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 Makoto Kawaguchi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Makoto Kawaguchi. Show all posts
When it comes to Yasuko Naito（内藤やす子）, I will always remember her for "Roppongi Lullaby"（六本木ララバイ）from the mid-1980s whether it be the refined urban lullaby version or the one with a bit more of rock kick to it.
However, let's go to her debut single from November 1975, "Otouto yo"(Hey, Kid Brother). From the cover of that single, Naito gave a first impression of someone who didn't suffer fools gladly and could carve flesh out verbally or physically. Even the way the title is displayed, it looks like quite the rough life in the city.
Although nothing of the kind is mentioned in its J-Wiki article, I wonder whether "Otouto yo" could have been an answer song of sorts to folk band Kaguyahime's（かぐや姫）"Imouto"（妹...Younger Sister） which had been released the previous year. Lyrically speaking, and those were provided by Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）, whereas "Imouto" was the touching story of an orphaned young man proudly if sadly giving away her younger sister to his best friend through marriage, "Otouto yo" is the more pensive tale of a young woman trying to get her estranged younger brother back on the straight and narrow path, presumably pleading with him not to end up like herself. The music by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）is dramatic and somewhat foreboding, but there's an ever-present ocarina blowing away as if it represents one lone ember of innocence and goodness in the man.
For a debut, "Otouto yo" was an auspicious one for Naito as it broke the Top 10 of Oricon by peaking at No. 8, becoming the 24th-ranked single for 1976. The singer also earned Best New Artist honours at the 5th annual FNS Kayo Festival, also in 1976. The single sold around 650,000 records.
Commenter YMOfan04 had a brief exchange on an actress-singer that I hadn't covered in several years, Kyoko Yoshizawa（吉沢京子）. And that was enough for me to take a look at my friend's suggestion.
It just so happens that her "Ame Agari no Koi"(Love After the Rain) was the B-side to her August 1970 sophomore single"Suttobe Seishun"（すっ跳べ青春）which was my first article on the Tokyo native. While the A-side is a pretty intrepid kayo march, "Ame Agari no Koi" not surprisingly takes the opposite tack of being a lovelorn ballad supported by that popular combination of flute and violins. Written by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）, composed by Taro Morimoto（森本太郎）and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it's about as sighworthy as one can get for a lass going through the falling-in-love blues.
I actually heard this on the most recent episode of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）and found it intriguing enough for me to investigate its source.
Singer-actress Akari Uchida（内田あかり）was born Kuniko Ogata（大形久仁子）in Osaka just after the end of World War II and her career had begun in 1967 under her birth name. She scored a quick big hit due to a collaboration with the Mood Kayo group Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）in 1968 for the song "Watashitte Dame na Onna ne"（私って駄目な女ね...I'm a Bad Woman）, but her solo career of eleven singles going into 1970 didn't yield any good results for her.
Then in 1973, under the wing of producer Masatoshi Sakai（酒井政利）, she took on the stage name of Akari Uchida and released her debut single, "Ukiyo-e no Machi"(Ukiyo-e Town) in August. Written by Masao Ishizaka（石坂まさを）and composed/arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, this atmospheric enka-and-kayo mix seems to have that extra infusion of truly exotic "wafu" through the delicate strains of the koto, and then with Uchida's floating vocals, it feels like a couple taking a very leisurely stroll through a ukiyo-e painting.
No idea how it did on Oricon but "Ukiyo-e no Machi" sold 700,000 records so I can only assume that it was a huge hit. Apparently, the outfit that she wore for her live performances cost a whopping 1.2 million yen or over four thousand US dollars according to the 1973 exchange rate. Strangely enough, she apparently didn't get that invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen but a movie based on or inspired by "Ukiyo-e no Machi" titled "Lost Love: Abura Jigoku"（ロスト・ラブ あぶら地獄...Lost Love: Oil Hell） was produced in 1974 with Uchida herself starring in it. It was produced by Nikkatsu, which had a hand in the roman porno industry, so considering part of the title, my pervy little mind suddenly had some distinct thoughts but it was actually and basically a dramatization of Uchida's own heartbreak story.
