Tim Curry -- Time Warp

by Alan Light via Wikimedia Commons

This may go down as one of the tougher and more intense years in terms of famous people passing away. We lost Dolly Parton a couple of days ago and just in the last few hours, I've been hearing of other celebrities leaving this mortal coil. Alongside the news of Parton passing away, the news scroll here on television also mentioned that actor and singer Tim Curry had also died.

For recent generations, Curry may have been known for his roles as hapless and/or somewhat clueless characters on movies like "Home Alone 2". I also remember him as Chief Medical Officer Petrov on the Red October in "The Hunt for Red October" back in 1990,

But my memories go even further back when Curry played the terrifying but charismatic Dr Frank-N-Furter in the original 1973 London and 1975 Broadway productions of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and then the 1975 cinematic version with a very young Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. Now, I wasn't even a pre-pubescent kid when "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" came out so I missed out on all of the bread tossing and other audience participation stuff. The bits of media that I got about this bizarre show in the pre-Internet age frankly scared the heck out of me, and I think the good doctor was most likely the first instance of me ever seeing a guy dressed up and made up like a girl

Dr. Frank-N-Furter got his own song: "Sweet Transvestite". However, I don't know that one although I did hear that Curry (along with the rest of the cast) was able to sing the one song that I do know from the show, the rock-n-roll "Time Warp". Yet, it wasn't through either the movie or the play that I first found out about it. 

Like a lot of high schools, my junior high school had regular after-school dance parties in the cafeteria. My crippling shyness, uncoolness and dancing ability (which could be compared to a hobbled T-Rex stuck in a tar pit) meant that I very rarely attended those gigs. However, against my better judgment and due to peer pressure, I ended up at one of those dances, and strangely enough, at the persuasion of one young lady who took pity upon me, she dragged me onto the floor to do "Time Warp". I should've listened more intently to the lyrics by Richard O'Brien (music by both him and Richard Hartley) since they basically instruct listeners how the dance is done, but then again, I was never much of a lyrics guy anyways. It would be years before I realized that "Time Warp" was a part of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". 

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" made its very first appearance in London on June 19th 1973. I was able to find the Top 3 of Oricon for the day before.

1. Kenji Sawada -- Kiken na Futari （危険なふたり）

2. Miyoko Asada -- Akai Fuusen（赤い風船）

3. GARO -- Kimi no Tanjoubi （君の誕生日）

As I said above, it's been a tough year already for famous people leaving Earth. Within the last 12 hours, I've also heard about the passings of the following people that I also got to know. For these folks and for Curry, my condolences to their families, friends and many fans.

voice actor Peter Cullen (August 26)

artist Yayoi Kusama (August 14)

singer/TV personality Jaye P. Morgan (August 24)

John Bahler -- Wonder Woman/Kaoru Yumi -- Ai no Boukensha（愛の冒険者）

 

I believe I mentioned that I finally caught Zack Snyder's very long take on "Justice League" recently, and I was a lot more satisfied with that than with the version that I had caught some years previously at the theatre. Most notably, I was really happy with the scene involving Wonder Woman as played by Gal Gadot taking on those psychos in London early in the movie. Once I heard that warrior theme by Rupert Gregson-Williams, I knew I was going to witness some massive ass-kicking by Diana of Themyscira. 

One day, the Snyderverse take showed up on the local sci-fi channel and that same scene popped up when I turned on the channel. My mother who has never understood or liked any form of superhero media surprised me when she verbally identified Wonder Woman. But then again, she had seen Diana many moons ago.

That's right. There was a time in the mid-1970s when my brother and I saw the weekly TV series "Wonder Woman" with Lynda Carter. So, we got to see the indestructible bracelets, the Lasso of Truth and the spinning around each episode. 

Yes, I still remember when a pre-"An Officer and a Gentleman" Debra Winger guested as Diana's little sister, aka Wonder Girl. In fact, I think I prefer the first season when the show had been set during World War II instead of the more contemporary setting for the last couple of seasons. 

At the time, I was also confused when I was watching the opening credits which paid homage to the original comic book from decades ago, and yet, the theme song was decidedly cheesy disco boogie.  I mean, nowadays it all comes to me as very nostalgic but at the time, I thought it was pretty progressive to hear a superhero theme song that sounded like something one would dance to in the clubs.

I never knew who was behind the theme song for "Wonder Woman" the 1975 series. As it turns out, it was John Bahler of the Ron Hicklin Singers on the main vocals, Marti McCall, Carolyn Willis of the R&B group Honey Cone, and Julia Waters of the R&B group The Waters according to Wikipedia. Charles Fox and Normal Gimbel made up the songwriting team.

November 7th 1975 was the date when "Wonder Woman" premiered. Well, what was hitting the Oricon charts a few days earlier on the 3rd? We have Nos. 3 and 6.

