Percy Faith/Lambert, Hendricks & Ross -- Deck the Halls

 

Well, for the fourth year in a row, "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has managed to reach 1000 articles in a year. I'm pretty sure that we won't be breaking the 1,103-article record that we achieved last year but that's OK. There's no need to push things anymore. Anyways, this year's 1000th article will be dedicated to the weekly Reminiscings of Youth and also we'll be covering Christmas again as we approach December 25th. 

Let's take a look at a Yuletide classic that is literally centuries old. "Deck the Halls" goes all the way back to the 16th century to a Welsh melody when it was a winter carol known as "Nos Galan". The English lyrics were written by Thomas Oliphant back in 1862. My first time with "Deck the Halls" was back probably in kindergarten in the early 1970s when my teacher sang it and then taught it to us moppets.

Then, not too long after, my family got that Ronco album which was making the rounds on TV commercials, "A Christmas Gift", with one of the tracks being "Deck the Halls" as performed by Percy Faith and his orchestra. Faith already has representation on the blog for being the original provider of "Theme from a Summer Place" which was covered by AOR duo The Milky Way in 1979. However, Faith tackles his rendition of "Deck the Halls" with gusto as it sounds like something from a King Arthur movie soundtrack as he and his Knights of the Round Table go forth to celebrate Christmas. Apparently, this version first appeared in 1954.

Of course, there have been tons of renditions of "Deck the Halls" over the years, but one of the most unusual covers was by the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross in 1962. Now, I've heard of Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross as the pioneers of vocalese which involves placing nimbly-delivered words and phrases within the usual improvised arrangement of jazz instruments, replacing those instruments. The Manhattan Transfer also picked up on the hip lingo, even coming up with their 1985 album "Vocalese".

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' version was something that I found in a Xmas jazz compilation while I was living in Japan, and it was actually titled "Deck Us All With Boston Charlie". Before you could say Weird Al Yankovic, I could tell from the title and the intro that this was going to be a wacky parody of the original "Deck the Halls". I had assumed all these years that Boston Charlie was some near-lethal form of hooch that boozehounds could get in the various dives and saloons in the not-so-nice areas of town but it was actually just a play on the title. However, that fade-in intro where the three start shrieking the chorus in improbable harmony has always had me imagining the sots stumbling around at night trying to get into that hole in the wall.

Then, everything gets set right with a snappy drum and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross plow into the song with some major scatting while a piano player nimbly skates over the keys like a Gold Medal-winning figure skater. But just before the three end up taking us listeners to something far more respectable, we get thrown back into the back alley as Boston Charlie does its thing and the trio shriek their way off into the darkness. So, "Deck Us All" is more scat than vocalese but below you can see them handle the latter.

So, what were some of the big Japanese hits coming out in 1962? I've got three right here.

Jerry Fujio -- Tooku e Ikitai （遠くへ行きたい）

Dark Ducks -- Yama Otoko no Uta（山男の歌）

Yoshio Tabata -- Shima Sodachi (島育ち)

Dark Ducks/The Peanuts -- Giniro no Michi（銀色の道）

 

Just in the last few minutes, I found out that actor David McCallum who had played the eccentric but super-sharp Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the original "NCIS" passed away at the age of 90 earlier today. I haven't watched the show in many years but when I was living in Japan, I did catch a lot of its episodes on cable TV. Although Ducky had his own moments of anger, he was usually the most level-headed and reassuring of the investigative team.

However, being a baby from the 1960s, I first knew McCallum as stoic but baby-faced super-agent Illya Kuryakin in "The Man from UNCLE" assisting his senior partner, suave Napoleon Solo, as played by the late Robert Vaughan. "NCIS" had some fun with the Mallard/Kuryakin thing a couple of times. In the 1970s, I also remember McCallum playing the title character in the updated television version of "The Invisible Man" which only lasted a few months, I believe.

Ironically, earlier in the morning, NHK reported that the last surviving member of the vocal quartet Dark Ducks（ダークダックス）, Hajime Tohyama（遠山一）, had passed away a few days ago at the age of 93. Members Tohru Sasaki（佐々木行）and Tetsu Kisou（喜早哲）died in 2016 while Hiromu Takamizawa（高見澤宏）left this mortal coil in 2011.

In tribute then, I wanted to post a Dark Ducks song tonight and what I have here is "Giniro no Michi" (The Silver Road), an October 1966 kayo kyoku of optimism and going forward. Written by Shigeru Tsukada（塚田茂）and composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）, it was used as the theme song for the NHK musical-variety show "Yume wo Anata ni"（夢をあなたに...Dreams For You）. Speaking of the national broadcaster, Dark Ducks were able to get onto the Kohaku Utagassen to perform the song. 

