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.
Showing posts with label Hachidai Nakamura. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hachidai Nakamura. Show all posts
I heard this song on an episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）, I believe, several weeks ago. When I did, I figured that this must have come from the 1960s or early 1970s since it involved pretty much every guest to sing in a Sunshine Pop style.
Indeed, the song was "Namida wo Koete"(Rising Above the Tears) and it was originally sung by the choral band Sing Out（シング・アウト）. Almost a couple of years ago, I wrote about a similar group called Young 101 which basically acted as the in-house singers for the NHK music show "Stage 101"（ステージ101）. Well, apparently, Sing Out was the 12-person predecessor for Young 101 which had their time between 1969 and 1971. As was the case with Young 101, certain members of Sing Out would go their own very successful solo ways such as singer Seri Ishikawa（石川セリ）, songwriter and producer Yasunori Soryo（惣領泰則）and composer Yasuo Higuchi（樋口康雄）.
"Namida wo Koete" was the first of three singles released by Sing Out in November 1969. Written by Koji Kaze（かぜ耕士）and composed by Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）, it's a very lively, upbeat and inspiring song that had me thinking The New Christy Minstrels, an American group that used to get onto AM radio a whole lot back when I was a moppet.
As for the song, it peaked at No. 53 on Oricon. Not surprisingly, Young 101 would provide their own cover of "Namida wo Koete" on their April 1971 album"Stage 101".
We in the Northern Hemisphere are still several days away from the official beginning to autumn, but it was pretty cool this morning when I went out and so I figure that some of the leaves in the trees are considering a change in colour. Maybe it is indeed time to order those Pumpkin Lattes.
Let's then start this round of KKP today with something appropriate. "Autumn Leaves" is a jazz and pop standard which I've usually heard as a mournful instrumental and according to Wikipedia, it started out as a French song, "Les Feuilles mortes" (The Dead Leaves), composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. Given English lyrics by Johnny Mercer, the man behind "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses", it became a No. 1 hit on Billboard back in 1955 when it was performed by pianist Roger Williams.
Singer Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）gave her own sultry and smoky version of "Autumn Leaves", which was translated into Japanese as "Kareha"（枯葉...Dead Leaves）, as a track on her May 1959 album"Chiemi no Standard Album"（チエミのスタンダード・アルバム）. Assisted by jazz musician/songwriter Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）on piano and Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats（原信夫とシャープスアンドフラッツ）, there is a nice contrast between the moody jazz that could befit a film noir and the delicate harp perhaps symbolizing the leaves falling off the trees.
Allow me to finish off with a ten-minute version by the incomparable Vince Guaraldi. There's even a brief cameo of one of his other masterpieces of the season near the end.
I gotta admit that as a YouTube uploader has put it, this Japanese band has one of the most interesting names that I've ever heard. Would like to know how this quintet of guys came up with the name Bob's Fish Market...and whether Bob gave his blessing to them to use the name of his fish market, wherever that may be.
There isn't a whole lot of knowledge about them but their 1979 debut album"Bob's Fish Market" has been described as folk rock with a touch of reggae depending on the song. I did discover from one Japanese blog that Bob's Fish Market has been seen as the Japanese version of The Band with Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson. The blog has also given the lineup as vocalist and guitarist Takashi Tsuruga（敦賀隆）, guitarist Toshiro Higurashi（日倉士歳朗）, pianist Toshihiro Kunimi/Kokumi（国見敏博）, bassist Tatsuji Yoshida（吉田達二）, and drummer Masaaki Maeda（前田政明）. According to Higurashi's own website (unfortunately, he passed away in 2021), the band has been around since at least 1976.
The above video from Hee Hyeong Moon has the first two tracks from the self-titled album. It begins with "Itsu datte Fuitekuru"（いつだって吹いてくる...The Wind Always Blows） and when I first heard it, I did get some of those Happy End vibes. As well, this song written and composed by Tsuruga rolls along with a sunny and bouncy beat that seems a bit anachronistic for 1979 when thinking about the grooving City Pop and the sparkly technopop that were rising at the time. It really does sound like something from the early part of that decade.
At 3:55 above is "Mata Hoe Hajimeta yo"（また吠え始めたよ...I Started Barking Again） is a bit more growly and laidback roots rock. Just think of Grizzly Adams on his porch sipping his whiskey on the porch and you'll get the idea. I couldn't find the official songwriters for this one, but I'm assuming that it is Tsuruga again for this track and probably for all of the other tracks except one at least.