3. Kenji Sawada -- Toki no Sugi Yuku Mama ni （時の過ぎゆくままに）

6. Hiromi Iwasaki -- Romance （ロマンス）

But as the informercial announcer says...Wait! There's more!

"Wonder Woman" did make its way to Japan sometime down the line and though the Bahler theme song was played for that first season, the subsequent seasons had actress/singer Kaoru Yumi（由美かおる）provide a Japanese theme tune in the form of "Ai no Boukensha" (Adventurer of Love) which was specifically for the series; Machiko Ryu's（竜真知子）lyrics give a blatant shoutout to Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, the melody by Ken Sato（佐藤健）and arrangement by Akira Inoue（井上鑑）also follow a disco line but more on the AOR side of things.

This is Yumi's first time on the blog. From what I remember of her, she had a recurring role in the legendary jidaigeki series "Mito Komon"（水戸黄門）as quite a warrior herself. She was also famous in that show for her bathing scenes which you can see being parodied in the commercial below.

Tokyo Songs

 

I'm just off by a week here but it was a little over a year ago that I posted "Osaka Songs", a list of Osaka-titled tunes, and crazily enough, in all those 53 weeks since then, I hadn't put up anything called "Tokyo Songs". Little old me had naturally assumed that I'd already done so. Nope, that isn't true. Kinda wild considering that I'd just recently written about Takajin Yashiki's（やしきたかじん）"Tokyo"（東京）. Well, that changes today. Quite the wide range of kayo, too!

(1959) Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）

(1980) Shogo Hamada -- Tokyo （東京）

(1980) Kenji Sawada -- TOKIO

(1980) Tetsuji Hayashi -- Goodbye Tokyo（グッドバイTOKYO）

(1981) Mioko Yamaguchi -- Tokyo Lover（東京LOVER）

(1987) Megumi Mori -- Tokio Town （東京街）

Kenji Sawada -- Minna Ii Ko（みんないい娘）

 

Apparently, there have been a few songs known as "Minna Ii Ko". One is the Japanese title for rockabilly singer Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" from 1956, and the other is the Beatles' cover of said tune.

Well, this "Minna Ii Ko" isn't that "Minna Ii Ko". For one thing, it's a perfectly homegrown song with lyricist Shigesato Itoi（糸井重里）and composer Kunihiko Kase（加瀬邦彦）having created it for Kenji Sawada's（沢田研二）14th original album "BAD TUNING" released in July 1980. Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）took care of its arrangement as a somewhat New Wave piece. Not sure if the original Perkins' song title would apply for this "Minna Ii Ko". Perhaps we can go with "Everyone's A Good Girl" since although I couldn't track down any lyrics online, I get the impression that this one lass out of the usual flock that the song's protagonist runs around with is not only the one who doesn't fall for his charms, but she's the one that he's most interested in. Such is life and love. Maybe I ought to extend my translation to "Everyone's A Good Girl (Except You)".

Tinseltown-ish Tunes

 

By chance, did anyone check out the Oscars last night? To be honest, and I have most likely mentioned this in past articles, I had once been a regular watcher of the Academy Awards when I was a kid because of the glitz and the fact that it was Hollywood celebrating Hollywood. But living in Japan all those years gradually weaned me off due to the fact that the live presentation was happening while I was at work.

Then when I returned to Toronto for good in the early 2010s, I realized that I had lost interest in the glitz and the celebration of celebrity. Plus, my track record of seeing those Oscar movies is frankly abysmal. The last Oscar-nominated movie I caught was "Oppenheimer" back in 2024. I don't really consider myself a cinephile and yet, I still cherish some of the older stuff such as "Casablanca" and "Roman Holiday" (as for newer stuff, there is "Inception" and a few of the MCEU movies). And to be frank, when I occasionally catch a movie, the purpose is to get away from reality for a couple of hours and be entertained...not necessarily to be educated or moved.

OK, I'll just jump off my rapidly sinking soapbox and give you my latest Author's Picks. Over the years, I have discovered that from time to time, certain songs pop up which have at least a titular connection with Hollywood or movies, so here's a short but varied list.

(1977) Ikue Sakakibara -- Al Pacino Tasu Alain Delon Yori Anata (アル・パシーノ＋アラン・ドロン＜あなた)

(1978) Hiromi Go -- Hollywood Scandal （ハリウッド・スキャンダル）

(1979) Kenji Sawada -- Casablanca Dandy （カサブランカ・ダンディ）

(1981) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete （ラストシーンに愛をこめて）

(1985) Picasso -- Cinema （シ・ネ・マ）

Uta Con: February 24th 2026 -- Tribute to Yu Aku（阿久悠）

 

First off, thanks go to The history man on YouTube for providing this video on the life and career of kayo kyoku songwriting legend Yu Aku (1937-2007) who apparently remains the 2nd-most prolific lyricist in Japan following Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）. Yesterday, the return of NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）after the Olympic break was a big one for all of the kayo fans since a good chunk of the program was a tribute to the works of Aku who would have been 89 back on February 7th..

