Fubuki Koshiji -- Yuki ga Furu（雪が降る）

 

Well, that was the entrance to my building this morning after Snowmageddon 2 walloped the Greater Toronto Area all throughout yesterday. I think we may have gotten as much as two feet of snow by the end and though the main streets have been plowed, the sidewalks were still pretty treacherous (and probably will remain that way for the next few days). 

It was an interesting time at the local mall this morning when I was out doing the usual grocery shopping. Just when I was ready to head for the cashier, the alarm began whooping and then we got the announcement ordering us out of the supermarket immediately. So I was out with my basket of groceries waiting for half an hour outside of the now-sealed store. Apparently, on the other end of the mall, the ceiling collapsed just within the entrance and the fire department had to come in and check the structural integrity for all of the ceiling within the mall so since I couldn't wait, I just returned my groceries to the nearest staffer and headed on home. Meanwhile, there was a three-car collision in the mall parking lot. But hey, at least it was sunny.😎

In commemoration of the second major snowstorm to hit Toronto in the last ten days, I've decided to find something suitable to begin this business week's round of KKP articles. I already spoke on storm-related songs several days ago so I was wondering how I was going to pull this off today when I remembered a lady whose first name literally stands for "blizzard": Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）. 

The late chanson singer released a single that would be perfect for yesterday's sturm und drang. "Yuki ga Furu" (Snow Falls) might sound something of an understatement considering the amounts that we received but I can live with that. Released in 1963, this was a cover of Belgian singer Salvatore Adamo's own hit, "Tombe la neige", from earlier in the year. Originally composed and written by Adamo, both the Japanese version which was given lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）and the original reflect a less stormy and more composed if resigned state of dealing with the loss of a lover...and the winter in Japan at least likes to reflect emotional devastation regarding romance. Parting can be so beautiful and horrifyingly sad.

Of course, over here in Toronto currently, it's not just the snow but the ceiling which falls.

Fubuki Koshiji -- Bara Iro no Jinsei（ばら色の人生）

From Good Free Photos

 

Supposedly, we're only a month away from the Paris Olympics, so I guess this can be considered a tribute article to the major sporting event. However what got me to write about this song wasn't the Games.

Yesterday, we got to see NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）for the first time in a couple of weeks on June 25th. Actually, the show hadn't been pre-empted on the source network on the 18th but when I saw the hosts announce on the 11th that the episode on the 18th would have a Disney theme, faster than the NHK copyright troll yelling, "No Uta Con for you!", I knew that we wouldn't be getting an episode for that week. For the past couple of years, the general rule on TV Japan and now Jme has been that Disney songs simply can't be heard via NHK.

Let me just stop the rant there, though. The theme for the show yesterday was the genre of chanson and overall French pop which has had its fans for decades now. So, of course, it was also an indirect theme for the late chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）who had given her covers of songs such as "Sans Toi M'amie"（サン・トワ・マミー）and "Hymne A L'Amour". At first, I'd assume that I could do an article on "Les Champs-Élysées", but I had already done so all the way back in 2016.

However, I didn't give up there. Although the song hadn't been presented on "Uta Con" last night, there was the famous "La Vie en rose", the 1945 classic by Edith Piaf, and sure enough, Koshiji did cover it via her 1968 album "Chanson no Subete"（シャンソンのすべて...All Chanson） under the translated title of "Bara Iro no Jinsei" with Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）as the lyricist for the Japanese words. Considering how iconic it is as one of the representative songs of the City of Lights, I was surprised that it didn't get its due on the episode. It's a gorgeous cover with a brilliant jazz trumpet reflecting the late night of Paris. In an odd way, despite the volume, I can also treat it as a lullaby.

Fubuki Koshiji -- Last Dance wa Watashi ni（ラストダンスは私に）

I've mentioned before that my years graduating from embryo-hood were spent listening to a mix of enka/Mood Kayo and American standards. The latter was mostly supplied by a group of 5 LPs by RCA Victor that probably came with the huge massive stereo that my Dad had bought decades ago. One of the tracks from that collection is the above "September Song" by the Ames Brothers. I've heard that the usual delivery of the song is one of wistful sadness but I've always preferred this swinging energized take.