Since then, Uchida has had a long career in singing and acting up to 2019.
This article can probably come down under the banner of "Don't judge a book by its cover". Years ago on KKP, I posted an article on somewhat obscure singer-songwriter Kaoru Nakahara（中原薫）and her refined love song "Sabishigariya Futari Bocchi"（淋しがりやふたりぼっち）from 1995. As I mentioned there, I bought the CD single based on what I heard nightly on the late-night docu-vignette "Rooms" on Fuji-TV. It is basically the only song that I know of her and so my impression has been that Nakahara was a singer of ballads.
Well, twelve-and-a-half years later, I've gotten my education. Nakahara also released one (and perhaps her only) album in June 1996 titled "Dolce". It not only has "Sabishigariya Futari Bocchi" but it has this very upbeat track called "Mou Ichido Ai Shitakute" (I Want to Fall in Love Again). Written by Nakahara and composed by Yasushi Suzuki（鈴木康志）, it feels like a night out on the city set to a dance club rhythm. I even got some Cathy Dennis vibes.
In the midst of writing up this article, I also got a bonus in terms of information and music. For one thing, according to one Ameba blog, Nakahara had once been known as aidoru Hiroe Sato（佐藤弘枝）about a decade previously. It's possible that Sato only released one single titled "Sepia Iro no Natsu"（セピア色の夏...Sepia Summer） in May 1985. Written by Hitoshi Shinohara（篠原仁志）, composed by Eiji Takino（たきのえいじ）under his pseudonym Hifumi Roku*（緑一二三）, and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, the vocals by Sato/Nakahara are certainly very familiar and similar, and the song stands out for the use of a soprano sax and a galloping beat that sounds like something the late Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）would use.
Apparently, soon after the release of "Sepia Iro no Natsu", Sato pulled a disappearing act and wouldn't return for several years until she made her re-debut as Cola Hazuki（葉月コーラ） (she was singing for Coca-Cola ads at the time) in 1991. And then two years later, she changed her name to Kaoru Nakahara.
*That family name has a number of readings, so my choice is a guess. If anyone can confirm or correct me on the reading, please let me know.
For all those kayo kyoku lovers, Saori Yuki's（由紀さおり）"Tegami" (The Letter) is a breezy classic that first hit record store shelves and ears back in 1970. And Saori is still performing it on kayo programs such as "Uta Con"（うたコン）.
Well, what I hadn't known was that aidoru Hitomi Aki（秋ひとみ）, who had a relatively brief career in the limelight between 1976 and 1982, had her own cover version of "Tegami" in her second and final album"Omoi"（想い...Memories） from 1980. Although I've only featured a few of her songs on the blog, my impression is that Aki and the people around her thought that she could handle some of the more urban contemporary stuff with a Latin tinge as was the case with her "Summer Melancholy"（サマー・メランコリー）from 1979.
"Tegami" definitely takes the deep dive into the samba-influenced sector of City Pop through the original melody by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）and Rei Nakanishi's（なかにし礼）lyrics. It is recognizably "Tegami" by Yuki but with a good amount of 1980s Shinjuku disco oomph. Love the saxophone!
I put this particular celebratory birthday photo of Naoko Kawai（河合奈保子）up and then checked when her birthday was. Well, as it turns out, I'm still about a couple of months away from the big 62 for one of the 1980s' most representative aidoru.
Anyways, as I've always said on KKP, never forget about those B-sides. And for Kawai today, I've checked out the B-side for her 2nd single "Young Boy"（ヤング・ボーイ）released in August 1980. "Aoi Shisen"(Blue Gaze) is a slightly less dramatic song than its A-side, but it's still a spirited number that has hints of disco and summer-side fun...kinda like a lot of other aidoru tunes from those days. Written by Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）and composed/arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, those Naoko-chan vocals soar like crazy and I do like it when the synthesizer warps from one headphone to another a couple of times.