This isn't an Author's Picks because I wasn't the one who came up with these songs for performance on the show last night. Of course, it was the NHK producers who did that but I still wanted to acknowledge the Aku songs that had been sung on the Shibuya stage since they have remained part of the bread and butter that make up a lot of this blog. You can also take a look at a Creator article that I wrote up back in 2015 regarding Aku and his constitution on writing those lyrics.

(1974) Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

(1977) Sayuri Ishikawa -- Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki （津軽海峡・冬景色）

(1977) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Shishuuki （思秋期）

(1984) Shinichi Mori -- Kita no Hotaru （北の螢）

(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

(1977) Kenji Sawada -- Katte ni Shiyagare （勝手にしやがれ）

(1973) Finger Five -- Kojin Jugyō（個人授業）

(1974) Finger Five -- Gakuen Tengoku (学園天国）

Personal Pronouns

Vi.gomez via Wikimedia Commons

 

It is a whimsical Wednesday here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", so to alleviate the usual things about Hump Day, the windmills of my mind rotated rather furiously. As a result, in addition to the internal hemorrhaging, I was able to realize that a fair number of the songs of note in our humble little blog often have titles containing variations of personal pronouns whether in English or Japanese or other languages. Here are just a few of them.

(1973)  Akiko Kosaka -- Anata （あなた）

(1975) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Watashi Tachi （私たち）

(1980) Kenji Sawada -- I am I

(1986) 1986 Omega Tribe -- Kimi wa 1000% （君は1000％）

(1993) Keizo Nakanishi -- You And I

Paul McCartney and Wings -- Live and Let Die

 

I mentioned this a little when I posted the ROY article regarding the iconic James Bond theme by Monty Norman & John Barry but my first several years of 007 exposure was through the frequent Sunday night reruns on ABC. It was on the telly where I witnessed Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore punch bad guys out and romance the ladies always opening with that assassin's-view shot of the master spy before he swerved around and shot back. In fact, the first time I actually saw a Bond movie on the big screen was in 1985 when Moore had his final go-around as Bond in "A View to a Kill". By that point, Moore had looked a little long in the tooth.

But today for this 007 Reminiscings of Youth article, I'm going to focus on the theme song of Moore's first foray into Bondlore, the 1973 "Live and Let Die". I'll be honest and admit that the opening credits scared the heck out of me when I saw that woman's head turn into a skull on fire...forget about the nudity. One other point about catching Bond movies on TV is that it was often the case that it had used to take about three to five years before a cinematic release finally made its way to television so I probably didn't see "Live and Let Die" until the late 1970s and by that point, I had already made Jane Seymour's acquaintance through "Battlestar Galactica" the original. Had no idea that she was also the femme fatale in Moore's first Bond movie.

The main reason that I'm covering "Live and Let Die" this week as a ROY is that the guy behind the theme song of the same title, Sir Paul McCartney, had just finished a weekend of thrilling concerts just down the highway from me in the city of Hamilton. For a man his age, he has Time Lord energy coursing through his veins and arteries and it appears that "Live and Let Die" is an essential part of the playlist.

It was Moore's first time as Bond but it was also the first time that a rock song was used as a theme for a 007 flick when compared to the swaggering jazz that had been the music for all of those Bond movies in the 1960s. I didn't quite "get" "Live and Let Die" when I first heard it with that crazy mix of rock and orchestra (which would eventually become the template for future Bond themes by pop and rock acts). At the time, I preferred Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" but I'm good with it now and I think it represents the oncoming storm that is 007 when he's ticked off at somebody. And I have to admit that to see and listen to it live has to be one of the major highlights of a McCartney concert, if not the highlight.

"Live and Let Die" reached No. 2 on both the American and Canadian charts. It was nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Song and won a Grammy for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). The song was released on June 1st 1973 as a single from Paul McCartney & Wings, a few weeks before the movie's American release. What was up at the top of the Oricon charts a few days later on June 4th?

1. Miyoko Asada -- Akai Fuusen（赤い風船）

2. Kenji Sawada -- Kiken na Futari （危険なふたり）

3. Saori Minami -- Kizutsuku Sedai（傷つく世代）

Tom Tom Club -- Genius of Love

 

Considering its release date of September 1981, Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" came to my attention at about the same time that I had really gotten into music in general. Its New Wave nature with some slow funk and those hushed vocals have left an impression that has stayed with me all these decades, as well as its music video that will remain one of the trippiest that I've ever seen, especially with that hyper pup. If I'm not mistaken, I first caught it on an episode of CITY-TV's "The New Music", the local music show that often presented some of the more cutting-edge videos of the day.

