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.
I saw this very high up on my bookmarked backlog so I had marked this a very long time ago. At first, when I came across "Yume Miru Shelter Ningyo" by the Juicy Fruits（ジューシィ・フルーツ）, I'd assumed that this was something new. But of course, at my age, memory starts failing.
First off, the familiarity of the song was there. Then, when I dug further, I realized that I had posted the song back in 2018 when France Gall first sang it as "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" (Wax Doll, Rag Doll) in 1965. The Japanese title was "Yume Miru Chanson Ningyo"（夢見るシャンソン人形）, so I have no idea why the Juicy Fruits changed that one word in the title of their 1982 version.
And speaking of that version, it's more of a rock n' roll take on the original and the other covers that I mentioned in the other article. Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）provided the Japanese lyrics. It was also used as the theme song for a 1982 movie titled "Weekend Shuffle".
Perhaps one ought to watch "Weekend Shuffle" with tongue thoroughly in cheek and alcoholic libations fully in mouth.
In the past few years, there have been a lot of YouTube reactors covering the works of singers from long ago and enjoying them greatly. And in turn, being a fellow who has been appreciating the cool music from his childhood and adolescence (which is why I've been including ROY articles here on a Japanese music blog), I've been enjoying the reactions greatly myself. Furthermore, it seems as if the songs of Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan have been getting particular attention and joy.
Boz Scaggs is a name (and it's a name that I can never forget) that has been synonymous with radio listening since I was that kid of the 1970s but it's only been within the last decade or so that I've finally appreciated his funk, soulfulness and balladry. In fact, I inadvertently ended up providing Reminiscings of Youth articles on his legendary "Lowdown" twice in less than a year here and here. Such is my love for that 1976 single and personally I think for any budding graduates who are heading for prom night and despite the nature of the lyrics, "Lowdown" is the type of song that should be accompanying the limos filled with high school seniors to the hotel ballrooms.
However, getting back to those reactors, they have been going ga-ga for not only "Lowdown" but also for his June 1980 single "Jojo". For instance, the guys on the YouTube channel Views from the 502 above went into total meltdown especially when Adrian Tapia did his sax solos on the song. I used to hear this one all the time on radio but it's been only within the last several years that this romantic-sounding tune about a dangerous pimp (and for some reason, I can only believe that Jojo lives in the Big Apple) being backed by a jazzy and sunset disco arrangement has been truly appreciated by me. The backing chorus, the horns, the groove, and of course Tapia's saxophone and Scaggs' vocals are splendiferous and it's a kind of a wonder that "Jojo" wasn't even made into a movie.
The other thing that makes this ROY stand out among the others is that I had actually introduced "Jojo" much earlier as a cover version performed by fusion band Chikara Ueda & The Power Station（上田力&パワーステーション）some months after the original had been released. I've provided some further information on the original song in that article but let it be said that it was Scaggs, David Foster and David Lasley who were the brains behind "Jojo". Also, though I didn't mention it in the Power Station article, Ueda unfortunately passed away in 2017.
In the United States, "Jojo" peaked at No. 17 on Billboard while in Canada, it hit No. 15 on RPM. Now, what else was being released in June 1980?
I like my bananas but when I was living in Japan and had a blender, I loved to make those banana smoothies. And man, they were surprisingly filling.
Now, bananas aren't exactly juicy fruits so my segue isn't too smooth, but I did want to talk about another Juicy Fruits（ジューシィ・フルーツ）song. The song is perfectly fine but I have to admit that what finally got me to post this here is that I don't think that I've ever encountered a kayo kyoku that actually has the word "tactics" in the title. And here it is in "Renai no Tactics" (Love Tactics) in katakana. I kinda wonder whether fans had all sorts of question marks swirling around their heads when they first saw the title.