One more track that I'll show here should be familiar to all kayo kyoku fans since it is a light reggae cover of Kyu Sakamoto's（坂本九）classic "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう) , i.e. the "Sukiyaki" song from 1961. It's also very sunny and airy which ought to draw out any folks out from the blues.
I'm not sure whether Bob's Fish Market released any more albums soon after their first album, but in 2011, the band did put out a CD called "Three Decades".
Not sure where I first heard this one by the late great Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）. Well to be more specific, I heard a cover of his "Sayonara Tokyo" on one of the kayo shows that we get on TV Japan. I didn't see the title at the "Uta Con"（うたコン）website so I'm assuming that it was probably on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本の歌...Songs of Japanese Spirit）.
"Sayonara Tokyo" was released in July 1964 although it wasn't officially a Tokyo Olympics song. In fact, it was released some three months before the start of the Games, which were set for October since the host nation had wanted to avoid participating athletes potentially swooning in the notorious heat and humidity during a typical July in the nation's capital. And according to the J-Wiki article for the song, the record company had also wanted to avoid their star's record losing sales because of enormous interest toward the Olympics, so it was July.
It certainly doesn't sound like an Olympics song by any means with the verve and energy of Haruo Minami's（三波春夫）"Tokyo Gorin Ondo"（東京五輪音頭）. "Sayonara Tokyo" is simply a bittersweet farewell to the city and perhaps a now-former paramour that was created by the same dynamic duo behind Kyu's most famous hit "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう) a few years earlier, lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）. I do like the Latin guitar and the background chorus.
Still, despite the somewhat lonely lyrical theme and the title, Sakamoto ended up performing the song and its B-side"Kimi ga Suki"（君が好き...I Love You）, also created by Ei and Nakamura at the official welcome party for the Olympics. Not only that, he made another appearance on the 1964 edition of the Kohaku Utagassen to perform "Sayonara Tokyo". By the middle of the following year, the single sold around 600,000 records.
Good golly! I remember this oh-so-1970s commercial as if it had been playing yesterday on the old telly. Lowney's Cherry Blossoms were a treat that I had to eat from time to time as they were readily available in supermarkets and convenience stores in Canada. They not only raised my caloric input but most likely decreased my life expectancy without me realizing it. Mind you, we have a box of the Laura Secord version on the coffee table but those blossoms are thankfully far less potent.
Chocolate in their bars and other forms were just as popular in Japan, too. I believe that I actually did buy a few boxes of Look Chocolate at the local 7-11 or am/pm during my time there. Certainly, the shapes look very familiar. I'm also happy that someone on YouTube was enterprising enough to put up an ancient commercial for Look which does have that mild psychedelic appeal. The jingle seems to have come out of some 1960s Italian movie.
Look is still putting forth chocolates and commercials today as you can see from the fellows of Snow Man making their mark.
I was actually doing a bit of research on the legendary kayo writing team of lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura（永六輔・中村八大）. Of course, the two have been immortalized for the "Sukiyaki" song, aka "Ue wo Muite Arukou"（上を向いて歩こう）, but I also saw on their list that they were also responsible for one jingle for Look which was created in 1963, a couple of years following "Sukiyaki".
Titled simply "Look Chocolate no Uta"(The Look Chocolate Song), it was recorded by the late Mieko Hirota（弘田三枝子）. Short and sweet as any chocolate jingle ought to be, it has that catchy twist-friendly arrangement, and maybe the kids were doing their little jig while whining at their parents to take a look at Look.
Going further down the rabbit hole to find out about "Look Chocolate no Uta", I discovered via Discogs that it had been a B-side for a 1965 45" single of chocolate jingles. The A-side had "Topsy no Uta" (The Topsy Song) for a chocolate of that name which no longer exists. Composer Nakamura was also responsible for this jingle but the lyricist for this one was Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）. And the singer here was none other than Bob McGrath of "Sesame Street" fame who just passed away late last year. It's got quite the dramatic and romantic heft for chocolate, doesn't it? Bob did a pretty bang-up job on the Japanese, too.