I would later find out that Tom Tom Club was a side project of Talking Heads with guitarist and singer Tina Weymouth and her husband, fellow Talking Head Chris Frantz, at the front. "Genius of Love" was the second single from their debut album "Tom Tom Club". Although I did catch some of the names dropped in the song such as James Brown, I also later realized that the song was a love letter of sorts to other Black artists including Smokey Robinson and Hamilton Bohannon. I don't think I ever heard "Genius of Love" on the radio but much later on, part of the song was used for Mariah Carey's hit "Fantasy". On US Billboard's Top 100, the original single peaked at No. 31.

What was being released in Japan in September 1981?

Tsukasa Ito -- Shojo Ningyo（少女人形）

Toshihiko Tahara -- Kanashimi 2 (TOO) Young （悲しみ２「ＴＯＯ」ヤング）

Kenji Sawada -- Stripper （ス・ト・リ・ッ・パ・ー）

All Those Casablanca Songs

 

I threw "Moon over Casablanca in Art Deco style" into the Bing AI art generator last night and I got a pretty good image, but then I saw those huge skyscrapers in the background and went "What?". Don't ever recall seeing concrete towers over Rick and Ilsa in the legendary "Casablanca". But then again, my mind was returning to 1942 instead of staying anchored firmly in 2024. The Moroccan city now has skyscrapers including the Casablanca Twin Center. No idea whether there is a Rick's Café Américain in there.

Now as for why I'm mooning over Casablanca at the start of this work week is that yesterday, NHK had its usual episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）, and a couple of singers performed a cover of Ichiro Toba's（鳥羽一郎）"Casablanca Goodbye" (カサブランカ・グッバイ). Realizing that I've gone over a couple of other kayo kyoku with the famous city in their title, I decided that perhaps I can highlight those Casablanca songs. By no means is the word Casablanca as ubiquitous in Japanese song titles as the words "ai"（愛...love） or "haru"（春...spring）, but considering the city's pedigree in pop culture everywhere, I just thought it was good enough for an Author's Pick.

(1979) Kenji Sawada -- Casablanca Dandy （カサブランカ・ダンディ）

(1982) Hiromi Go -- Aishuu no Casablanca （哀愁のカサブランカ）

(1996) Ichiro Toba -- Casablanca Goodbye (カサブランカ・グッバイ)

Since the list isn't too extensive, I thought I would finish things off with a rendition of the immortal "As Time Goes By" from "Casablanca" by jazz singer Yasuko Agawa（阿川泰子）from her 1978 album "Flyin' Over". Also, just to let you know, the movie will be celebrating its 82nd birthday at the end of next month.

Kenji Sawada -- Nikumi Kirenai Rokudenashi（憎みきれないろくでなし）

From imdb

Admittedly, this is a bizarre reference to start things off for this song by Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）, but I remember watching the anime "Seton Academy" in which Neku the giraffe acts like the arrogant cad and suddenly drops his romantic mate like a overly heavy sack of potatoes; sorry, once is enough for him...time to move onto fresher adventures. Of course, his now erstwhile partner doesn't take it too well.

From what I've heard of Yu Aku's（阿久悠）lyrics on Julie's September 1977 21st single, "Nikumi Kirenai Rokudenashi" (A Bastard's That's Hard to Hate), that's what happening here as well. Sawada is singing about a cad who goes through his women like he probably goes through his cigarettes. But according to the title, he's got enough charm to keep them coming back. Motoki Funayama's（船山基紀）arrangement of Katsuo Ono's（大野克夫）melody, which includes a clever background chorus that sounds like train whistles off in the distance, is something that I swear that I've heard before on one of the music shows or retrospectives. Considering how proud it sounds, the rokudenashi is thoroughly enjoying his love 'em-and-leave' em lifestyle.

"Nikumi Kirenai Rokudenashi" made it to No. 3 on Oricon and not only became the 24th-ranked single for 1977, but it also hung around for another year to become the 63rd-ranked single for 1978 as well. It can also be found on Sawada's November 1977 10th album "Omoikiri Kiza na Jinsei"（思いきり気障な人生...A Completely Disturbing Life） which hit No. 1 and ended up as the No. 5 album of the year.

One reason that I put up the song is that this had been the No. 3 single on the September 19th 1977 Oricon chart which was referenced in the previous ROY article, but didn't include because I hadn't written about it yet. Just didn't want the opportunity to pass. As well, the song was released several months after Sawada's big hit "Katte ni Shiyagare" （勝手にしやがれ）which had been created by the same trio of songwriters.

Kenji Sawada -- Sayonara wo Iu Ki mo nai（さよならをいう気もない）

 

The last several months have had entertainer Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）only show up in ROY articles. In fact, I have to go back to July 2022 when Julie had his name on the byline via "Namida to Hohoemi"（涙と微笑み）.

