomorrow) had that City Pop or J-AOR beat which would be great on radio. As it turned out, it was actually a duet with Tomoko Kuwae（桑江知子）and rock band Tranzam（トランザム）behind the microphone. I'm not 100% sure but I think it was Tome Kitagawa（トメ北川）working with Kuwae. Both of them had the song released as singles in January 1983, a couple of months before the movie came out. Lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composer Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）created the song with Tranzam arranging everything.
Along with the relaxing feeling, there is also something rather celebratory and "Miller Time!" about "Ashita ni Kakeru Niji", and I think after saving the Earth from the galaxy's biggest drowning accident, the gallant crew of the Yamato deserve a fine round of the suds. Of course, immediately after this tune came the scene (in the first theatrical run) of the Kodais thoroughly enjoying their honeymoon, if you know what I mean. 😜 That was all consummated (cough, cough) to Junko Yagami's（八神純子）"Love Supreme"(ラブ・シュープリーム）.
I think the above was my Rum & Coke made by the robot bartender on the Harmony of the Seas back in 2017. In retrospect, I don't think it was the right cocktail to challenge the robot on since with a Rum & Coke, it's simply rum and Coca-Cola with none of that shaking needed. But on the other hand, I didn't want to look like Jabba the Hutt in front of my own family because I drank something that was way above my punching level.
My memories to you are going to go back even further now when I mention Perez Prado's"Cherry-Pink and Apple Blossom-White" from 1955. It's a familiar song by the King of Mambo because it was on that RCA compilation record collection that we got with our huge stereo. Yup, that trumpet does it for me.
Not sure whether the late singer-songwriter Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）had found inspiration from Prado's magnum opus to create "Cherry-Pink to Kawaii Olive" (Cherry-Pink and Cute Olive) which was the B-side to his 1980 single"Aa, Kimi wa Subete ga Atarashii"（ああ、君はすべてが新しい...Ahh, Everything About You is New）. At first, I was a little confused when I heard it. It's certainly a happy tropical margarita of a song with Inoue throwing out the cocktails like Tom Cruise's drinks in "Cocktail" (yes, there was a time when he wasn't Ethan Hunt), but Inoue liberally throws out the title of Side A as part of the lyrics in this song, which had me wondering whether YouTuber Crescent Moon had made a mistake in identifying the song. Yes, I had thought it was "Aa, Kimi wa Subete ga Atarashii" and not "Cherry-Pink to Kawaii Olive" but when I checked out the single's original liner sheet on Google, I could confirm that the song I heard was indeed the B-side and not the A-side. Inoue apparently really enjoyed that title "Aa, Kimi wa Subete ga Atarashii" so much that he was more than happy to sling it around on both sides.
The single was recorded as the final one of four releases in 1979 and 1980 under the name of Tadao Inoue & 5110 Band（井上忠夫と5110・BAND）.Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）provided the lyrics for "Cherry-Pink to Kawaii Olive" while Tadashige Matsui（松井忠重）arranged Inoue's melody. This record would be the final one for the singer to record under his real name of Tadao which he had used since his days with the Group Sounds bandJackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）. From 1981, he would release his material under the name Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）.
When I first wrote about singer, guitarist and songwriter Yuuichi Ikuzawa（生沢佑一）back in 2021, it was for a pleasantly mellow AOR number called "Everyday" that was released in 1983. In the same article, I also noted that he had started his career as a rock n' rollin' teenager under the stage name of Tomoya Dan（弾ともや）.
That first single by the 16-year-old Dan was "Doyoubi no Gogo no Rock n' Roll"（Saturday Afternoon Rock n' Roll） released in July 1974. And yep, it surely is good old-fashioned rock n' roll which seems to have come straight out of the 1950s or early 1960s. So, I gather that his get-up on the cover of the single was quite appropriate. In fact, that look and the way he sounded back then reminded me of young teen heartthrob Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）who was only a few years older than Dan. Maybe the future Ikuzawa and his manager were trying to grab onto the Saijo Bullet Train at the time.
As for who was responsible for the crafting of "Doyoubi no Gogo no Rock n' Roll", it was the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）on lyrics and Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）, the future Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）, who once belonged to the Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa & His Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）, behind the rock n' roll melody. In a way, Dan presaged the whole Harajuku 50s thing by Yoyogi Park by several years. Anyways, I was able to get this article up right on Saturday afternoon.✌
For a guy who doesn't drink all that much, I guess that I've been throwing in those alcohol-based kayo kyoku over the years of this blog. I actually did put up a whimsical Author's Pick a couple of months back with "Alcohol Kayo" and only some days ago, there was Nash Music Library's"Cocktail From Japan". So I gather that I'm a vicarious alky.
I've had my Screwdrivers, Brown Cows and Creamsicles but a Singapore Sling has yet to be made in my presence for imbibing. According to the video from Tipsy Bartender, it's got quite a few ingredients so I'm thinking some similarities to the Long Island Iced Tea. It's probably just as sweet and deadly, too.
Speaking of the Singapore Sling, Rie Nakahara（中原理恵）released a song with that very name back in July 1984 as a B-side to her single "Sennen Seppun"（千年接吻...Thousand-Year Kiss）. Described as a slice of American pop and AOR, this was written by Masao Urino（売野雅勇）and composed by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）with Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）handling the arrangement. That bouncy piano does remind me of some of that Sunshine Pop from America back in the 1970s, but the pre-chorus synths reassure us that this was indeed made in the 1980s.