According to the article for the song on J-Wiki, the legendary composer noted that "Giniro no Michi" had been inspired by a memory from his childhood when his father, who had been a civil engineer, was involved in the construction of a special track for the Konomai Gold Mine in Hokkaido. Young Miyagawa noticed that puddles by the track glistened in the moonlight which convinced him of the existence of a silver road.

As was often the case back then, songs often had multiple singers and/or bands competing to be the first to record them. "Giniro no Michi" was no different, and though Dark Ducks had been the first act to show the song on television, female duo The Peanuts（ザ・ピーナッツ）beat them (though not by much) in terms of the release date of the single record which was also early October 1966, although their version was actually the B-side to "Roma no Ame"（ローマの雨...The Rain in Rome）. Compared to the folksy country twang of the Ducks' version, The Peanuts' take on "Giniro no Michi" starts out sounding like hippie-ish Sunshine Pop before gradually turning into a bold jazzy number.

Some 30 years following the final closure of the Konomai Mine, a stone memorial plaque with the lyrics of "Giniro no Michi" was established in 2003 in the area of the mine near Monbetsu Station. In any case, my condolences go to both the families, friends and fans of David McCallum and Hajime Tohyama.

Dark Ducks -- Hotaka yo Saraba（穂高よさらば）

 

August 11th's Mountain Day is the newest national holiday in Japan although it's been around since 2016. I'm not sure whether people have been encouraged to climb their local geological protuberance tomorrow, but there are many Japanese citizens who have never needed prodding to hike up mountains. My old English circle has often scaled the local mountains as a hobby.

To commemorate the occasion then, I thought that a mountain-themed kayo kyoku would do. As such, I've managed to find this one by Dark Ducks（ダークダックス）, a vocal group that seems to be the experts at singing mountain songs according to this article that I wrote back in 2017. Ironically, they would retire in the same year that Mountain Day was first celebrated.

According to "World Folk Song", "Hotaka yo Saraba" (Farewell, Hotaka) is a song that was created back in 1944 by composer Yuuji Koseki（古関裕而）, a beloved songsmith who knew his way around the proud and intrepid melodies such as "Sports Show Koushinkyoku"（スポーツショー行進曲）. The same goes with "Hotaka yo Saraba" which sounds like a theme for the aftermath of a military campaign but the lyrics by Mitsuhiko Yoshino（芳野満彦）talk of a climb up beloved Mt. Hotaka, one of The 100 Famous Mountains of Japan that lies on the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. One interesting point that I discovered was that Yoshino only came up with the first verse; after that, a number of different verses were written by actual mountain climbers so that the song could have different versions based on lyrics. I tried my best but I couldn't find out when Dark Ducks' version was recorded.

Speaking of holidays, the Obon Holidays are upon Japan now but the typhoons have been a problem over the past few weeks, and unfortunately Typhoon No. 7 or Typhoon Ran is now making a beeline straight toward the main island of Honshu. I've already been noticing events and reservations being cancelled, so I can only hope that all of my friends and relatives in Japan will stay safe.

Dark Ducks/Yukiko Tama and Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars/Yukiko Noji -- Kitakami Yakyoku（北上夜曲）

NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）was back at its new slot of 8:30 pm Tuesday nights on TV Japan. The theme for this episode and next week will be those famous Heisei Era hits before the nation enters the minty-fresh age of Reiwa.

In the meantime, though, I want to take things back a tad. I was attracted to this 1993 performance of a song called "Kitakami Yakyoku" (Kitakami Nocturne) by venerable vocal group Dark Ducks（ダークダックス）. For the lack of a better phrase, I think that this is a wonderfully mournful ballad of remembrances of love lost somewhere in the Tohoku region of Japan. I've never been to the northeastern part of the island of Honshu but my images of certain cities there involve foggy nights lit romantically by 19th-century-style street lamps overlooking quiet canals, and so I can imagine a lonely fellow revisiting that particular area reminiscing over happier times.

Dark Ducks recorded "Kitakami Yakyoku" originally back in 1961 and this was also the case for the famed Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）as a duet with singer Yukiko Tama（多摩幸子）in the same year. As usual, that Mahina Stars' steel guitar is in there along with their distinctive harmonies.

Norimi Kikuchi（菊地規）was the lyricist with Mutsuo Ando（安藤睦夫）composing the melody. "Kitakami Yakyoku" was a big hit for both groups according to a book on Dark Ducks, "Nihon no Utsukushii Uta ~ Dark Ducks no Hanseiki"（日本の美しい歌―ダークダックスの半世紀...Japan's Beautiful Songs ~ Dark Ducks' Half-Century）, and in fact, the group performed the song for their 4th appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen that same year. Incidentally, they appeared on the Kohaku a total of 15 times between 1958 and 1976.