Well, let's return to his 1970s heyday, shall we? This is his 18th single, "Sayonara wo Iu Ki mo nai" (Don't Feel Like Saying Goodbye), from February 1977 and it's an interesting one for me since I've been accustomed to Sawada singing really upbeat pop, New Wave or rock. Mind you, it's not the first time that I've heard a song by Julie that's a little more measured and/or melancholy but it's still not a typical thing for me. 

"Sayonara wo Iu Ki mo nai" had some big names helping out in its creation with Yu Aku（阿久悠） as the lyricist, Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）behind the melody and Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）taking care of the arrangement. It really sounds like one of his most kayo kyoku tunes in his discography although that distinctive voice of his is right in there describing a lady going through some rough times, especially in the romance department. Those strings and the main rhythm really lead the ears like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. "Sayonara wo Iu Ki mo nai" hit No. 8 on Oricon and ended up as the 62nd-ranked single of 1977.

The Doobie Brothers -- What a Fool Believes

 

Happy Good Friday to all those who follow the statutory holiday. That's right...most of us are off today in the days leading to Easter which is arriving a little earlier than usual in 2024. As such, according to our own traditions on KKP, we'll be doing a special Reminiscings of Youth.

Keeping with the theme for urban contemporary on Fridays here on the blog, I wanted to go with something AOR or R&B from my youth. I found just the song...The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes". I ought to re-title it as "What a J-Canuck Believes" since it's taken me so long to get this up here as a ROY subject. I had actually assumed that Michael McDonald and his band were already represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" because McDonald has shown up on a number of ROYs in the past as a guest for other acts such as Kenny Loggins and Steely Dan, but this is the first official Doobie Brothers' appearance on KKP. I'm giving myself a Gibbs slap as penance.

Although "What a Fool Believes" first appeared in the band's 1978 debut album "Minute by Minute", the single version was released in January 1979. If anyone asked me for a typical Doobie Brothers' song, I would immediately point to this one. Created by McDonald and the aforementioned Loggins, it's got that famous keyboard hook which has acted as the aural logo for the Doobies all these years. That melody kinda mellows out the story behind the lyrics of a fellow trying to rekindle a romance with an old flame, only to find out that there hadn't even been a first romance in the first place. Along with the hook, there are the iconic McDonald vocals and the path that the music takes weaving between whimsical and elegant. "What a Fool Believes" hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian charts.

Over the decades, there have been affectionate pokes at McDonald and the Doobies' sound. I know about McDonald's appearances on "Family Guy", but true to my age, I like to go back even further to "SCTV". It still kills me how Rick Moranis killed them. The wonderful thing is that both McDonald and Rick Beato referenced the two parodies involving the Doobie Brothers very magnanimously within the last couple of weeks.

As I said, "What a Fool Believes" was released in January 1979. Which Japanese singles did the same?

Akira Fuse -- Kimi wa Bara yorimo Utsukushii（君は薔薇よりも美しい）

Sachiko Kobayashi -- Omoide Zake （おもいで酒）

Kenji Sawada -- Casablanca Dandy （カサブランカ・ダンディ）

Tommy Ambrose -- People City

 

Reminiscings of Youth is providing a second article tonight in addition to the regular one earlier. Nope, there is no statutory holiday in Canada today nor is there one in Japan. It's just that I was reminded yesterday that my hometown of Toronto became 190 years old, and yep, the above picture is from 15 years ago. I was thinking about how I could possibly bring this point into a ROY article and I found the perfect song.

But before that, I should provide some background context. I've mentioned about some of our TV stations here in Toronto over the history of "Kayo Kyoku Plus". We have the major Canadian networks: CBC and CTV, joined by Global in the 1970s. But for T.O., we also got our own little local station in 1972 called City TV, founded by Moses Znaimer along with a few other people although Moses was indeed the face of the then-Channel 79 Cable 7. My impression was that it was truly an independent and slightly rough-around-the-edges station with its own eclectic group of original shows such as "Boogie", Toronto's answer to America's "Soul Train", and the late-night softcore porn show "The Baby Blue Movie"...which I swear that I never saw. 😲

Some pretty hip personalities were born on City TV as well, a few of whom even made the really big time in the United States. There was J.D. Roberts who was one of the mullet-sporting hosts on the popular music show "The New Music" who is now veteran news anchor and reporter John Roberts, currently on Fox News. And then there is the voiceover guy above giving the station identification. He would later become one of the original cast members on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and several years after that, he even got to be one of the very first Ghostbusters. Yep, it's Dan Aykroyd.

But for a channel known for its devil-may-care approach to programming and young and cool on-air personalities, founder Znaimer went with a very soothing theme song for the station and basically one that became the theme song for Toronto itself. "People City" was used as the sign-on and sign-off song for City when stations used to sign on and off daily and it was created by Tommy Ambrose and Gary Gray with the former singing it. 