One remarkable thing about this blog aside from the fact that we've been able to keep it going for nearly a dozen years is that there are still always going to be surprises to the writers themselves. So, I've just gotten my mind blown once more.
It's just a week sky of eleven years since I first posted Yuki Katsuragi's（葛城ユキ）"Bohemian" in December 2012 on the pages of KKP. "Bohemian" has been one of the touchstones of my kayo kyoku memories because I heard it for the first time on an episode of CHIN-FM's"Sounds of Japan", and it's certainly one of the first J-Rock tunes that I ever encountered. I noted in that article that one surprise I got there was that the song had been written by Ryo Aska（飛鳥涼）of Chage & Aska.
Well, another bombshell has landed in December 2023 regarding this song. Katsuragi wasn't the first to sing it. That honour actually goes to singer Yuuko Ohtomo（大友裕子）when she recorded it as her 9th and final single in September 1982, only a few months before Katsuragi's version was put onto the shelves. The original "Bohemian" is fascinating since it's not quite as growly in terms of the arrangement by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）who also arranged the Katsuragi cover or the vocals by Ohtomo which seem more plaintive. In fact, I'd say that there is a City Pop groove underneath the wailing guitar.
The B-side to "Bohemian" is "Maruseru Bashi"（マルセル橋...Marseilles Bridge） which begins with a lonely piano riff very reminiscent of the intro for Billy Joel's "The Stranger". However, the torch song doesn't feel like New York City as the title signifies and the setting is far more Gallic with the music taking things into the realm of Fashion Music. As with "Bohemian", Aska and Inoue took care of words and music respectively with Takayuki Hirano（平野孝幸）handling the arrangement.
Ohtomo was born and raised in Miyagi Prefecture, and her entry into the music profession began in 1978 as a university freshman, when she entered the Yamaha Popular Song Contest's Tohoku competition.Her debut single, "Shoushin"（傷心...Love-Torn Heart）, was released that December. In addition to those nine singles, there were also a couple of albums in 1979 and 1980. Soon after "Bohemian" had been released, Ohtomo got married and she ended her singing career.
This song is even more poignant when I consider that both Yuki Katsuragi（葛城ユキ）and Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）are no longer around with us. "Gray no Asa ni"(On a Gray Morning) is a fitting power ballad as a B-side to growly Katsuragi's arguably most famous rock song "Bohemian"（ボヘミアン）from May 1983.
Written by Ryo Shoji（東海林良）and composed by the late Inoue as a duet involving Katsuragi and Inoue, "Gray no Asa ni" seems to be a elegy to a relationship and perhaps the beginnings of new hope in the future. Although there is still some rock in there, I think the melodic inspiration for the ballad also comes from some Motown soul. I like the song but at this point anyways, the sudden crescendo into an epic horn fanfare kinda goes a little too high into the stratosphere. However, if there were ever a joint tribute to Katsuragi and Inoue, this would be the ballad to send them off with.
Right at the end of last month, I posted a Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）article for her "Pearl Colour ni Yurete"（パールカラーにゆれて）single because I'd seen her performance of the song on an old episode of "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）. Well, on the same episode, there was also 70s aidoru Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）.
Her contribution for the evening was her 20th single"Aitakute Kitaguni e" (I'm Heading to the North to See You) from September 1976. A pretty intrepid tune with a bouncy beat possibly reflecting the female protagonist's feelings and that train ride up north of Tokyo, the lass is quite assertive in asking the love of her life to take her up there with him (hometown or job transfer?) if there's room in the apartment. Oh, those Tokyo ladies!
"Aitakute Kitaguni e" was written by Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）and composed by Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）, formerly of the Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）and someone who would change his name to Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）in 1981. The song would peak at No. 15 on Oricon and Koyanagi got her 6th invitation to come onto NHK's Kohaku Utagassen to sing it at the end of 1976.
When I began the first Xmas season for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" in the inaugural year of 2012, it was on this day that I put up Yumi Matsutoya's（松任谷由実）1978 "Lodge de Matsu Christmas"（ロッヂで待つクリスマス）, a J-Xmas tune that was as welcome and heartwarming as a bowl of soup on a cold day. At the time, though, I was naive enough to assume that Yuming's（ユーミン）Christmas classic was the very first original Japanese Yuletide song. However, I was quickly set right on discovering that the Queen of Kayo Kyoku herself, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, had recorded an original Xmas song all the way back in 1952, "Hitori Bocchi no Christmas"(ひとりぼっちのクリスマス）. And I'm sure that there have been others.
Well, for example, here is this Christmas-themed maxi-single or mini-album by Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets（ジャッキー吉川とブルー・コメッツ）titled "Bara no Christmas"（バラのクリスマス...Roseate Christmas） from 1967. I was initially clued in on the Blue Comets' contribution to the Holidays via Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu"November 1st podcast which covers the band's versions of some Christmas classics. However, the tracks on "Bara no Christmas" are original creations.
I'm taking care of the first track here, "Blue Candle", which sounds like an older doo-wop tune like "Earth Angel" by The Penguins, thanks to the melody by Blue Comet Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）who would later change his name to Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）. Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）was responsible for the lyrics of a couple enjoying their romantic Holiday season. The song doesn't sound like a typical Christmas song, but I think that it still plays into the usual Japanese notion of the Holidays there being more like a second Valentine's Day.
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