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.
Well, things have begun to slightly cool down here in my part of Canada after one of the warmer summers in recent memory (nothing to compare with Japan's summer, though). Still, it's still very nice out there and we're several days away from the official beginning of autumn.
That means that there is plenty of time for those last barbeque outings and beach trips to enjoy that last bit of sun and surf. Maybe then, we can do some vicarious summer partying with the trio Mi-Ke singing their New Year's Eve 1992 10th and penultimate single to date, "Namida no Vacation" (Vacation of Tears).
Reminiscent of Group Sounds and 1960s girl pop, there's even a loving tribute to Connie Francis'"Vacation" right at the beginning. Mi-Ke was entering their heyday just when I was leaving my stint on the JET Programme but I was still getting shipments of Japanese TV programs so I was totally in on their success as interpreters of one segment of kayo kyoku during those early 1990s. Despite the melancholy title, "Namida no Vacation" sounds like a pretty happy-go-lucky tune of the times with Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸）on lyrics and Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎）on the music. It reached No. 19 on Oricon. The song also gave Mi-Ke their 2nd and final invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen following their appearance in 1991 for "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"（思い出の九十九里浜）.
It's been over three years since a new Mi-Ke article has been sighted around these parts, so I'm glad to have contributed to find one at last. To remind folks, Mi-Ke was a 1990s trio of female singers specializing in contemporized versions of the rock n' roll and Group Sounds, and they were first known as the chorus section of the group B.B. Queens. The three members were Keiko Utoku（宇徳敬子）, Haruka Murakami（村上遙）and Mami Watanabe（渡辺真美）. One of their big hits was the 1991 "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"（思い出の九十九里浜）.
In July 1992, Mi-Ke released their 8th single"Asa made Odorou" (Dance All Night), and as the title signifies, it's all about putting on those party clothes and just spinning all about the dance floor until the sun rises. Yup, it sounds like getting the 1960s back into the 1990s combining the rock with the synth hits. Hiroshi Tachi（たちひろし）was responsible for the lyrics while Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸）provided the rock n' roll music. "Asa made Odorou" hit No. 15 on Oricon.
Now, if that lyricist's name rings a bell, especially for kayo and Japanese TV fans, then indeed you'll know that it is indeed singer and one-half of the the "Abunai Deka"（あぶない刑事）, Hiroshi Tachi（舘ひろし）, who wrote the words. In fact, Mi-Ke's single was a cover for the original version of "Asa made Odorou" recorded as a 2nd single from September 1977 by Tachi and his Sexy Dynamites（舘ひろしとセクシー・ダイナマイツ）.
Indeed, that is 1977 and not 1967, but the rock n' roll of yesteryear is still imbued in it, and I guess that might explain why the single was released again, this time as a solo effort by Tachi, in 1980. It was around that time when all those 50s rock n' roller types were amassing in Harajuku every weekend to do their twisting and dancing.
The trio Mi-Ke was a pretty interesting group which had its heyday in the early 1990s. I was just in my final months on the JET Programme when Keiko Utoku（宇徳敬子）, Haruka Murakami（村上遙）and Mami Watanabe（渡辺真美）brought in their contemporary take on Group Sounds-sounding material and Ventures vibes. Considering the pop sounds of the time and the gradually waning wave of aidoru from the 1980s and 1990s, Mi-Ke stood out.
I've already written about a number of articles on Mi-Ke including for their big hit "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"（思い出の九十九里浜）, but I surprised myself that I hadn't written about "Blue Light Yokosuka" since it's a title that I've heard many times.
For those who know their kayo, "Blue Light Yokosuka" is a play on the 1968 classic "Blue Light Yokohama"（ブルーライト・ヨコハマ）, and according to J-Wiki, "Yokosuka" has been treated by some as the answer song to "Yokohama", although the sounds of the two tunes are completely different. "Yokohama" is more of a Mood Kayo while "Yokosuka" fits the Group Sounds template.