Yukiko Tama is a Tokyo native who made her debut in 1958 right after her graduation from the Toho College of Music. Although she had initially retired in 1966 due to marriage, she apparently resumed her singing career some years later.

"Kitakami Yakyoku" has been covered by a number of singers but one other singer that caught my attention with her cover of the song is Yukiko Noji（野路由紀子）. She does have a J-Wiki entry identifying her as a singer but for some reason, there is no discography although there is a list of TV programs that she has appeared on, and apparently, she even made appearances on a couple of dramas. As the eldest daughter of a fishmonger in Fukui Prefecture, she had long admired Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）which sparked her interest in becoming a singer.

Noji made her debut in 1971, and in 1972, she released an album "Kita Shinano Zesshou"（北信濃絶唱...Superb Songs of Northern Shinano） which includes her version of "Kitakami Yakyoku". Her take on the song is a bit more wistful, innocent and folksy. Although I think this version sounds like something between folk and kayo, Noji's vocals strike me as being quite enka-like.

Dark Ducks -- Anna Ko ga Ii na（あんな娘がいいな）

Time to go back into the kayo time vaults, and inspired by the old NHK music show "Anata no Melody"（あなたのメロディー）that I had written about a couple of days ago, I've come up with another old chestnut.

Dark Ducks（ダークダックス）is another one of those Japanese vocal groups from the old days whose work reminds me a lot of the similar quartets or quintets from the United States at the time such as The Ames Brothers and The Mills Brothers. Certainly, their "Anna Ko ga Ii na" (That's My Kind Of Girl) takes on a hail-fellow-well-met feeling of a kayo march about swooning over that neighbourhood daughter.

As I said, this was a song that was created by an amateur songwriter back in 1969 by the name of Kataji Mizumoto（水本方治...I hope that's the right reading for the first name） for "Anata no Melody", and apparently it became so successful after its release in November of that year that Dark Ducks got to perform "Anna Ko ga Ii na" a little over a month later at the Kohaku Utagassen. That must have been quite the (duck) feather in Mizumoto's cap when the announcement was made. However, I'm not sure whether Mizumoto created any other kayo for anyone else.

Dark Ducks -- Yama Otoko no Uta/Yuki Yama Sanka （山男の歌・雪山讃歌）

It's rather amazing about this Canada Dry plastic bag that has been filled with my father's old collection of 45" kayo singles. I always seem to find another new record that I had not noticed before. At this point, I am wondering if the bag has some sort of connection with Doraemon's pocket.

To wit, a few days ago, I came across this 45" single in the grab bag. It was a release by the vocal group Dark Ducks (ダークダックス) called "Yama Otoko no Uta" (Mountain Man Song) on the A-side with "Yuki Yama Sanka" (Snowy Mountain Hymn) on the B-side. As you can imagine, there seems to be a guiding theme here. The Japanese do love their mountains and mountain climbing. My former weekly English circle made it a habit of hitting the peaks a few times a year and they wisely did not invite me along.

"Yama Otoko no Uta", according to J-Wiki, turned out to be Dark Ducks' most successful hit and supposedly it was released in February 1966. However, the cover sheet on the record I've got here is actually dated 1964. As would be the case for many a Japanese song about mountains, the melody is a jaunty one with hand claps and an accordion, perfect to accompany a group of climbers on their hike up. However, it isn't known who created the music but the lyrics, which seem to give a cheerful warning via 7 short two-line verses to some girl about marrying a mountain man, were written by Nobuo Jinbo（神保信雄）. The sixth verse even warns the lass not to let their sons become cowboys....er, I mean mountain men.

If "Yuki Yama Sanka" sounds familiar, well that's because it is a cover of a tune that I used to hear as a little kid, "Oh My Darling, Clementine". According to Wikipedia, the original song was made by Percy Montrose all the way back in 1884, and it was a humourous poke at the Western ballad with a fellow bereaving the loss of his darling Clementine, the daughter of a miner, with the large Size 9 feet...until he found solace with his sister.

The Japanese involvement with the ballad happened in 1927 when scientist and alpinist Eizaburo Nishibori（西堀栄三郎）was with his mountain-climbing club fellows from Kyoto University. In January of that year, they found themselves stranded for a while at Kazawa Onsen in Gunma Prefecture. To stave off boredom, Nishibori and his friends decided to make up a song for their club, providing their own lyrics over the base melody of "Oh My Darling, Clementine". Their little project ended up as "Yuki Yama Sanka".

Dark Ducks' first version was released in 1958. I guess it was a fairly usual thing for various original singles' A-sides and B-sides to be placed on future records under different combiantions on vinyl over the years so it also ended up on my Dad's record from 1964.