Released as a single by Ambrose in 1973, the song is a mix of very sweet and comfy classical pop and AOR. Just watching the accompanying video brings back a lot of memories of my childhood in Toronto. Good heavens, the fashion (and the public transit) back then! 

There was even a documentary regarding "People City" a few years ago which was provided by YouTube channel Retrontario. I've read comments here and there that "People City" ought to be revived as Toronto's theme or anthem once more, but I think the song, as much as I appreciate it, would probably need to be rearranged greatly since the Toronto that Ambrose was singing about back in the 1970s is not the Toronto we have now. Still, the Ambrose-and-Gray original is a nice aural reminder of what was.

For this ROY, I can provide the songs that won the Popular Prizes at the Japan Record Awards in 1973.

Megumi Asaoka -- Watashi no Kare wa Hidarikiki（わたしの彼は左きき）

Garo -- Romance (ロマンス)

Kenji Sawada -- Kiken na Futari （危険なふたり）

Barry Gray -- Theme from Space: 1999

 

I remember back to the mid-1970s when I saw the first commercial advertising this new sleek sci-fi show called "Space: 1999". The ad popped up on the regional channel, CHCH-11, in Hamilton just west of Toronto. I was a couple of years away from becoming a full-fledged dumb teenager so at the time, so I hadn't known that this show by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the couple behind all those 1960s Supermarionation hits such as "Thunderbirds" and "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons", and then "UFO", would actually bring together people and settings that I had actually seen already but hadn't been aware about in my fuzzy-headed memories. 

Of course, there was the sci-fi aspect from "Star Trek" which I barely remembered seeing in its first run, stars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain who used to be on the first years of the original "Mission: Impossible" although I hadn't recognized them as such at the time (but I did bop on my diapered tush to the theme song), and the third main actor Barry Morse who had been the intrepid taciturn Lt. Gerard on "The Fugitive" in the early 1960s although the only scene that had been in my mind back then of that hit was the one showing the death of the One-Armed Man.

One of the fondest memories that I have of "Space: 1999" is the Eagle, and I know that I'm not alone in that opinion. Just the whole thing about it possessing detachable modules, lifting off and landing in spot, and its launch pad rising up and down...it didn't matter that the same scenes were recycled from episode to episode; it was a simply cool spaceship which had us wondering when NASA would ever actually make a real one. An Eagle One!😅

As for the show overall, my Australian friend may have put it best when he said that "Space: 1999" has been remembered nostalgically in a better light than it actually was. Yup, seeing some of the episodes in Seasons 1 and 2, there were some of the hilarious bendings of science and weird acting that made it the butt of jokes on "The Big Bang Theory" and even by a US Supreme Court judge. And my feeling is that though Landau was an award-winning actor, he needed those writers and strong directors backing him up, something that didn't always happen on "Space: 1999".

Still, I think that the first episode "Breakaway" and then "Black Sun" among a few others still stand out positively for me, although the premise of the Moon blasting out of orbit was probably one source of mirth among Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter and the others. It definitely distinguished itself from "Star Trek" in that it had some of the scariest and tensest sequences ever put on television; there's been much said about how scary "Doctor Who" had been but I can't really see any of the scenes there matching up with what I saw in "Dragon's Domain", "Force of Life" (with a young Ian McShane from "John Wick" as a tragic Moonbase Alphan-turned-heat vampire) and even those poor astronauts in "Breakaway". I think what kept me interested in the show was that I didn't know who was going to buy the space farm from one episode to the next and how horribly they were going to depart.

I can go on for hours about the ups and downs of "Space: 1999", especially the major renovation it got between Seasons 1 and 2 but then this week's ROY article would appear as something transplanted from a "Space: 1999" blog and not "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Therefore, let's go straight to the Barry Gray theme for Season 1 which was epic when I first heard it on the pilot episode "Breakaway". The ominous timpani leading to the brassy fanfare which then went into a shocking rock sequence accompanying the "Mission: Impossible"-like quick cuts of the episode to come. Then it was back to the orchestra before classical and rock merged into a prog rock ending. I never heard anything like that in a theme song and I haven't since. I would root for a Hollywood remake just to hear the revamped version of that theme.

I do have to include one other piece from the soundtrack for Season 1. As with the original "Star Trek", "Space: 1999" did recycle various examples of Gray's music in its episodes which have stood out, and even some famous classical pieces such as "Mars, The Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's suite "The Planets" were used (in "Space Brain", the episode where the Alphans had to desperately fight off the Mother of All Bubble Baths). But I have to say that the one original Gray composition that has always remained in my own brain all these decades is "We're at War" from the episode "War Games", a very dark What If episode but with a fun battle (well, massacre really) between the Eagles and the Hawks. 

"Space: 1999" made its premiere on September 4th 1975, nine days and twenty-four years before the Moon supposedly gets violently ousted into outer space. Intriguingly enough, I did find a Top 10 list of singles on September 1st that same year. What were the top three?

