Well, I wrote too soon when I posted my previous article on Shocking Lemon's "Under Star" in tribute to the recently departed former boxer and TV personality Guts Ishimatsu（ガッツ石松）who had passed away nine days ago at the age of 76. Coming up with a boxing-themed anison in tribute to the man, I hadn't been aware that Ishimatsu did put out his fair share of records from 1974 to 2015.
His debut single came out in September 1974 in the form of "Ishimatsu Otoko Bushi" (Ishimatsu the Man, the Melody). Given an enka arrangement, it's a languid song with that sharp trumpet to cut through like an upper hook. It was written by Masato Fujita（藤田まさと）and composed by Koumei Sone（曽根幸明）for Guts to sing in a rather forlorn way as someone who's been going through the meat grinder of life and has only himself to rely upon. It almost sounds as if he'd endured twelve rounds with the eventual unanimous winner and then ambled over to the nearest watering hole for a few hours of liquid solace before hitting the recording booth.