I already wrote about Dark Ducks in one other article back in late 2013 when they gave their own version of "Aoba-jo Koi Uta"（青葉城恋唄）. However, their video of them performing the song got cut down without any replacements to be found and in fact, I didn't even give them a proper introduction. So, allow me to make amends to you and to Dark Ducks.

When Dark Ducks first formed as a vocal group in 1951, they started out with just 3 people: Tohru Sasaki（佐々木行）, Tetsu Kiso（喜早哲）and Hajime Tohyama（遠山一）. All three of them were attending Keio University and belonged to the Economics Department; at the same university, they also participated in a chorus group and at a Xmas party in that year, they performed "White Christmas" which sparked the idea for the three to officially start the Ducks. Hiromu Takamizawa（高見澤宏）would later join them.

At the time of their formation, they focused mostly on jazz numbers and spirituals but would also extend their repertory to Russian folk songs and mountain songs. In fact Dark Ducks' first hit was "Tomoshibi" (ともしび...Spark) in 1957 which was a cover of a Russian song "Огонёк" by Mikhail Isakovsky.

Sadly, after a long career, three of the Ducks have passed away in the last six years including the deaths of Sasaki and Kiso in 2016, leaving Tohyama as the sole surviving member. The above video has Dark Ducks starting off another episode of "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）with their cover of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）"Hito Natsu no Keiken"（ひと夏経験）at 2:30.

To finish off, here is a version of "Oh My Darling, Clementine".

Muneyuki Sato/Dark Ducks -- Aoba-jo Koi Uta （青葉城恋唄）

Singer-actor-TV personality Muneyuki Sato（さとう宗幸） first came to my attention in the early 80s as his songs got fairly frequent airplay on "Sounds of Japan". However, the one song that will always come to mind to me and just about everyone who listens to kayo kyoku is his debut, "Aoba-jo Koi Uta". The literal translation for the title is "Aoba Castle Love Song", but I rather like how one page on www.drillspin.com translated it: "A Love Song to Sendai".

Sato was born in 1949 in Gifu Prefecture and had an early career as a semi-professional folk singer, releasing one album that he produced himself in 1976 titled "Bara Iro no Jinsei"（バラ色の人生...Rose-Coloured Life）. A year later, he started a stint as a DJ on "FM Request Hour" for the NHK affiliate radio station in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. In June 1977, during one episode of the show, a listener by the name of Senichi Hoshima（星間船一） provided a poem about lost love in Sendai for which Sato added a melody. Thus "Aoba-jo Koi Uta" was born. Aoba Castle, by the way, is the alternate name for Sendai Castle.

(Unfortunately the Dark Ducks video
got taken down but you can enjoy Chieko Baisho's version.

Uh, actually, I did find one by DD below.)

The song was released in May the following year. However, at around the same time, word about the existence of this song reached the powers-that-be managing a vocal group by the name of Dark Ducks which was formed in 1951. There was a bit of a race between Sato and Dark Ducks to find out whose version would win out (if it was actually successful). The Dark Ducks version came out a month after Sato's debut, with the conventional feeling that the vocal group had the edge since they were a famed veteran team compared to Sato who was basically an unknown. Then, just 11 days following the release of "Aoba-jo Koi Uta" by Dark Ducks, the Miyagi Earthquake struck the Tohoku area creating widespread damage to homes and the surrounding environment. In order to boost spirits in his adopted prefecture, Sato did a live performance of the song; a month later, sales for his version started soaring to ultimately reach 1.1 million records. Meanwhile, the version by the Ducks sold a relatively smaller 300,000 copies. Below is their performance of the song on "Yoru no Hit Studio".

The Ducks' version is perfectly fine, but there is just something about Sato's rendition of "Aoba-jo Koi Uta" that will always have me imagining bright green woods and fresh clean air whenever I hear it. And although the lyrics mention about the yearly Sendai Tanabata Festival and the covered shopping arcades, it will always be a countryside song to me. According to J-Wiki, it was labeled indeed as such a song during the 1970s, a time that was famous for having the catchphrase, "Chiho no Jidai"（地方の時代...The Countryside Era）. By the way, according to the video outline above, the Dark Ducks' version is the 4th one after Sato, Kaori Mizumori and Yuzo Kayama.

The song peaked at No. 3 on Oricon and became the 31st-ranked song of 1978. It also won Sato the Newcomers' Prize at the Japan Record Awards, and an invitation to that year's Kohaku Utagassen. And finally, it hit further immortality by becoming the departure song at several tracks at JR Sendai Station. Not surprisingly, whenever Sato appears anywhere on television, everyone knows it will most likely be to perform that song.

Of course, the song has been covered by many other singers such as Masako Mori（森昌子）and Chieko Baisho（倍賞千恵子）.