But then some years later, George Lucas introduced us to his 1973 "American Graffiti" and with it, an amazing soundtrack of some of the rock n' roll from yesteryear. Along with Bill Haley & His Comets' iconic "Rock Around The Clock", my other favourite song from the album was Del Shannon's cool-as-heck "Runaway". I really enjoyed that boss sax and the Musitron solo. It was only two minutes-and-change long but what a ride.

Of course, probably because of the success of "American Graffiti", a lot of those K-Tel LP's that were hawked about on commercials were based on the music of the 1950s and 1960s. So in the years before disco briefly took hold, I got to know some more of the hits from those days. One song was the classic "Save The Last Dance For Me" by The Drifters, originally created by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman back in 1960. It was a No. 1 hit on Billboard and I will always remember it for that thrilling string solo near the end. This was another short tune but has continued to pack so much fun for me.

"Save The Last Dance For Me" was not lost on Japanese ears either, and in an age when covers of those American and British classics were plentiful, The Drifters' hit was also converted into Japanese to become "Last Dance wa Watashi ni" in November 1961. Given Japanese lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）and performed by chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）, I'm not sure what the original recorded version was like, but on the 1963 Kohaku Utagassen, the vivacious Koshiji gave it more of an old-fashioned Latin jazz edge. She had also performed it a couple of years earlier on that Kohaku Utagassen.

Of course, being a standard, other singers have had their chance to try "Last Dance wa Watashi ni" on for size as well. For example, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）gave her version along with Masaharu Fukuyama（福山雅治）who provided a snazzy blues flavour. His cover was recorded on a June 2002 release, "Fukuyama Engineering Soundtrack ~ The Golden Oldies"（「福山エンヂニヤリング」サウンドトラック The Golden Oldies）which peaked at No. 2 and ended up as the 25th-ranked album for the year.

Salvatore Adamo/Fubuki Koshiji/RC Succession/Maki Goto -- Sans Toi M'amie（サン・トワ・マミー）

As I said in one of my articles from yesterday, I was blessed with a large number of kayo singles and albums from my friend Steve in Manhattan through a large package since he wanted to unload his record collection before moving out West. One of the 45s I saw among the records is a Japanese chanson classic, "Sans Toi M'amie" by the Queen of Chanson in Japan, the late Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）.

But before I come to her, "Sans Toi M'amie" (Without You, My Love) was originally created and recorded by Belgium's Salvatore Adamo, a singer that I have already profiled in this blog through his other hit "Tombe La Neige", known in Japanese as "Yuki ga Furu"（雪が降る）. Adamo was only 19 when he sang "Sans Toi M'amie" for the first time in 1962.

A couple of years later in June 1964, Koshiji released her version of "Sans Toi M'amie", and it is the version that I know the best. In fact, I was surprised that I hadn't yet covered it in "Kayo Kyoku Plus". It's one of Koshiji's trademark hits along with "Ai no Sanka"（愛の讃歌）and although it has that hint of grandness that I've come to associate with chanson, the song is somewhat tempered by a certain lightness in the arrangement as if the singer is asking listeners not to take things so seriously. There is that feeling of a boozy waltz, thanks to the laidback instrumental accompaniment, and yeah, I think it can be danced to.

Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）provided the Japanese lyrics to "Sans Toi M'amie". Koshiji herself was invited onto the Kohaku Utagassen of 1964 to perform it.

However, "Sans Toi M'amie" was not left behind as a relic of the music of the 1960s. It has been covered by a number of other artists with their own musical imprint. The band RC Succession gave the song its own rocking beat in their covers album, obviously titled "COVERS" which came out in August 1988. It hit No. 1 and went Gold.

I also like freshly-graduated Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）member Maki Goto's（後藤真希）take on "Sans Toi M'amie" with its relaxing pop sound that has an echo from the past. This was her 5th single from December 2002, and I think it's because I didn't follow her solo career all that doggedly that her more mature delivery stood out all the more to me. Her version peaked at No. 6. It was also a track on Goto's special album for a soundtrack from a musical that she starred in, "Ken & Mary no Meriken-ko On Stage!"（けん&メリーのメリケン粉オンステージ!...Ken & Mary's Wheat Flour On Stage!）from March 2003. It went as high as No. 59 on the album charts.