SongwriterJames Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) would probably be marveling right now at how ubiquitous and representative of Christmas his ultimate creation, "Jingle Bells" (1857) has become. Perhaps it may not be everyone's favourite Xmas song but it's most likely the most famous and one of the oldest Yuletide tunes on Earth.
I'm sure that "Jingle Bells" was already insinuating itself into my baby system a couple of months following my entry into the world via radio and TV, but one of the first times that I can remember Pierpont's magnum opus is through the piano scene featuring wunderkind Schroeder and crabby Lucy Van Pelt in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (in the reruns). It was truly a technological marvel how Schroeder could change his instrument from grand piano to organ to toy piano. Maybe this was the inspiration for instruments like the synclavier.😉
From Ebay
To sidetrack slightly, it looks like a whole bunch of families fell under the sway of the television commercial for Ronco's "A Christmas Gift" in 1973 since I've been reading on YouTube how they ended up buying the compilation of Xmas classics. Our family was no exception and I still play it on the TEAC. It's just too bad that I can't find the original ad on YouTube.
And yep, my album can still open up to reveal that Christmas scene. In any case, I've already included one of the tracks from "A Christmas Gift" onto the blog, and that is Tony Bennett's scintillating take on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". I only noticed a few hours ago that though I wrote it last year at the beginning of KKP's Xmas season, I'd forgotten to include Bennett's name in the Labels. Gave myself a Gibbs slap for that.
Track 2 of Side B is today's special Christmas ROY song. I'll be honest with you, though, and say that when I first heard jazz legend Duke Ellington & His Orchestra's version of "Jingle Bells", I wasn't sure what to make of it. Being less than ten years old at the time, I couldn't be expected to understand the call-and-response that often occurred within a swing jazz orchestra back in the day or the fact that improvisation was an obligation in jazz when handling an established song. But at the time, my thought was that it was "Jingle Bells" and it wasn't "Jingle Bells".
Fortunately, I did get into jazz deeply enough so that I even read into the history and mechanics behind one of America's great innovations, and understood what Ellington and his band were doing here. Now, it's very much a swinging delight which has become my favourite version of "Jingle Bells", thanks to the arrangement of the Duke's son, Mercer Ellington. It was originally recorded for the compilation "Jingle Bell Jazz" album from October 1962.
Thinking it is too difficult to track down which songs from Japan were coming out in that particular month, I'm going back to the Japan Record Awards for 1962. I've already picked some songs from that group when I did a ROY on Norman & Barry'sJames Bond theme, but there are a few more choices.
Best New Artist: Saburo Kitajima -- Namidabune (なみだ船)
Best Composer: Hachidai Nakamura for Jerry Fujio -- Tooku e Ikitai （遠くへ行きたい）
Although I didn't get to see the actual segment on NHK News earlier today, I did see the blurb stating that actor/singer Yuzo Kayama（加山雄三）would be retiring from touring. I'm pretty sure that his fans are sorry and disappointed but considering his age of 85, I think that they would also be understanding if he decided to finish his time with concerts and be grateful for the decades of joy that he has given them.
So, today I wanted to start off this batch of KKP articles with his third single"Nihon Ichi no Wakadaisho"(Japan's No. 1 Young Ace) released in July 1962, which also happens to be the theme song for the movie of the same name. In fact, "Nihon Ichi no Wakadaisho" is the third in the long-running "Wakadaisho" film franchise starring Kayama. Written by the late entertainer and future Tokyo governor Yukio Aoshima（青島幸男）and composed by veteran composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）, it seems to be a combination of a swinging Rat Pack-friendly jazz boogie and something that I once heard from Elvis Presley. It did have me thinking about snapping my fingers.
Naturally, Kayama was always the Young Man on Campus in each of these "Wakadaisho" movies, and from looking via the link at the Wikipedia list of them that's in the previous paragraph above, the star was always focusing on one particular sport. With "Nihon Ichi no Wakadaisho", it was actually two of them with the main focus being on marathon running and then water skiing. But I'm sure that the good lad also had his eyes on the ladies.
There is also my article on the theme for the very first in the "Wakadaisho" series, "Daigaku no Wakadaisho"（大学の若大将）.