A track from their July 1980 debut album"Drink!", sharing space with "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"（ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ）and "Koi wa Bench Seat"（恋はベンチシート）, "Renai no Tactics" is a pretty adorable pop/rock n' roll song with vocalist and guitarist Atsuko Okuno（奥野敦子）taking the first and third parts while the middle verse is handled possibly by composer and guitarist Toshihiko Shibaya（柴矢俊彦）. Haruo Chikada（近田春夫）wrote the lyrics for this song which is much more dedicated in its tribute decade of the 1950s or 1960s when compared to the injection of New Wave in their most famous tune of "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname".
Another scorcher in the big city. I think Toronto was even hotter and more humid than Tokyo yesterday and it's already feeling like my body temperature outside although we haven't quite reached noon yet. That watermelon above is looking very tasty.
It's been a while since we've had Juicy Fruits（ジューシィ・フルーツ）onboard so here is "Koi wa Bench Seat" (Love is a Bench Seat). This is a track on the rock n' roll/New Wave band's debut album"Drink!" from July 1980 and so it shares space with their most famous hit "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"（ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ）. The melody by band bassist Yuuji Okiyama（沖山優司）takes things to a more conventional 50s rock n' roll feeling.
"Koi wa Bench Seat" is certainly a happy-go-lucky rollicking summer number but the lyrics by Haruo Chikada（近田春夫）show a relationship that isn't really meant to be. Vocalist and guitarist Atsuko Okuno（奥野敦子）plays the girlfriend who's getting increasingly agitated that her complaints about being squished inside her beau's sports car are falling on deaf and clueless ears. She insists that she still likes him (for now) but the rattled guy seems very reluctant to acquiesce to her demands to trade in the coupe. What accentuates the growing crisis is an eerie synthesizer bleating an emergency alert. I'm also assuming that it is composer Okiyama playing the guy stuttering "bench seat, bench seat, bench seat...".
Looking at what is trending on Twitter today, apparently today is National Nude Day. I'm fairly conservative about that sort of thing but I can promise you that I will give my respect to it later tonight when I take my shower.
However, perhaps I can be a bit daring right now and show off the cover for Juicy Fruits'（ジューシィ・フルーツ）5th album"Tennen Caffeine"（天然カフェイン...Natural Caffeine）. Released in June 1983, the band led by vocalist/guitarist Atsuko Okuno（奥野敦子）is looking considerably less clothed for some reason.
Okuno was also behind the music for the first track "Natsu Kaze Afternoon" (Summer Cold Afternoon) with Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）providing the lyrics. Not quite as quirky as Juicy Fruits' most famous song "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"（ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ）, it's still got that light but propulsive New Wave beat as Okuno sings about a tryst that hasn't taken place with the excuse by one of the partners being that nasty summer cold.
So far, I haven't come across any Juicy Fruits songs that have been mundane at all. Maybe they were ahead of their time at that time, but a few decades later, I'm sure that they've picked up some more fans with their brand of pop.
This is an interesting entry by the band Juicy Fruits（ジューシィ・フルーツ）. I've long known this group, fronted by guitarist Atsuko "Ilya" Okuno（奥野敦子）, as this New Wave-y unit with one foot in good ol' rock n' roll and the other foot in technopop.
However, with their 7th May 1984 album"Come On Swing", though the title track starts off with a familiar quirky keyboard tap-tap-tapping that continues to pop up here and there, the whole song takes things into a different arena. Even Okuno's voice, which I had always heard as high and chirpy, comes down lower in this song that's not a jazz tune despite the title, but a tune that takes a right turn into something akin to Fashion Music with Asami Kado（門あさ美）and Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）. With that keyboard work, I also thought of early 1980s Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）as well. Juicy Fruits guitarist Toshihiko Shibaya（柴矢俊彦）composed this classy melody (there's even a warm sax solo), while prolific lyricist Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）came up with the words which set up an environment for a final night of romance in high style with glasses of Kir Royale and lamé heels. If you break it off with someone, do so with an American Express Platinum card on hand!
I haven't been able to find any other tracks from "Come On Swing" on YouTube, but I would be interested in hearing what they do sound like. By the way, this album was their final album to date.