Danièle Vidal/Fubuki Koshiji/The Peanuts -- Aux Champs-Élysées（オー・シャンゼリゼ）

https://www.flickr.com/photos/faramarz-s/3957756068

First off, for all those folks like Noelle and myself who watch NHK's "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）regularly, I have to announce as of April (which is the time when a lot of things do a reset in Japan), the title of the show will be changing to "Uta Con"（うたコン）. Nope, this isn't an early April Fool's joke (by me, at least); it is listed at its website. I'm assuming that it refers to "Uta Concert" (Song Concert) although the trendy abbreviation of the title scares me a bit. And I hope that it is only the title that is changing.

OK, getting back to the main point of this article, last night's edition of "Kayo Concert" had the bipolar theme of traditional Japanese music and Western music with Japanese lyrics. The gimmick worked for the most part although sometimes the sudden swing in tone between West and East was sometimes jarring. One of the songs on the Western side of things was an old chestnut titled "Aux Champs-Élysées" that I had heard a number of times sung here and there over the years whether it was on shows like "Kayo Concert" or even on TV ads. With the Japanese lyrics and the Japanese ability to adapt overseas melodies as one of their own, I had naturally assumed for years and years that this French-sounding ditty was an original clever kayo.

Well, my world view when it comes to "Aux Champs-Élysées" has been shattered. Not only was it not originally Japanese, it wasn't even French to begin with. In fact, it came over from the other side of the English Channel. There were neither croissants nor café au lait involved here...more like bubble and squeak. The original melody by Michael Wilshaw (whose name was shown on the screen last night when ex-Takarazuka Troupe member Risa Junna（純名里沙）sang her version on "Kayo Concert") was for the song "Waterloo Road" by British rock band Jason Crest in 1968. Michael Antony Deighan provided the lyrics for a song that sounded like good ol' Beatles tune for heaven's sake.

However in the next year, French singer Joe Dassin was able to give his own version of the song under "Les Champs-Élysées", thanks to lyricist Pierre Delanoe adapting the words to reflect one of the most famous streets on the planet. I'm not sure how "Waterloo Road" did on the UK charts but "Les Champs-Élysées" went to No. 1 for 2 weeks in France.

And then in 1971, the song didn't just hop a channel but an entire continent when it arrived in Japan. Moroccan-born Danièle Vidal had been scouted by the legendary Charles Aznavour and groomed to become a singer debuting at the age of 17 with "Aime ceux qui t'aiment" which also found popularity in Japan under the title of "Tenshi no Rakugaki"（天使のらくがき...An Angel's Grafitti）in 1969. It wasn't soon long after that Vidal started making long stays over there. In July 1971, her French-language cover of "Les Champs-Élysées" was released which got as high as No. 78 on Oricon with her own Japanese-language version under the slightly modified title of "Aux Champs-Élysées" coming out a couple of months later. My image of the song was always that it has been one sung by a woman, and perhaps it was indeed the Vidal version that I kept hearing. Her connection in Japan deepened when she married a member of a Group Sounds band, Isao Shibata（柴田功）of Chaco & Hell's Angel（チャコ&ヘルスエンジェル）in 1980 and gave birth to a son. However, the couple divorced and currently Vidal is living in France as a co-owner of a restaurant.

"Aux Champs-Élysées" now seems to be the Japanese theme song for any vacation in the City of Lights. Of course, perpetuating that image has been the number of covers of the song. The late chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）gave a great version with a New Orleans jazzy twist. I'm actually torn between this one and the version by Vidal. The lyrics were written by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）.

The Peanuts got in on the act as well with their take on "Aux Champs-Élysées" which also sounds a bit Beatle-y with that fuzzy guitar in there but starts out like some sort of kayo march.

All this background on this adopted kayo reminds me of another tune originally from points beyond Japan.