"Sakura Sakura" (Cherry Blossoms) has been one of those traditional Japanese folk songs that I have probably known since birth, and it's likely that it's the one song of Japan that is known even by folks who don't listen to any of the genres of Japanese music. When my family was first introducing me to Japanese cuisine not created by Mom via the general Japanese restaurants in downtown Toronto, the delicate koto-driven sounds of "Sakura Sakura" often greeted me through the speakers. And forgive my primal Pavlovian reaction, but because of the above, whenever I hear the song, I get that old taste of either teriyaki beef or tempura in my mouth. By the way, the first Japanese restaurant that I ever visited was Nikko Gardens.
Information on the song can be found at Wikipedia and the points that got to me were the fact that the songwriter behind the iconic "Sakura Sakura" doesn't seem to be identified and that it's been popular since the Meiji Era! I assumed all this time that it had been created many more centuries before the 19th century.
I did find a version of "Sakura Sakura" from famed composer and jazz musician Hachidai Nakamura's（中村八大）1961"Rainy Night in Tokyo" which I bookmarked since whoever arranged this version (Nakamura himself?) seems to have imbued it with a certain amount of drama as if it were meant to be a romantic movie in itself. I have to say that I really like the cover on that album (sorry the video was taken down and replaced) with a precipitation-soaked Ginza; lends to the intrigue and mystery of the capital city, I gather.
Received some sad news via commenter Sentimental Vika earlier this morning that singer Mieko Hirota（弘田三枝子）had passed away on July 21st at the age of 73 due to heart failure, although the announcement wasn't made until the 27th. I hadn't known until I read the comment and I haven't seen any news announcement footage via YouTube which is somewhat unusual when it comes to the death of a Japanese celebrity. I had only written up the most recent article with Hirota a little over a month ago regarding her 1967 song"Nagisa no Uwasa"（渚のうわさ）.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the discography of Hirota but usually when her name comes to mind, her 1969 hit"Ningyo no Ie"（人形の家）is the song that pops up. As well, my image of her has always been the one that appeared when that song first made its presence known...the long-tressed 22-year-old woman with that smoky air of mystery.
However, Hirota made her official debut as a fresh-faced teenybopper singer the better part of a decade prior back in 1961 with the Japanese-language cover of Helen Shapiro's"Don't Treat Me Like A Child" (by John Schroeder and Mike Hawker) when Hirota was only 14 years old. For that matter, according to its Wikipedia article, Shapiro herself was the same age when she recorded the original. The Japanese lyrics were provided by Kenji Sazanami（漣健児）and the title was "Kodomo janai no" (I'm Not A Child).
Like a lot of teenage singers in those days such as Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）, Hirota had that twin-branched discography in her early years: covers of overseas pop songs and homegrown fare created by Japanese songwriters. One of the former was her own cover of Connie Francis'"VACATION". For both Hirota and Shapiro, I've marveled at how incredible they sounded at 14 years of age. Perhaps the one Japanese pop singer that I can compare with them in terms of her boomer vocal stylings and debut is Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）.
Hirota's first kayo single was released in June 1962, "Nebusoku nano" (I'm Sleepy), a giddy pop tune about not getting those 40 winks due to getting all hot and bothered over that boy she's fallen hard for. It's got quite the fun and jazzy beat, and Hirota gives some great brass in her vocals, although I'm not sure how local PTAs reacted on hearing those yawns on the record.😪 And it was the same duo behind the famous "Sukiyaki" song that was responsible for "Nebusoku nano", lyricist Hachidai Nakamura and composer Rokusuke Ei（中村八大・永六輔）.
I'll finish off here with Shapiro's"Don't Treat Me Like A Child". My condolences to Hirota's family on their loss. I am sure that there is a lot of her discography that I have to cover in the months and years to come.
I'm surprised that in all these years that I hadn't put this one up by enka legend Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）especially since "Kaero ka na"(Maybe I Should Head Home) has been sung on NHK'sKohaku Utagassen seven times.
"Kaero ka na", Kitajima's 12th single was released in April 1965 and it was created by the legendary kayo-writing duo of lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）who had made "Ue wo Muite Arukou"（上を向いて歩こう）for the late Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）some years earlier. Paraphrasing from the J-Wiki article for "Kaero ka na", it was originally made as a not-too-serious paean to the old hometown as Sabu-chan's protagonist toiled away in Tokyo and wondered lightly whether to go see Mom and maybe even introduce a girlfriend. The song was a huge hit, becoming a million-seller and inviting the singer to the Kohaku later that year for what would be the first of several performances of the song over his decades-long career. Specifically, Kitajima sang it as well in 1973, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2011.