As is the case with "Young Boy", "Aoi Shisen" deals with some innocent romantic sturm und drang. A boy and a girl who have feelings for each other are still literally and figuratively distanced from each other at some beach locale...neither willing to make that forward move and even having problems trying to initiate even the most furtive eye contact. Talk about hard to get! 😳 I think they both need Orange Mimosas to take the edge off.
Heard this one last night on NHK's"Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）. Of course, my mother was asking about whatever happened to Naomi Chiaki（ちあきなおみ）. Well, she called it a day to her long career in 1992 shortly after the passing of her husband, Eiji Gō（郷鍈治）.
Chiaki's 17th single from March 1974, "Waltz", fits the template for her songs...a mix of melancholy and cheerful with those velvety vocals, just like her most famous hit "Kassai"（喝采）a couple of years previously.
I've placed "Waltz" as a kayo kyoku although Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）melody and arrangement has also included some of that enka and country. The legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）provided the lyrics about a woman who is thinking of other couples dancing a loving waltz while she no longer has a dance partner as she is sitting all by her lonesome in a seaside hotel. "Waltz" reached No. 29 on Oricon and was included as the title track of a May 1974 album.
Nice touch of adding that furigana of "Waltz" overlaying the kanji since the original pronunciation is the more unwieldy enbukyoku. Apparently, the title was inspired by a 1949 Kousaburo Yoshimura（吉村公三郎）film titled "Manatsu no Waltz"（真夏の円舞曲...Midsummer Waltz） which did the same thing with its kanji.
Well, I gotta say...for a Japanese music listener who's faced his fairly large mountain of English expressions within lyrics for decades, I was truly surprised by this one. I didn't think I would ever hear any singer utter the words "shrewd" and "forestall" separately, let alone within the same kayo kyoku. Mind you, when I heard "forestall", it came out more like the name for a famous American aircraft carrier.
Yes, I am talking about Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）"Shrewd Fellow", a track from her 16th album "Manjuu Shaka"（曼珠沙華）from December 1978. In fact, it follows right after the first track and one of my favourite Momoe songs of all time, the poignant "Ii Hi Tabidachi" (いい日旅立ち), and yet I had never heard of "Shrewd Fellow" until within the last few months. The lyrics by Hiromi Kanda（神田広美）under her pen name of Rika Nohara（野原理香）tell of one really hot romance...the second line of the song has a lady pretty much jumping onto her paramour's lips on his second word! Personally, I usually like to go it a bit slower through a few dates and dinners before that step. Anyways, the melody by Yusuke Hoguchi（穂口雄右）and its arrangement by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）is good ol' downtown City Pop and disco. Once again, Momoe gives it further swagger through the delivery of her own vocals.
It was only in the last half-hour that I wrote up "Ai no Toubousha"（愛の逃亡者）by the late singer Yoko Nagisa（渚ようこ）. And I figured that considering her singing abilities to bring back some of the genres of yesteryear, she could have easily covered any of the material by balladeer Naomi Chiaki（ちあきなおみ）.
Case in point: Chiaki's 18th single from September 1974, "Kanashimi Moyou" (Patterns of Sadness). First hearing this on one of the NHK music shows recently and then listening to the original, there's definitely a nostalgic feeling of the American pop ballads of those late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, I was reminded of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies from 1969.
With lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and music by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, Chiaki gives one of her splendid smoky deliveries and though the words describe a woman trying to grapple with life after a romantic breakup, Kawaguchi's melody sounds very hopeful so there's a big hint that despite the lass' regrets, recovery is just around the corner. "Kanashimi Moyou" did OK by reaching No. 69 on Oricon but Chiaki was able to perform it during her fifth appearance on NHK's "Kohaku Utagassen" at the end of 1974. She made a total of nine appearances on the New Year's Eve special.
