Maria Asahina -- Kokoro no Mama ni（心のままに）

I've sometimes wondered about the expression "Kokoro no Mama ni". If I'm not mistaken, it's been something that's been used in lyrics and song titles. According to my memory, the most notable example has been the title of one of Akiko Kobayashi's（小林明子）classics, and so I thought that I would be able to find the translation there since I did write about the album with the same title. Alas, I found out that Kobayashi's "Kokoro no Mama ni" had an English title slapped to it, "Morning Wish", so I never bothered coming up with a translation.

Well, I don't have a choice now since I have found another appealing song with the same title. "Kokoro no Mama ni" is a track on Maria Asahina's（朝比奈マリア）lone 1979 album "MARIA", and it's completely different from Kobayashi's soaring light pop song from the mid-1980s. This "Kokoro no Mama ni" is some happy disco music flying through the night sky over the city as the daughter of Izumi Yukimura（雪村いづみ）sings of love in the big city. Koichi Hoshino and Mitsumi Hasegawa（星野貢一・長谷川みつ美）were the lyricists while Takeshi Shima（嶋健）was the composer. Pretty good rendition, too, considering that Asahina was only around 17 when she recorded this.

If I were to translate the title, perhaps I can say "As My Heart Tells Me"? Anyways, for some more of that Maria Disco, you can also take a gander at "Disco Gal" （ディスコギャル）which was also her debut single and a track on "MARIA".

Maria Asahina -- Disco Gal （ディスコギャル）

I've discovered another one of those rare singles on YouTube. This time, it's Maria Asahina's（朝比奈マリア）"Disco Gal", and yup, it's pretty much as the title says. Glittery disco balls, bell-bottom pants and wide-lapeled leisure suits are all welcome to join in on the fun.

However, even before I saw the video on YouTube today, I kept seeing Maria Asahina on one page in "Japanese City Pop"...just another one of those singers that inhabited some place in the mysterious lower nine-tenths of my Japanese music iceberg. I had no idea who she was until I read her J-Wiki bio in which I found out that she is the Washington D.C.-born daughter of singer-actress Izumi Yukimura (雪村いづみ...who has her own entry here) and an Italian-American. She started life in the geinokai at the age of 15 years (1977) as a model before releasing one album, "MARIA", and two singles, her debut single being "Disco Gal" in 1979. The lyrics were provided by the prolific Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）who had also written for singers like Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）and Saori Yuki（由紀さおり）. Koichi Sugiyama（すぎやまこういち）took care of the disco music; he also composed the music for The Peanuts' "Koi no Fuuga"（恋のフーガ）and GARO's "Gakusei Gai no Kissaten"（学生街の喫茶店）, both classics of their decades.

Asahina has been a tarento and is currently an accessory designer.