Of course, Kitajima would sing "Kaero ka na" on other kayo shows besides the Kohaku Utagassen, so indeed it's one of his trademark tunes. Over the years, it would gradually take on a very epic gravitas when it has been performed usually with a chorus of probably dozens backing him up. In fact, even though this hasn't always been the case whenever he sang it, sometimes the arrangement would also include an excerpt from the Japanese children's song "Nanatsu no Ko"（七つの子...Seven Children）just to add to the nostalgia and homesickness.
It's not a standing order in this blog to always include a cover of the classic "Ue wo Muite Arukou", aka the Sukiyaki song, as sung by the late Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）, but whenever there is a really nice cover of this oft-covered kayo, I like to get in on the action.
And so it goes with Stardust Revue's wonderful take on it. Their "Ue wo Muite Arukou" was the coupling song for their January 1992 single"Tsuioku"（追憶）, and it's performed as this elegiac and hopeful gospel acapella tribute. There's nothing like vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）singing to the heavens with this one.
Hopefully, any talk involving me and a funeral is still a long way off but when the inevitable ceremony does occur, I wouldn't mind this version and the original being played at the church.
Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）sang it at the 12th Kohaku Utagassen and Hey!Say!JUMP sang it just a couple of days ago on the 70th Kohaku, and that would be "Ue wo Muite Arukou", aka "Sukiyaki". Always an evergreen favourite kayo, it's probably been covered a number of times even on the Kohaku editions in between those two shows over the decades.
Found this laidback version some time ago. Chu Kosaka（小坂忠）covered "Ue wo Muite Arukou" in his July 1977 album"Morning"（モーニング）, and thanks to that familiar 1970s atmospheric keyboard, it feels like the version that is indeed perfect for waking up to in the morning. It's a nice slow strut take on the classic, and it might be worth taking that cheerful morning walk outside after listening to it. Plus the marimba adds a certain jazziness.
Kosaka's cover even came out as a single in the same year. Just as a reminder, Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）were behind the creation of the song.
Just caught the annual summer "Omoide no Melody"（思い出のメロディー）on NHK and it was a tight show presenting some of those old chestnuts from decades past. I thought co-host Noriyuki Higashiyama（東山紀之）, actor and one-third of 80s Johnny's group Shonentai（少年隊）was a pretty good emcee for the proceedings, and at the end of the show, he showed that he still had moves in him when he performed a couple of the old tunes from his aidoru days.
Speaking of the Johnny's bands, Higashiyama did a small tribute to the various groups that were born and nurtured under the Johnny's banner since the 1960s in consideration of the recent passing of founder Johnny Kitagawa（ジャニー喜多川）. So, of course, the time machine went all the way back to the very first Johnny's group, Johnnys（ジャニーズ）, with Teruhiko Aoi（あおい輝彦）, Osami Iino（飯野おさみ）, Ryo Nakatani（中谷良）and Hiromi Maie（真家ひろみ）.
My very first article on Johnnys entailed their cover of "Mack the Knife", but this time I was able to find the quartet's debut singlefrom December 1964, "Wakai Namida"(Young Tears) and its B-side "Boku no Tebukuro Yabureteru"(My Gloves are Ripped); both songs are in the video above. Starting off with a rat-a-tat drums and what sounds like a cheerful American battle march, the guys sing a happy tune of encouragement for the youth who may be going through some blues. Johnnys is your best buddy! I actually had to look it up in JASRAC, but the veteran kayo tandem of lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）took care of the creation of the first single for a Johnny's outfit.
I actually had to tweak how I typed in "Boku no Tebukuro Yabureteru" into the JASRAC database to find out that although it was Nakamura again who took care of the music, this time the lyrics were provided by Tetsuya Ohkura（大倉徹也）. There's some more doo-wop and harmonizing with this B-side, and though I couldn't quite catch onto the entire meaning of Ohkura's lyrics, I think it's possibly about some target of a boy's ardor maybe accidentally putting a hole into his gloves...much to his quiet surprise and joy. Ahh...the innocence of youth.
Wow! To think that this 45" single from the end of 1964 is the record that started it all for the Johnny's brand and its songs by folks like Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）, SMAP and Arashi（嵐）.