Glad to see that NHK's "Shin Nihon BS no Uta"（新日本BSの歌...Songs of Japanese Spirit）kayo kyoku program is returning to a more convenient hour for the first time since the new Jme regime began on April 1st. It should be coming on within an hour of this writing. Speaking of the program, I saw an old rerun of it a few weeks ago in which enka veteran Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）sang this rather melancholy yet beautifully arranged kayo that I hadn't heard before.
The song's title, "Kibou"(Hope), was easy enough to remember. It seemed a bit outside of what Kobayashi usually has sung so I did assume that the original version had been sung by another singer. Sure enough, it turns out that "Kibou" had been created by composer Taku Izumi（いずみたく）and lyricist Toshio Fujita（藤田敏雄）in the late 1960s for a musical starring actress/singer Chieko Baisho（倍書千恵子）. The song seems to have had an overarching presence in the play which would have had it going for around 6 1/2 minutes so its adaptation into a single back in those days was impossible. Folk group Four Saints（フォー・セインツ）did record a 1969 single of it in the 4-minute range, though, which scored a No. 26 ranking.
However, the most acclaimed version of "Kibou" seems to have been the one by Yoko Kishi（岸洋子）when it was released in April 1970. Arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, the ballad here is a mix of sad kayo and chanson as Kishi sings about a woman who ends up leaving not only her town but what turned out to be the love of her life and has regretted it ever since. Whether or not she's successful, she clings onto that titular hope that she will meet her former flame and make up for lost time. The above "Big Show" performance from 1974 is stressing the more chanson elements.
The story in the lyrics aside, I think Kishi's version of the song has probably had even more meaning for her and her fans. Yes, it did score a No. 2 ranking on Oricon and ended up as the No. 12 song of the year, selling more half a million records and earning her a performance award at the Japan Record Awards at the end of 1970. At the same time, though, she'd also been hospitalized due to a serious disease and so what probably had been a sure appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen had to be cancelled. The hope this time was for Kishi to recover and happily she did recover so that she was able to appear on the 1971 Kohaku which would be her final appearance on the program, after a total of seven such appearances.
The above is the folksier earlier version of "Kibou" by Four Saints.
It doesn't elicit quite the interest and gravitas of the question "Who is Keyser Soze?", but for this article, I've been left with the inquiry "Who is Miei Natsuo?". At this point, I've got bupkis.
From the looks on the cover of her single, "Shiroi Toiki de Mon Amour" (White Breath Mon Amour) from 1986, Miei Natsuo（夏生三暎）appears to be one of the sexier and slinkier singers and/or actresses in the 1980s, but I haven't been able to find any other information other than the fact that she's also done some photo shoots for magazines. I don't even know if this was her lone single.
Well, let's go with what we've got here. One Japanese website has a rather tongue-in-cheek description of the cover, describing it as having so much atmosphere and mood to make the author choke, and they even ponder what Natsuo might be wondering (Ahhha...am I truly a good woman? Is this a sin?). Indeed, the music of "Shiroi Toiki de Mon Amour" is bossa nova City Pop in a high-class hotel provided by Meiyu Otani（大谷明裕）and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）with Mayumi Hara（原真弓）providing the lyrics. Natsuo's vocals are suffused with ennui, and again with her draped on what looks like a chaise lounge on the cover, one would be forgiven if the song were assumed to be Fashion Music.
The mystery behind Natsuo is such that I'm wondering whether singing was her primary occupation or whether she was working as a club hostess in Ginza or Akasaka. If any of you readers out there might have some insights, please let us know.
Well, we woke up to a balmy 7 degrees Celsius this morning, but unfortunately it was raining up a storm and the winds were whipping up something similar, too, which meant that it sure didn't feel like spring by any stretch of the imagination. However, things have lightened up considerably in the past few hours. Moreover, one of the chief weather guys for the nation has predicted that the summer will be warmer than usual this year which gives everyone some hope.
I guess then that it's heck of a time to be putting up this particular song by singer-songwriter Akira Fuse（布施明）under Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）arrangement. His October 1976 single"Ochiba ga Yuki ni"(Fallen Leaves Into Snow) is a sad kayo about a fellow who feels stuck in one place while nature and presumably people have all changed and gone off into different directions. At first, after reading that title, I had naturally assumed that "Ochiba ga Yuki ni" was going to be another love-gone-wrong song but the theme is quite a bit larger here.