Fubuki Koshiji/Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars -- Yogiri no Shinobi Ai （夜霧のしのび逢い）

"Yogiri no Shinobi Ai" (An Affair in The Night Fog) has turned out to be one of those interesting songs that had a history to track down. I first heard it the night before just by chance as performed by the Mood Kayo band, Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）. It was quintessentially Latin Mood Kayo so I wanted to find out more about it, but when I looked up their file in J-Wiki, I couldn't see any hint of the title in their discography. (Unfortunately, the powers-that-be have taken down the Mahina Stars version above so it's the Koshiji original.)

(cover version by

Kiyoe Tamura)

So, it was off to YouTube to see if there were any more examples of the song since a few of the entries there sometimes would have some information via the uploader. I didn't find any other information on Mahina Stars' contribution but then I saw this performance by legendary Japanese chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）on the 1965 Kohaku Utagassen. As it turned out, she was the original singer of the Japanese version.

Yep, Japanese version. The very original of this song was "La Playa" (The Beach) by Dutch guitarist Jo Van Wetter which had been first released in February 1965. Supposedly the song garnered quite a bit of popularity through the world's radio stations, and I'm assuming that would include those in Japan since the late lyricist Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）came up with the Japanese lyrics, and then it was up to Koshiji to interpret them.

Koshiji may have been more well known for her interpretations of French tunes but I think she also gave a great performance at that Kohaku (I was barely a month and a half old at the time) with that feeling of a slow contemplative tango. I'm currently unsure whether "Yogiri no Shinobi Ai" had ever been an official Koshiji single although it is known as one of her prominent songs, and I don't even know when the Mahina Stars cover came out unfortunately. Either of the Japanese versions though would be fine as musical accompaniment while sagely nursing that tumbler of whiskey.

Fubuki Koshiji -- Rokudenashi （ろくでなし）

This is the one other song by Japanese chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪） that I've known for years, "Rokudenashi"(Good-For-Nothing). Although I've got little knowledge on the chanson genre per se, I don't think this song quite fits the chanson mold...it's a bit too frenetic. And Koshiji, as you can see below, is shaking it up quite a bit on the stage.

Originally written, composed and sung by Belgian singer-songwriter Salvatore Adamo in 1964 as "Mauvais Garcon", the lyrics were made into Japanese by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）. I'm just going by someone's Japanese blog here, but I think the Koshiji cover was also released later in that same year. The lyrics go into the life of an incorrigible bum who's content to drink away in his watering hole as his latest girl dumps him. As much as Koshiji is famous for the proud "Ai no Sanka"（愛の讃歌）, I've also remembered her for this short spicy number. In recent years, though, the song has mostly appeared on Japanese TV as a platform for parody by a comedian who dresses in drag and sings it while shooting peanuts out of his nose (yep, it's as "hilarious" as it reads).

Here is the original version by Adamo. It comes off as somewhat less spirited than the Japanese version, but I think it accurately reflects the state of mind of the so-called hero of the song..

Fubuki Koshiji -- Ai no Sanka （愛の讃歌）

For a very long time, there was and has been a cultural bond between France and Japan. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone (a best bud of Ronald Reagan's when he was the US President) loved French culture, and apparently former French President Francois Mitterrand was a big fan of sumo. French restaurants of any size seem to populate a lot of street corners in Tokyo and even in my bedroom city of Ichikawa....along the side of any McDonalds or massage clinic. My students took me to one which was situated just metres away from a major highway overpass and a bowling alley. And the quality....and the prices....certainly fit the image of a fine French restaurant.

Chanson was and has made up a small part of the kayo kyoku world almost as far back as when Edith Piaf held audiences enthralled in France. And once in a while, on a TV retrospective, I would see and hear the late vivacious Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪） warble the sounds of "Ai no Sanka".

Born in 1924, the former Mihoko Konno（河野美保子） entered the world of the famed women's acting troupe, The Takarazuka Revue, to become a top star during the latter half of the war and the postwar years.. When she retired from the Revue, she shifted to the world of stage musicals, and around that time, Koshiji recorded a cover of Edith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour". As for exactly when the recording was made is of some conjecture. According to the Japanese site OKWave.jp, there were two possibilities, 1951 or 1953. The former year coincided with her departure from the Takarazuka, while the latter year was given on a BEST compilation. I flipped a coin....1951 won. Although Koshiji would continue down the path of chanson until her untimely death in 1980, I think "Ai no Sanka"pretty much cemented her title as The Queen of Chanson in Japan. Her release of the song, with Japanese lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子） (with the original composition by Margueritte Monnot and the original lyrics by Piaf herself), sold over 2 million copies.