In terms of soothing myself down after some unanticipated glitches in my day (you can take a look at my last article, "Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi"（だまって俺について来い）that I whipped up a few hours earlier), there was another song from "Uta Con"（うたコン）last night that I had cottoned onto for the first time.
Guest Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）sang this lovely ballad called "Hajimete no Machi de" (First Time in Town) which the hosts pointed out was a successful commercial song for Kiku-Masamune sake（菊正宗酒造）. Of course, I did not know this and even my parents had been unaware of this famous ad.
Ahhh...such a mellow song to go with some mellow sake and I did see some nice dishes to go with the famous Japanese libation in the ad above.
The original singer was Sachiko Nishida（西田佐知子）whom I've usually associated with the 1960s, but "Hajimete no Machi de" was a single that she released in November 1979. In fact, her 104th single was her 2nd-last single to date. However, "Hajimete no Machi de" had been used as the reliable Kiku-Masamune jingle since 1975, and if I read the J-Wiki article correctly, Nishida was always the singer although she apparently wasn't the first choice for the gig.
For one of her final singles, Nishida couldn't have asked for a more prestigious songwriting pair than lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）since among many of their many kayo for other singers, including presumably Nishida, they were the ones behind the legendary "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう) back in 1961 for the late Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）. The above video features the commercial version of "Hajimete no Machi de", so I'm assuming this is the original take from 1975. Listening to it, it has that old-fashioned Mood Kayo statement with a proud trumpet among the brass starting things off but the rest of the tune seems to take on a milder pop kayo flavour from the previous decade. Of course, the commercial song had to include the Kiku-Masamune name in the lyrics.
The fascinating thing about the 1979 single of "Hajimete no Machi de" is that it takes on even more musical influences. It starts off with some bluesy jazz but then it progresses into a small potpourri of genres including folk, New Music and even country. And immediately, I thought about another singer perhaps tackling this version and that would be chanteuse Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）. But this is no slight on Nishida who does a great job on both versions. However, if I had to choose one over the other, I would have to go with the 1979 take. The Nakamura melody arranged by City Pop/AOR keyboardist Akira Inoue（井上鑑）is very comforting but so are the Ei lyrics as Nishida sings that no matter how many times a person might find himself in a first-time situation (town, love, heartbreak, etc.), he/she will never be alone and there will always be sake to help smooth some rough edges (drink responsibly, though!).
Getting back to Ishikawa's performance last night, though, she did great which is why I looked up "Hajimete no Machi de" in the first place. Incidentally, she also took on a commercial song for a certain kind of liquor many years ago herself, and I've also taken a long shine to it.
I'd like to know what went down during the planning of this photo shoot, because what in the world was Haruo Minami (三波春夫), the guy who always struck elegant poses in kimonos or proper suits, doing holding a saxophone? And of all instruments, why one that he was least associated with?? It's such a weird attempt at dragging sex appeal out of him, but the funny thing is, IT WORKED. That cute smile with those arms...👀 As you can clearly see, I took the bait and immediately jumped at the chance to get this photo when I discovered that it was possible for me to purchase Marubell's bromides online. I do not regret this purchase one bit. Sax aside, this is one hot photo of Haru-san, but exactly how hot I don't know - *cough-mostlikelymorethanthesun*. It can't be measured with a thermometer that's for sure. However, the things in this ondo of his sure can.
By this point, I'm well aware that Minami had ondos of pretty much anything you can think of. Traffic safety, sports day, dinosaurs, donburi fare - you name it, he's probably got it. So, it didn't really come as a surprise when I found this one regarding temperature. Upon seeing the title, which is most probably read as "Ondo Ondo" (Temperature Ondo), I found it most amusing. As you guys would probably know by now, I find alliterations like that funny.
Anyway, "Ondo Ondo" is a lighthearted little number that has Minami rattling off the temperatures of everyday stuff like warm sake and tempura-frying to the festive beat of the taiko. Even a sort of anti-littering message got included: Don't fling your cigarette butts willy-nilly lest they start a 2000 degree Celsius fire that'd probably burn down half the town. Okay, I added the last part myself, but you get the idea. With such a simple theme, "Ondo Ondo" seems like a perfect candidate to NHK's "Minna no Uta", and I can imagine that the MV would have dancing tempura and a grinning sun.