"Ochiba ga Yuki ni" had originally been created by Fuse for singer-entertainer Jun Inoue（井上順）to record but when Fuse sang it for a Suntory commercial (yes, that's right...drown one's sorrows in drink), it got quite the positive response so with its release, it hit No. 1 on Oricon. In fact, it not only became the 45th-ranked single of the year but it showed staying power to the extent that it ended up also as the 83rd-ranked single for 1977.
On a television show, Inoue even asked Fuse "Did you actually expect me to sing that song?". Fuse, tongue-in-cheek, responded "If you had sung it, it would either have been shelved or discontinued!".
Not sure if I would actually consider "Shiroi Chou no Samba" (Butterfly Samba) a samba, but this January 1970 single by the late Kayoko Moriyama（森山加代子）is a happily bouncy kayo kyoku about finding Mr. Right and holding onto him for dear life. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Katsuo Inoue（井上かつお）with arrangement by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it's got some nice and tender horns along with that familiar early 1970s beefy bass and shimmering strings.
"Shiroi Chou no Samba" not only hit No. 1 for Moriyama, but it also became the legendary Aku's first No. 1 single in his career, selling near half a million records. Its fame also came about for the rapid-fire delivery of the lyrics by the singer. The big hit was also responsible for Moriyama getting the invitation for her 4th and final appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1970, her first appearance in eight years following her first three between 1960 and 1962. You can also check out Moriyama's debut release all the way back in 1960, "Tsukikage no Napoli"（月影のナポリ）.
The song also got its share of covers over the decades. One was recorded as a funky number by Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）for their November 2008 album"COVER YOU". That album peaked at No. 27.
Several months later, Hitomi Shimatani（島谷ひとみ）recorded a light synthpop version of "Shiroi Chou no Samba" for her own album of covers titled "BEST & COVERS" in July 2009. It hit No. 12 on Oricon.
Hello, Monday! It's hard to believe that we'll be heading into October from this weekend but here we are.
I had never heard of Kyo Nishimura（西村協）, but I came across some of his music recently on YouTube and thought it would be nice to share. According to his (currently dormant) website (nothing about him on J-Wiki), he is a singer who arose from the Glee Men（グリーメン）, a folk chorus club at Meiji Gakuin University in 1969 with a song called "Koi Shitara"（恋したら...When You Fall in Love）, created by lyricist Osamu Kitayama（北山修）and composer Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）. In the 1970s, he apparently was a part of the legendary ereki guitar band Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans（寺内タケシとブルージーンズ）as a percussionist although I couldn't find any proof of that on the J-Wiki profile of the band; I had to find it at a website called White Rock.
His website states that he has been a jazz singer for the past few decades but there's nothing on his earlier discography. But I do know that he did release at least two singles as a solo artist in the 1980s with one of them being "Tabi ni Detai"(I Want to Go on a Trip). Composed by Masamitsu Tayama（田山雅充）, written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, "Tabi ni Detai" was released in 1982 but it seems like a gentle throwback to the folksy kayo of the 1970s, reminding me of acts such as Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）and Karyudo（狩人）. I couldn't find Tayama's lyrics, but the overall feeling and that title make me want to think that it's another wistful account of someone traveling to the regional areas of Japan to forget a now-former romance.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)
The B-side of "Tabi ni Detai" is "Natsu no Owari ni"(At the End of Summer), and it's also a pretty wistful tune. However, although this song was also created by Tayama and Nakasato, the arrangement here is by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）and it's done more like a Fashion Music (Japanese Baroque pop) tune with those strings and a sensation of something classical. If there is a trip to be done here, it's most likely somewhere in Europe.