1. Hiromi Iwasaki -- Romance （ロマンス）

2. Kyoko Kosaka -- Omoide Makura （想い出まくら）

3. Kenji Sawada -- Toki no Sugi Yuku Mama ni （時の過ぎゆくままに）

The Works of Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）

 

Unfortunately, I have to begin today's crop of KKP articles with an announcement of another death of a significant figure in Japanese music this year. Earlier on Twitter, I discovered that prolific lyricist Yoshiko Miura had passed away on November 6th from pneumonia at the age of 75 as reported from sources such as "Sponichi Annex" today.

Yoshiko Miura
www.asahi.com

Miura was born in 1949 in Aomori Prefecture. After graduating from Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, she became a copywriter but in 1977, she got her first credits as a lyricist by writing the words for aidoru Mizue Takada's（高田みづえ）"DOMO DOMO", the B-side to her first single "Garasuzaka"（硝子坂）. She would then go onto a career writing the words to songs recorded by male and female aidoru such as Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, Toshihiko Tahara（田原俊彦）and Yukiko Okada（岡田有希子）while at the same time providing songs to singers even in the City Pop realm such as Junko Yagami（八神純子）and Miki Matsubara（松原みき）.

It's not easy to find out a lyricist's approach to their craft but for Miura's J-Wiki article, there is a small section on her musicality. Apparently, she felt that she had to come up with the words that the original melody "wanted" in the song and that those words were something that came at her suddenly so she had to grab them and protect them from others who may want to deny or change them; otherwise, they would lose their appeal. At the same time, if the main chorus didn't sound right, she would keep on rewriting over and over again until satisfaction was achieved. In one interview, she noted that for one of her bigger clients, Seiko Matsuda, her task was to establish a colour for Seiko-chan's image in that song and then come up with the lyrics which would enhance that colour.

For the following few examples of Miura's vast work, I'll leave some translated excerpts from the songs. My condolences go out to Miura's family, friends and fans, and of course, all those singers that she had provided songs for.

(1977) Mizue Takada "DOMO DOMO"

Sometimes, your eyes looking off in the distance

I'm in love with you

Sometimes, the gentleness that spills out of your mouth

I'm in love with you

Your favourite saying is "DOMO DOMO"

I'm now saying "DOMO DOMO"

It's so easy to tell, but I'm happy

DOMO Arigato, Arigato for your love

(1978) Junko Yagami -- Mizuiro no Ame (みずいろの雨...Azure Rain）

You're such a kind person

I tended not to notice people like you...that was my bad

Until that moment of whimsy passes by

Forget, forget that I ever loved you

Ahhh...the azure rain

Holding my shoulders and embracing me while it continues to fall

Oh, let it go!

Love is washed away without a trace

(1979) Miki Matsubara -- Mayonaka no Door （真夜中のドアー...Midnight Door）

Stay with me...

Knocking on midnight's door, begging you not to go home

That season when I cried right in front of your eyes

Stay with me...

Saying our favorite words, holding on to our little moment

I'll never forget it as long as I live

(From AZ Lyrics)

(1980) Seiko Matsuda -- Aoi Sangoshou（青い珊瑚礁...Blue Coral Reef）

Whenever I see you

I end up forgetting everything

I'm such a merry little girl

You can hear my beating heart

The glistening coral reef against my bare skin

It's OK if we're both carried away

I love you!

Ahh...my love is being carried on the tropical winds

Ahh...run with the blue wind to that island

(1981) Hiromi Go -- Oyome Samba （お嫁サンバ...The Bride Samba）

Don't panic...it's the bride samba

Women are always a mystery

Don't go away...it's the bride samba

Don't end up alone

That's important, that's important, that's so important

1, 2, 3-ba...2, 2, 3-ba (that last part is a pun on the Japanese word for three [san] and -ba)

Bride, bride, bride samba

(1981) Kenji Sawada -- Stripper （ス・ト・リ・ッ・パ・ー）

Take off the heels, take off the rouge,

When you've taken everything off, come here,

We can't start until you're naked,

Start of the show, baby,

Take off the past, take off the yesterday,

When you've taken everything off, come here,

It won't do to hide your eyes to escape,

Morning, night, noon...passion is a stripper

Naked contact,

Summer, Fall, Winter....love is a stripper

I'll show you but I win, baby,

I'll show you everything I got,

I wanna see everything you got!

Oliver Nelson -- The Six Million Dollar Man

 

Steve Austin, astronaut: a man barely alive

Gentlemen we can rebuild him

We have the technology

We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man

Steve Austin will be that man

Better than he was before

Better, Stronger, Faster

Yup, this is a special ROY article today and not because there has been another death in the music world or it's a national holiday. I did notice though that over the last 24 hours, our humble 11-year-and-change blog exceeded six million pageviews, so let's give a mild Yay on that. Yay! Well, y'know, when "Plastic Love" could get seven million views within a few months...