In the way of information for "Ondo Ondo", I could find none except this: it originally came out as the B-side to Minami's single "Ninkyo Toratsuku Bushi" (任俠虎造ぶし) from 1980. It also made another appearance much later in 2005 in his ondo collection "Minami Haruo ~ Ondo . Ondo de Zenkyoku Shu ~" (三波春夫~音頭・オンドで全曲集~). Although the creators of this weren't stated, I kind of wonder if Haru-san wrote this himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
One person that I had wanted to include on my recent list of favourite summer Japanese pop tunes was the Wakadaisho（若大将）himself, Yuzo Kayama（加山雄三）. However, I found out that the song that I wanted to include hadn't even been covered yet. And regrettably, I forgot what the title was. Well, it'll come to me eventually.
In any case, I've decided to go back to the very beginnings of Kayama's long career, and so I ended up in July 1961 when his debut single"Yoru no Taiyo"(Night Sun) was released. It was one of the songs included in the first of the "Wakadaisho" movie series, "Daigaku no Wakadaisho"（大学の若大将）. It's been translated as "Sir Galahad in Campus" although I prefer the more conventional "Big Man on Campus". Of course, Kayama stars as the Big Man himself and the heartthrob ace swimmer.
With lyrics by Kyouji Mita（三田恭次）and music by Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）,"Yoru no Taiyo" breaks out of the starting gate with a brassy blast, and the beat takes on that jazzy Latin kayo style which was pretty popular at the time, dodonpa（ドドンパ）. The term is even included in Mita's lyrics. Although I don't think the song was the theme for the movie, it certainly could sum up some of the Big Man's confidence and swagger as he paints the town red at night. However, although I've only seen a few scenes from some of the movies, my impression is that the Wakadaisho was always a good kid and probably retired from his activities early. Maybe he even drank a glass of milk before hitting the sack.
Going with something more folksy to start off the weekend from a couple of singers that I have never heard of before.
"Sayonara wo Iu Mae ni" (Before We Say Goodbye) is a somewhat bittersweet folk ballad that almost comes across as a lullaby. As far as I know, it was first created for folk singer Keiko Kobayashi（小林啓子）for her debut album"Agemasu"（あげます...I'll Give It To You）in December 1971. Written by Toshio Fujita（藤田敏雄）and composed by Hachidai Nakamura（仲村八大）, the kayo veteran behind such songs as "Ue wo Muite Arukou"（上を向いて歩こう）, the song may not have been meant as a lullaby but it's certainly hinting at the permanent sleep for a relationship. However, it sounds sweeter than bitter as if the soon-to-be former couple realizes that although their relationship has come to an end, the good memories are still there.
I also found this video of another version of "Sayonara wo Iu Mae ni" and managed to find out that it was sung by Yumi Inui（いぬいゆみ）who apparently has very little information about her. I could only piece out that her cover was on the B-side to her 1976 EP "Shiki no Uta"（四季の歌...Song of the Four Seasons）. The arrangement is slightly different. Perhaps I can say that it's even folksier than the original version in that Kobayashi's take has a slightly more TV-friendly 1960s kayo feeling.
Through "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I've found a lot of new singers, bands and great songs and those are not only the ones in the last couple of decades. Although not as frequently, I've also discovered some fine stuff even further back.
My image of Japanese folk music has usually hovered around the first half of the 1970s but of course, it most likely started up some years earlier. Well, I got that proof when I found out about this band called Ray Marimura & The Time Sellers（万里村れいとタイムセラーズ）. At first when I saw the band's name, I had first assumed that this was another Group Sounds outfit since the late 1960s was the time of Group Sounds.
However, the first hint that my assumption was wrong was seeing that group of four men surrounding a young lady. I don't think I had ever heard of a Group Sounds band with a mixed male-female lineup. And as it turns out, Ray Marimura & The Time Sellers was a folk group. Now it was really difficult to find out about this group...had to look through different sources and none of them were named Wikipedia.
Ray Marimura was born Kazuko Murakami（村上和子）in 1945 in Kanagawa Prefecture. While attending Keio University, she and some of her friends fell in love with folk music and formed The Four Dimes（フォア・ダイムズ）, a Peter, Paul & Mary cover band and released at least one single via Toshiba Records, "Yuuhi ga Shizumu"（夕日が沈む...The Setting Sun Is Sinking）in 1965.