I've been laying down articles about the band Juicy Fruits（ジューシィ・フルーツ）since 2014, but it had always been with other singers and bands, so it's nice that I could finally place them in their own lone bona fide piece today.
Whenever I hear the name Juicy Fruits, I always envision a group singing 50s/60s-flavoured material paired with some New Wave spice. Considering that they were had their first phase of fame in the early 1980s, that isn't too surprising. And sure enough, listening to this track from their 3rd album from June 1981, "Pajama Date"（パジャマ･デート）, is no different.
"Yappari Aloha" (Aloha After All) is a playful and twangy tune with vocalist/lead guitarist Atsuko "Illya" Okuno（奥野敦子）coquettishly laying down the rules during a date in Hawaii. Sharing that cocktail with two straws will be as raunchy as it will ever get. Lyricist Haruo Chikada（近田春夫）and composer Yuuji Okuyama（沖山優司）, who was the bassist and chorus for Juicy Fruits, created this Ventures-esque tune, and considering the times, I couldn't help but feel that there was a bit of Elvis Costello in the arrangement as well.
Just for a bit of trivia, Okuno's nickname of Illya came from the fact that the singer liked the character of Illya Kuryakin, the Russian agent from "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.".
Wow! It's been almost 18 months since I've put up something by Mizue Takada（高田みづえ）. It might seem that it's all ado about nothing, but when Takada is one of the singers that helped me wade into the ocean that is kayo kyoku in the first place in the early 80s...well, I just had to rectify that.
So, allow me to put up her 21st single from August 1983, "Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete" (Tricked by That Hiroshi). If I'm not mistaken, it was responsible for getting Takada invited one last time to the Kohaku Utagassen which was where I first got to hear it. Written and composed by Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）of Southern All Stars, there was a definite love thing going on for the Group Sounds of the 60s when he created this rollicking tune about a woman absolutely in thrall to the roguish dance floor-loving Hiroshi despite his wayward personality.
For Takada, this was the 3rd-most successful single of her career behind the Latin spice of "Watashi wa Piano"（私はピアノ...I am A Piano） and her debut release of "Glass Zaka"（硝子坂...Glass Slope）, of which the former was also penned by Kuwata back in 1980. It went all the way up to No. 6 on Oricon and sold over 300,000 records. It also became the 45th-ranked single for 1983.
What I hadn't known at the time was that Takada's single was a cover version for the Southern All Stars original which was a track on the band's 6th album, "Kirei"（綺麗...Pure）. The album came out just a month before Mizue's version and hit the No. 1 spot, later becoming the No. 5 album of the year. Keyboardist Yuko Hara（原由子）took care of the vocals here, and both she and Takada interpret the song as a bit of a handwringer about the woman's love for Hiroshi although it sounds like he's already thrown her away like an empty can on the side of the road.
On the same day that Takada's"Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete" was released, another band that tapped into the music of the 50s and 60s, Juicy Fruits, also released their own version of the song as their 11th single. It peaked at No. 44.
And finally, I discovered that The Ventures also had their own instrumental version of the song.
Going through "Japanese City Pop", I've come across a fair share of record covers that just popped out at me because of their design. One of them was for the LP you see above, the self-titled "MANNA" from 1980 with the stylized illustration of a woman with the big orange hair and tatsumaki eyes. Well, a couple of nights ago, I decided to go exploring YouTube again and just put this name into the search engine and came up with this song, "Tokio Tsushin"(Tokyo Call) which was included in the album.
According to the writeup in "Japanese City Pop" for the album, the music reviewer Shinichi Ogawa（小川真一） referred to "Tokio Tsushin" as a highly-regarded Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）composition with a cult following. And Tsutsumi has written a ton of songs that are more well-known than this one ranging from Kiyohiko Ozaki's（尾崎紀世彦） evergreen"Mata Au Hi Made"（また逢う日まで） from 1971 to "Ambitious Japan" by TOKIO in 2003. I was definitely interested in this mystery tune.