Edith Piaf will always be the one and original behind her 1949 "Hymne A L'Amour", but I think Koshiji made "Ai no Sanka" her own.

February 8 2022: I have to admit that the 1961 Brenda Lee version of the song, titled "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)", that was used as the ending theme for Episode 4 of "Loki" really got to me.

Toi et Moi/Yasuko Ouki/Fubuki Koshiji -- Dare mo Inai Umi (誰もいない海）

Well, welcome to September, everyone!

Officially, we're still 3 weeks away from Fall, but traditionally since the passing of August heralds the beginning of the transition from Summer to Autumn, I thought it would be a good time to start introducing some seasonal tunes from the world of kayo kyoku. And whenever September 1 comes around, my thoughts often go back to that old Canadian Tire cassette tape I used to record that 1982 broadcast of "The Sounds of Japan" which focused on the old J-Pop of Fall.

I can still remember most of the lineup from that show:

1) Higurashi -- Aki no Tobira 
2) Toi et Moi -- Dare mo Inai Umi
3) Off Course -- Aki no Kehai 
4) Mariya Takeuchi -- September 

I have been listening to the last two songs for years and I'm especially looking forward to profiling one of Mariya's early hits.  As I've mentioned on the entry for Higurashi's "Aki no Tobira", this was a song that I'd been looking high and low for for decades until I finally tracked it down in July.

And now the circle is almost complete with Toi et Moi. This was a duo consisting of Emiko Shiratori and Sumio Akutagawa（白鳥英美子・芥川澄夫）. Debuting in 1969, the pair had often been mistaken as a straight folk group due to the gentle melodies and deliveries in their music, especially amongst the many singers and groups who were singing the popular genre at the time. However, Toi et Moi  was just a kayo kyoku pairing singing light Japanese pop.

Toi et Moi's cover of "Dare mo Inai Umi"(The Deserted Sea) in November 1970, the group's 6th single of 21 singles they released throughout their 4-year history, comes off as this pretty and romantic kayo kyoku ballad which starts off with the lyric "Ima wa, mou aki"（今は、もう秋....It's now Fall) and talks of promises made to the various parts of that desolate patch of seashore to keep on surviving no matter what. The song peaked at No. 16 on the Oricon weeklies.

However, the original singer for "Dare mo Inai Umi"was the late chanson artist Yasuko Ouki（大木康子） in 1968 (although the makers of the song, Yoko Yamaguchi｛山口洋子｝ and Tsunemi Naito｛内藤法美｝ had originally crafted the song for singer Jerry Ito｛ジェリー伊藤｝ for a weekly bit on a morning TV show...it was never made into a record). Now, chanson is a genre within kayo kyoku that has a small but very loyal group of fans. A lot of Japanese have had a deep and unabiding love for French culture; the music of Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour made such an impact that a number of Japanese singers during the 50s and 60s took up the cause and dedicated themselves to singing chanson of which Ouki was one. Certainly the lyrics for the song lend themselves well to the genre since they talk of proudly defying the odds in the face of huge obstacles. This original version, though, never broke through on the charts.

There was another attempt at the song in the same year that Toi et Moi sang it. Composer Tsunemi Naito's effervescent wife, Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）, was also a famous chanson singer, and in fact, until her untimely death in 1980, she was known as the Queen of Chanson in Japan. She never seemed to do things in half-measures. Part of the reason for that was that she had also been groomed as a young girl in the exclusive Takarazuka Academy that specially trained female students to sing, dance and act on the stage with an enhanced, shall we say, theatricality that has garnered some very intense fan loyalty. Her take on "Dare mo Inai Umi"was released on the same day as Toi et Moi's version, but her version didn't do quite as well, only reaching as high as 92 in the rankings.

In any case, the Toi et Moi version is the one that I will always cherish.