Of course, when a lot of my generation think of six million dollars outside of the weekly lotteries, we usually think of "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1973-1978), the American ABC sci-fi series starring Lee Majors as astronaut-turned-bionic special agent Steve Austin who thrilled us with his telescopic eye, superpowered right arm and legs and super speed. It was amazing (and borderline hilarious) watching Austin going at 60 mph while running in slow motion, especially when we have various versions of The Flash racing around us in pop culture nowadays (hey, his movie is coming out this Friday).

The episode in the video above is one that I remember distinctly for scaring the beejeebers out of me when I first saw it decades ago. Veteran character actor John Saxon was playing the robot. I also remember the time that Austin fought Bigfoot.

Of course, everyone knows the above narration and the opening credits consisting of how Steve ended up a cyborg. The computer graphics of showing all of those special implants in his body always wowed me. And then of course, there was the famous theme song by jazz musician and arranger Oliver Nelson which had the requisite feeling of power, speed and intrigue.

Japan actually landed "The Six Million Dollar Man" through TV Asahi and its affiliates beginning from the summer of 1974 where the title was a direct translation: "Roppyaku-man Doru no Otoko"（600万ドルの男）. I had always thought that its spinoff "The Bionic Woman" starring Lindsay Wagner as Steve's soulmate Jaime Sommers was the only bionic-based series that made it out there. It was known as "Bionic Jaime" on Japanese television sets.

I've kinda wondered how "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" fared over in Japan, the land of tokusatsu heroes with their special powers. Steve and Jaime looked like regular folks without needing to transform into costumes and yet they could go through a concrete wall as if it were paper. 

Anyways, years ago I heard that Hollywood had been trying to an epic movie version of "The Six Million Dollar Man" starring Eddie Murphy but that idea fell by the wayside. People probably snickered at the realization that in contemporary times, six million dollars could only afford perhaps a lug nut in the elbow. The title alone would have to be upgraded to "The Six Billion Dollar Man". I actually checked Google to see how much $6,000,000 in 1973 dollars would be worth today. The answer I got was $49,995,000. Maybe to reach a round fifty million dollars, the scientists could throw in a bionic manicure.

"The Six Million Dollar Man" made its debut in April 1973, so what Japanese singles were doing the same?

Mari Amachi -- Wakaba no Sasayaki （若葉のささやき）

Pedro & Capricious -- Johnny e no Dengon （ジョニイへの伝言）

Kenji Sawada -- Kiken na Futari （危険なふたり）

Gordon Lightfoot -- Sundown

 

It didn't look good about a couple of weeks ago when I learned on the news that Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot had cancelled a round of concerts with recent video of him looking pretty haggard. Unfortunately, what I had been wondering about did come to pass yesterday as the bulletin appeared that Lightfoot passed away at the age of 84. 

Tributes have been pouring in from people such as fellow Canadian singer Bryan Adams to Hollywood actor Ben Stiller. With his many songs talking of his home nation and that distinct crème caramel voice of his, Lightfoot was the personification of musical Canadiana in the same way that enka legend Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）has been a musical symbol of Japonica. His voice was a very familiar one on radio when I was growing up.

One of my bright memories of Lightfoot didn't even involve him directly. Another Canadian legend, the comedy-variety series "SCTV", did a parody via the sale of a "Gordon Lightfoot Sings Every Song Ever Written" compilation. Comedian Rick Moranis ("Ghostbusters", "Honey I Shrunk the Kids") did a brilliant impersonation of him singing a whole ton of songs that of course one wouldn't expect of him. 

Yet, I didn't find it funny. And that's not trying to criticize Moranis and the writers of the piece since I am the biggest fan of "SCTV". I know what they were trying to do. It's just that Lightfoot could sing any song in that inimitable folksy way of his that it could be taken respectfully...even "Seventy-Six Trombones".

There have been and probably will be all sorts of people ranging from music critics to the average Canadian walking on the street who will be asked about their favourite Lightfoot song. Many of them will most likely answer with "If You Could Read My Mind" from 1970. However, the one that I've remembered from radio all these years is "Sundown" from March 1974. The goodtime melody always tugged at my ears and never quite let go so it was with some surprise that I found out that the lyrics relating seething jealousy may have been inspired by his own tempestuous relationship with mistress Cathy Smith, someone who had her own tales of infamy.

"Sundown" reached No. 1 on both the American Billboard and Canadian RPM charts, and it would end the year in Canada as the No. 3 hit. My condolences to Lightfoot's family, friends and fans.

There were a couple of notable kayo that were released in March 1974.

Kenji Sawada -- Koi wa Jamamono（恋は邪魔もの）

Finger Five -- Gakuen Tengoku (学園天国）