Wow! It's been a little over four years since putting up a Hiroko Mita（三田寛子）article. The last one was "Lemon Sensation"（レモン・センセイション）back in June 2018. I mentioned at the time that there weren't a whole lot of Mita songs on YouTube but I've got a feeling that things may have changed in the last few years.
For example, I did find this seasonal tune by Mita titled "Aki Kaze Melancholy" (Autumn Wind Melancholy) which was the opening track to her 2nd album"Melancholy Colour"（メランコリー・カラー）from November 1982. Suitably breezy with Mita's suitably aidoru vocals, it looks like the protagonist is a teenage girl who may be enjoying a shuugaku ryokou and first love in Paris judging from the peppering of "Bonjour" in Yoko Aki's（阿木燿子）lyrics. The title might be autumn-flavoured but the bouncy melody and arrangement by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）still feels as if summer hasn't quite let go of this song.
Unfortunately, some of the recent news regarding the resort area of Atami west of Tokyo has dealt with the tragic mudslide its residents suffered almost a year ago. Hopefully, things have gotten better for everyone there over the past several months. I've never stayed in this city in Shizuoka Prefecture but bypassed it a few times when my friend and I went down to Ito to stay in the ryokan there. But my impression is that though it may not be a Monte Carlo, it's certainly a pretty well-to-do area for those on vacation with all of the onsen and other sightseeing spots.
Yesterday, I got to watch NHK's "Songs of Japanese Spirit" and the episode was heavy on the boozy and bluesy Mood Kayo which suits me just fine. One of the songs that I heard was "Atami no Yoru" (A Night in Atami) and it was the debut of the late Shinichiro Hakozaki（箱崎晋一郎）, released in January 1969. With that boss saxophone and the mournful strings to launch things, it's plenty of Mood Kayo. Also, what helps the mood is the characteristic falsetto tones by Hakozaki as he sings about an affair that has ended sadly in the titular city.
With Mood Kayo at its peak at the time and the fact that this was another song based in a famous city, "Atami no Yoru" became a hit for Hakozaki. It was written by Toshio Arakawa and Misa Fujimoto（荒川利夫・藤本美沙）, composed by Toshihiro Yamaoka（山岡俊弘）and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）. The J-Wiki file for Hakozaki mentions that there was a 1970s re-recording of the song which begins with an electric guitar instead. However, the one immediately below is the original 1969 version with the one above coming from an LP titled "Kikasete yo, Ai no Komori Uta"（きかせてよ愛の子守唄...Let Me Listen to the Lullabies of Love） from 1982.
In my last article last month on Katsuhiko Miki（美樹克彦）via his 1967 single"Hana wa Osokatta"（花はおそかった）, I mentioned that Miki had used one word in the song that had been considered a little too profane at the time for public usage but was seen as a manly way to express his frustrations at love. Then from the following decade onwards, male aidoru such as the late Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）used it as well in his songs.
The Miki and Saijo comparison continues here through an explanation found under the YouTube video for the former's June 1971 single, "Taiyo no Kakera" (Pieces of a Sun). Miki's 30th single and his first under the Canyon label after his first 29 singles with Nippon Crown, the uploader doro2067 mentions that although Saijo wouldn't officially begin his long career until 1972, "Taiyo no Kakera" would be a perfect fit for him.
But as it was, this was Miki's song and by the looks of that single's cover, the singer seemed to be a proto-Hideki in terms of that longer hair, the bare torso and the grinning masculine defiance. Indeed, legendary lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, who wrote the words of living life as if there were no tomorrow on "Taiyo no Kakera", would also provide songs for Saijo. And although I couldn't see composer and arranger Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）name on any of Hideki's music, the flying strings, the brass section and the electric piano that he puts together on "Taiyo no Kakera" seem perfect for the future 70s superstar.
Another comparison that I could bring in is with "Taiyo no Kakera" and the aforementioned "Hana wa Osokatta". Whereas "Hana wa Osokatta" was describing one man's anguish at the missed opportunity for love and happiness, "Taiyo no Kakera" looks like a revisiting of that same guy a few years later with a burlier and stronger attitude on life. Where will he go from there? In any case, this particular song is not to be confused with one with the same title performed by the jazzy unit orange pekoe.