And it does start out rather enigmatically with this seemingly one-finger hopping on the keyboard and a ring tone before the song begins spreading out as this mix between a musical Parisian travelogue and something that almost dips into Mood Kayo territory. MANNA（マナ） herself glides through the Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）-penned lyrics as if she were sitting at some café in the City of Lights nursing a café-au-lait while the rain is steadily falling down (although Milan is mentioned in the words there). For me, "Tokio Tsushin" is one of those tunes that makes for a welcome respite when I've been listening a bit too much to the aidoru side of things...kinda like on the same level as a Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子） song of those times.
Unfortunately, information on the singer herself, akin to the overall theme of mystery of this article, is sadly lacking on the Net. According to one Japanese site, she got married to a sibling of the brother folk duo Bread & Butter, and provided an ending theme for the anime"Dragonball Z". Also, according to the article in "Japanese City Pop" for her debut album, "Chabako Trick" (1979),her 1st single was "Yellow Magic Carnival" created by Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）. During her high school years, she was even involved in a band with Motoharu Sano（佐野元春）.
In 1982, the pop band Juicy Fruits gave their own cover of "Tokio Tsushin" as the final track on their 4th album, "Ni-juu Nana Fun no Koi"（27分の恋...27-Minute Love）. This version has a bit more of a rock-n'-roll kick than the original but the Frenchness still comes out. And the other remarkable thing about it is that Atsuko Okuno's（奥野敦子）voice is a whole lot mellower compared to her vocals from the band's debut single, "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"（ジェニーはご機嫌ななめ）in 1980.
This is probably my first article talking about two obscure but appealingly quirky bands which sang the same quirky song. First off, let's get into Juicy Fruits. Starting off as a rock band with some techno kayo stylings called Haruo Chikada & BEEF in 1979, a year later, Chikada（近田春夫） left and the band changed names (and food groups, apparently) and became Juicy Fruits in 1980.
Juicy Fruits debuted with what would probably be known as an earworm now with "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname"(Jenny in a Bad Mood). Written by the band bassist, Yuji Okiyama（沖山優司）, and composed by the departed Chikada for release in June 1980, the lead singer and guitarist, Atsuko Okuno（奥野敦子）, sings the song in a chirpy falsetto. The lyrics talk about the difficult title character getting herself into a lather about a boyfriend possibly straying far afield.
But what got my attention besides Okuno's voice was the combination of novelty pop and technopop with a bit of 50s twang in a blippety-bloppity rhythm. It just reminded me of what Polysics would later do. In any case, the song peaked at No. 5 on Oricon and sold 370,000 records, although it didn't chart onto the yearly Top 100. Still, considering how many singers and groups have covered it in the past 3 decades, Juicy Fruits was able to make its mark in Japanese music history.
One of those bands which covered "Jenny" was hi-posi. I vaguely remember seeing a video of this duo on some show with vocal Miho Moribayashi（もりばやしみほ） as the camera jerked around strangely while the whole video looked very blurry. Moribayashi was singing in this soft whispery voice and everything led to this rather non-mainstream feeling coming through the screen.
hi-posi（ハイポジ） was formed in 1988 with Moribayashi, Kenji Kondo（近藤研二）, Naomi Araki（あらきなおみ） and Yu Yamaguchi（山口優）. In 1991, they made their major debut but Araki and Yamaguchi left a few years later. The band was a part of Shibuya-kei with their own techno stylings., and in 2000, Moribayashi brought her own whispery vocals to bear through a cover of "Jenny", some 30 years after its debut as the band's 12th single. There was a rather odd video to it but I can't seem to find it on YouTube at this time.
After Kondo left in 2000, Moribayashi was left all by herself but decided to create the first Terran interspecies band by having her Golden Retriever, Mizette, join. Then to further add to the canine content, Mizette's daughter, Mir, came aboard in 2003.
Anyways, some of the other artists who have covered "Jenny" are a couple of members from Morning Musume, Perfume and GO!GO!7188.
