Kyoko Nakazawa/Wish/Akiko Kosaka -- Sonna Anata ga（そんなあなたが）

 

Over the years of doing this blog, I've been hearing this phrase when it comes to digging up information on the Japanese popular music of yesteryear, and that is "cocky pop". And after a bit of immature giggling, I got a bit serious and looked things up.

As it turns out, the expression refers to a nightly Nippon Broadcasting System radio program sponsored by the Yamaha Music Foundation called "Cocky Pop"（コッキーポップ）which had its time between June 1971 and November 1986. There was also a TV program that lasted for a few years from 1977 to 1981. Hosted by Goro Oishi（大石吾朗）, the "cocky", which would usually mean "impertinent" or "putting on airs", was meant to describe the pop music that came on this program as something that was ahead of its time. So I'm assuming that this would at least include New Music and in the airing above, Miyuki Nakajima（中島みゆき）was one of the acts for the program. In any case, this would have been a program that I would love to have listened to in its night slot.

Now, the reason that I've mentioned the above is that I found the song of this article on a compilation album called "Cocky Fresh" which was released in December 1975. It was put out by Canyon Records so I don't know if this actually had anything to do with Yamaha and NBS' "Cocky Pop"; the record label may have simply just jumped on the bandwagon and pilfered the "cocky" from its rival to showcase a bunch of New Music songs.

Regardless, one track is singer-songwriter Kyoko Nakazawa's（中沢京子）"Sonna Anata ga" (That Side of You) which was written and composed by the singer under Mitsuo Hagita's（萩田光雄）arrangement. Back at the end of 2015, I introduced Nakazawa onto the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" as somewhat of a mystery artist who won a prize at the 1974 Yamaha Popular Song Contest, put out a single (or two), "Machi-wabite"（待ちわびて）, and recorded a few more songs before calling it quits. "Sonna Anata ga" is a heartfelt ballad about appreciating that significant other through thick and thin that reminds me a bit of The Hollies' 1969 "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".

Well, in further delving into any more information on "Sonna Anata ga", I found out that Nakazawa's take on the song was a self-cover. She may have gotten her version out at the end of 1975, but the song did get out to a couple of other artists in the previous year of 1974. The sister duo Wish（ウィッシュ）sang their "Sonna Anata ga" as the B-side to their single "Roku-gatsu no Komori Uta"（六月の子守歌...June Lullaby） with an arrangement by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）. Wish also has a prior song up on the blog, "Go-Annai"（御案内）.

Akiko Kosaka（小坂明子）also recorded "Sonna Anata ga" (and for that matter "Roku-gatsu no Komori Uta") in her February 1974 debut album "Anata ~ Kosaka Akiko no Sekai"（あなた / 小坂明子の世界...You ~ The World of Akiko Kosaka） with Hagita arranging the entire album. Listening to Nakazawa's version above, I had figured that Kosaka would be the ideal candidate to sing "Sonna Anata ga" as well. Of course, the singer had her own tribute to the second-person pronoun which broke her into stardom.

Kyoko Nakazawa -- Machi-wabite （待ちわびて）

Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed their Xmas. Perhaps some of you are already getting into Boxing Day Sale mode. As for me, I was on turkey roasting duty today, and I realized how much of a Halo game making a traditional Xmas dinner can be. The bird took longer to defrost and took longer to roast, and the stuffing didn't quite work out by my estimation. All I can say to you who may be interesting in taking up the baster someday, DO NOT take any advice from the Internet at face value; take it as a guide but not as the hard rule.

In any case, now that I've gotten that (and other things) out of my system, allow me to give you (and me) some mellow time with Kyoko Nakazawa's（中沢京子）"Machi-wabite" (Pining For You). Who she, you ask? Yes, well, that was something I was also pondering myself. Her brief story reminds me a lot of another young singer of the 1970s who had also come and went like the wind, Kayoko Ono（小野香代子）with "Sayonara no Kotoba"（さよならの言葉）.

Like Ono, Nakazawa had entered the Yamaha Popular Song Contest  (the 1974 edition) with her own creation of "Machi-wabite", won a prize, and then basically left show business. Mind you, Nakazawa had written and composed a few more songs whereas Ono made just the one, but "Machi-wabite" was Nakazawa's only single released in April 1975. And although I admit I haven't nosed around too hard, I think there is even less information on this singer than what I could find for Ono.

Ono's "Sayonara no Kotoba" is this sweet innocent waltz but "Machi-wabite" seems to be a somewhat more grounded and wistfully introspective ballad with the girl from the first song becoming the more mature woman in the second, still pining for that lost love whether he was a love-'em-and-leave-'em cad or a boy who just merely drifted away into history. There is something about this song that would make it sound perfect for listening in some cafe during a rainy day.

In any case, this is another one of those intriguing musical mysteries. By the way, the video directly above is a radio broadcast which only seems to come through just one speaker so please be advised.