I only found out the news a few days ago via a chance Twitter browsing and then it was further reiterated by commenter Jim Laker, but unfortunately another veteran songwriter has left this mortal coil. Composer and arranger Makoto Kawaguchi passed away at the age of 83 on October 20th due to sepsis.
Kawaguchi has had a fairly long list of songs represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I've yet to come across any official media reports of his death on YouTube which is unusual. There have been a few personal YouTube accounts that did cite his passing but for a composer like Kawaguchi who did create a lot of classic kayo including Mieko Hirota's（弘田三枝子）1969"Ningyo no Ie"（人形の家）above, it's a little surprising that NHK hasn't mentioned anything although perhaps some of the commercial networks may have done so.
The composer/arranger was born Masahiro Kawaguchi（川口眞弘）in the city of Kobe on November 5th 1937 but grew up in the city of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. According to his J-Wiki profile, while studying in the Music Department at Tokyo University of the Arts, he became a part of chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji's（越路吹雪）backing band Claire de Charme as a pianist and then worked part time for composer Taku Izumi's（いずみたく）office. Kawaguchi dropped out of university in his senior year seeing that his job was becoming more of a full-time gig.
Although in 1966, he helped arrange The Ventures' version of "Futari no Ginza"（二人の銀座）, his official debut as a composer was in 1969 with the successful "Ningyo no Ie" with Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼） providing the lyrics. "Ningyo no Ie" was Kawaguchi's third-most successful creation which was followed by Saori Yuki's（由紀さおり）1970 hit"Tegami"（手紙）and Akira Fuse's（布施明）1974 hit"Tsumiki no Heya"（積木の部屋）at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
I haven't really delved too deeply into what made Kawaguchi tick in terms of his preferences for songs but my surface impression at this writing is that in the early part of his career at least, he seems to have been drawn into the darker or sadder aspects of romance just judging from the songs including the ones above. Basically, he composed his music in the kayo realm with some stretches into aidoru and tokusatsu and even City Pop.
I'd like to introduce some of the other songs that Kawaguchi created that I had yet to put onto KKP, beginning with the late Kiyohiko Ozaki's（尾崎紀世彦）July 1971"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido"（さよならをもう一度...Farewell, One More Time）, the great singer's follow-up single to the iconic "Mata Au Hi Made"（また逢う日まで）. With lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, a frequent songwriting partner, I guess that another observation is that Kawaguchi liked to go brassy and proud with his compositions, and that fit hand-in-glove with the booming voices of Ozaki and, for that matter, the aforementioned Fuse.
"Sayonara wo Mou Ichido" is the tough-but-tender song of sweet parting since although the couple may not have Paris, they will always have tomorrow to get back together to talk of old times. The arrangement is indeed brassy and proud, and the song reminds me of folks like Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. With an Oricon weekly ranking of No. 2 and an end-of-year ranking of No. 14, I'm sure that all involved were very proud of this one.
In the previous year, Aku and Kawaguchi had teamed up to provide Teruhiko Saigo（西郷輝彦）with his August 1970 56th single, "Manatsu no Arashi"（真夏のあらし...Midsummer Maelstrom）, a story of being majorly distracted by the beautiful bodies around during the hot (and bothered) season. I believe that I mentioned Tom Jones above; well, I think that this is the wilder side of Jones singing through Saigo, and if I may be so bold, I think that Saigo's performance is rather similar to what soon-to-arrive Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）would bring to the kayo zeitgeist of the decade. Strangely enough, Kawaguchi would compose songs for Saijo soon enough.
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Kawaguchi delved into the aidoru realm alongside lyricist Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）for 70s teenybopper singer Yuko Asano（浅野ゆう子）for a couple of songs, her debut single"Tobidase Hatsukoi"（とびだせ初恋）and the follow-up, "Koi wa Dan Dan"（恋はダン・ダン）, both released in 1974. Asano's third and final single for that year was "Hitoribocchi no Kisetsu"（ひとりぽっちの季節...A Season of Loneliness） from December. Once again, tackled by Kawaguchi and Arima, those strings and what I think are an ocarina and an accordion bring forward a lot of spring innocence from a case of puppy love that doesn't seem to be heading to its happy end.