Then in 1968, Ray Marimura & The Time Sellers, a band inspired by not only Peter, Paul & Mary but also The Kingston Trio, was born with the lineup of Takashi Nakane（中根孝...not sure if that is the right reading of his given name so apologies just in case）, Toshiyuki Kosaka（小坂俊幸）, Shigeto Muto（武藤重遠）and Michifumi Mishima（三島通文）, and Kobayashi taking on her new name. One of their hits was "Kyou mo Yume Miru"(I Also See a Dream Today), a gentle ballad of optimism about a couple seeing the possibilities and overcoming the difficulties. The song was written and composed by Yuko Kawamoto（川本優子）with assistance from Takehiko Maeda（前田武彦）and major composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）. "Kyou mo Yume Miru" is a very calming and reassuring ballad with some nice harmonies.
I don't know whether or not Ray Marimura & The Time Sellers ever hung up their mikes for good into the next decade but they were giving performances as recently as 2014 in Shibuya. There's still at least one more song by them that has been represented on YouTube that I will have to check out and Marimura herself started a solo career earlier this decade.
If I'm not mistaken, the first Hiroshi Mizuhara（水原弘）article was for his big hit "Tasogare no Beguine"（黄昏のビギン）from 1959.
Well, this time, I'm taking care of the flip side which was actually the A-side of the 45", "Kuroi Ochiba"(Black Fallen Leaves). Written and composed by same duo behind "Tasogare no Beguine", lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）and composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）, this song is more of the conventional bluesy Mood Kayo about some poor guy walking the streets of Ginza without anyone hanging onto his arm anymore while the leaves are coming down (I guess the area was a lot a leafier in those days). The title says it right there...falling leaves or anything autumnal in the kayo and it'll usually be about lost love.
It's just a karaoke cover at the very top and an empty karaoke version (happily, found the original now for the latter) here but I still wanted to have this represented on the blog, if only to provide a Mood Kayo that doesn't involve life in a bar or sung flirtation.
I've spoken a number of times about some of the so-called long-lost songs in the mists of my memories...those old kayo that I used to hear but never knew their singers or titles. However, certain excerpts of it have stuck in my brain since forever. Well, last night, another mystery was solved after decades, and all I had to do was flip the side of a 45" which has one of the most internationally famous songs from Japan.
I found my father's old single record of the "Sukiyaki" song from 1961 by the late Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）and played it on the TEAC. Of course, all the nostalgia and wistfulness flowed through me like The Force in Luke Skywalker. Then, I flipped it to the B-side and saw this really long title "Ano Ko no Namae wa Nanten kana" (What is the Name of That Woman?) before giving this one a chance.
Well, as soon as the needle hit the vinyl, and those first bars came through, my long-term memory engrams exploded in recognition. It was one of my lost boys coming back to roost in my brain. I remembered those frenetic violins and the rest of that old-style brassy orchestra flying away as this high-pitched voice collaborated to create what sounded like a really upbeat song that could have been a showstopping Broadway piece midway through the musical.
Instead "Ano Ko no Namae wa Nanten kana" was a short comical number partnered with one of the most famous if bittersweet kayo in Japanese music history. It was definitely a tough act to follow which might explain why it hasn't gotten much attention all these years. But it was still Sakamoto, it was still created by the same songwriters behind "Sukiyaki", Hachidai Nakamura and Rokusuke Ei（中村八大・永六輔）, and it's still fun to listen to.
Basically, Kyu is singing about a fellow who falls for some lady while seeing the back of her from a distance, presumably in some department store for reasons that will become evident within a few sentences. As those hearts flutter around the suddenly heads-over-heels lad, he starts wondering what she would way at any courtship attempts and, more importantly, he also takes a shot at figuring out what her name is. Is it Hanako? Midori? Misasa? The sky's the limit. And by the end of the song, he finally gets the gumption to approach the lass...only to find out it's a mannequin! Hey, I'm not judging here.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any actual stage performances of "Ano Ko no Namae wa Nanten kana" on YouTube but I would think that it would have had to have been performed on TV since I could easily envision a comical rendition with matching choreography. When I still just had that excerpt of the song in memory all those years, I had assumed it was actually Kiyoko Suizenji（水前寺清子）because of the sharp high voice and just the really happy nature of the song.
Now I can happily cross another long-lost song off my list and proudly consider it found.😃