One more song that I'll put up on his tribute here is "Doyoubi no Cinderella"（土曜日のシンデレラ...Saturday Cinderella） sung by Sawako Kitahara（北原佐和子）as her 3rd single in September 1982. It's another aidoru tune and the arrangement is perfectly suited to the time of the early 80s teenyboppers, with the swift strings this time and the jingly synthesizers. This time, Kawaguchi's songwriting partner was lyricist Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）whose words almost make me wish the title was more along the lines of "The Taming of the Cinderella" as a young lady is, comically and physically or figuratively, poking a strong finger into her Prince Charming and demanding where the love and the glass slipper are. Again, I haven't explored the world of Kawaguchi in full but at first blush, it's remarkable how his melodies may have adjusted for the times and demands in music. Still, lyrically speaking, this seems to be along the lines of Kawaguchi's attraction to the not-so-happy themes in love.
Of course, there are the other Kawaguchi creations that you can cruise through under his name in the Labels section, but also if your Japanese ability is up to it, you can also look through his J-Wiki profile for a more complete list of his compositions. I never even touched his arrangements which is a separate list. Regardless, his accomplishments since the 1960s merit a tribute in kayo history.
Last year, I wrote about singer Chie Sawa（沢チエ）since I was impressed with her song, the atmospheric "Ni-juu-san Sai"（23歳）, the title track from her 1974 album. It seemed to coalesce from another country which had Al Stewart on the brain and I enjoyed Sawa's velvety vocals. There was quite the elegant New Music vibe to it.
I have found another Sawa song which was her third single from July 1973, "Namida no Beach Love"(Beach Love of Tears). This time, though, it's much more of a conventional sunny kayo with the background chorus, strings and horns. In fact, it almost sounds fit as a theme song for the anime "Sazae-san"（サザエさん）. Plus, I can pick up on a bit of 60s pop and even something of "Spanish Harlem" in the arrangement.
Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）melody is happy enough but from that title and the penchant for kayo to have melancholy lyrics hidden underneath such glad tidings, I wouldn't be surprised if the lyrics by the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）weren't quite as chipper.
A couple of days ago, there was a tweet from someone that I follow. He hadn't known about the fate of singer Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）, the original singer behind the classic "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう), and he was shocked to learn that he was one of the passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 123 which had crashed into a mountain in Gunma Prefecture on August 12th 1985, killing 520 people on the plane including Sakamoto. It still remains the deadliest single-aircraft incident in aviation history.
I remember hearing about the incident as a university student and soon learned of Sakamoto's death. There was an episode of Fuji-TV's"Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）music show not long after in which a tribute was made with enka singer Shinichi Mori（森進一）singing one of Sakamoto's hits "Miagetegoran Yoru no Hoshi wo"（見上げてごらん夜の星を）on a darkened stage. Even before his tragic passing at the age of 44, that particular ballad was fairly easy to induce tears, and Mori looked absolutely shattered as he was singing it while the hosts and guests were doing a fair amount of weeping themselves. It was awfully hard to watch.
Of course, the above two songs of Sakamoto that I've already mentioned will be among his most famous numbers, but there is a B-side to what would be his final single"Natsukashiki love-song"（懐しきlove-song...A Nostalgic Love Song） released in May 1985, less than three months before the horrible accident. "Kokoro no Hitomi"(Eyes of the Heart) was written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and composed by Takashi Miki（三木たかし）with Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）as the arranger, and it's a contemporary-sounding pop song with a feeling of a Boz Scaggs ballad that has gained even more poignancy as time has passed and because of the circumstances. It seems to come across as a farewell song as Sakamoto reassures folks that no matter how quickly time flies, the heart and love will always be there.
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