Still, there is plenty of contemporary instrumentation such as the synths in "Yokosuka" joining the beach-worthy rhythms of the song. Not quite sure about the choreography surrounding the live performances but "Yokosuka" itself is nostalgic enough not just for the 1960s beat but also for its 1990s existence. This was Mi-Ke's 3rd single from June 1991 with Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸）and Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎）behind its creation, and it managed to get as high as No. 13 on Oricon.
I'd actually already written up one article for the Group Sounds band The Tempters（ザ・テンプターズ）, and it was for their single "Kamisama Onegai"（神様お願い）, since it was covered by Hanae（ハナエ）as the ending theme for the anime "Kamisama Hajimemashita"（神様はじめました）. At the time, I only knew the leader Yoshiharu Matsuzaki（松崎由治）because he was the one who wrote and composed the song. What I hadn't known was that another member was Ken'ichi Hagiwara（萩原健一）. I've only known him as a rather intense actor on TV and in movies, but hearing that he had been quite the hellraiser during his GS days, I'm not really surprised. Managed to find this late 1980s footage above of him appearing quite dapper on an interview show.
To be honest, it's rather difficult for me to imagine these guys as hellraisers in those outfits seen in the thumbnail above, but hey, it was the 1960s. Anyways, fashion critique aside, "Emerald no Densetsu"(Legend of Emerald) was The Tempters 3rd single from June 1968. From what I had seen so far of the results of the band's first two singles, they weren't doing too badly at all. And yet, according to the J-Wiki article on their third single, Philips Records was a bit worried about getting out that next big hit, so instead of leader Matsuzaki taking care of the next song, Philips apparently recruited lyricist Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and composer Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦）to whip up Single No. 3. I'm curious as to how The Tempters took that news, but it couldn't have been all that bad since "Emerald no Densetsu" did get made and recorded.
For me, "Emerald no Densetsu" does sound like a typical GS song of the decade, but apparently, composer Murai had taken in vocalist Hagiwara's suggestion of something with a mystique appeal, and created a melody influenced by French musical impressionism in achieving the goal of a certain mystery-laden romanticism. All of the fancy jargon aside, it was considered quite notable at the time for its use of strings, horns and oboe.
I guess lyricist Nakanishi had also taken that impressionism to heart as well since his words express a man falling in love with a woman represented by a glistening green lake. He even gets down on his knees to kiss it (was he wearing protection...y'know, for flesh-eating bacteria and the like?).
"Emerald no Densetsu" hit No. 1 on Oricon and became the 16th-ranked single of 1968.
Several singers since the original's release have covered "Emerald no Densetsu" including the group Mi-Ke in their 1991 debut album"Omoide no G-S Kujukurihama"（想い出のG･S九十九里浜...Group Sounds Kujukurihama of Our Memories）which peaked at No. 19.
I figured that I would be getting a compilation album of a famed songwriter's works sometime, and sure enough, I purchased this one called "Tsutsumi Kyohei: Jisen Sakuhinshuu"（筒美京平自選作品集...Kyohei Tsutsumi's Personal Selection）, not realizing that 2018 is composer Kyohei Tsutsumi's（筒美京平）50th anniversary in the music business. This man has created so many songs for so many different singers and bands over the past half-century that his collection has had to be divided into three 2-CD sets depending on genre (and that still doesn't come anywhere near his total output). There is the set devoted to aidoru, a second devoted to more AOR pursuits and then there is the one that I got: City Pop. Heck on this blog, only Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）has more entries than Tsutsumi as a songwriter. Furthermore, I've already written his own Creator article.
Tsutsumi and Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）created this ballad for the Group Sounds band Ox (and the two of them also provided the band with their debut single), "Swan no Namida" (Tears of a Swan) as their 3rd single in December 1968. It was not only on CD 1 of the tribute compilation that I now have (although I'm not sure if I would call it City Pop) but by grand coincidence, the song was even performed on NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）a little over a week ago.
Considering the band was named after a pretty husky animal, "Swan no Namida" is a tenderhearted GS ballad about a young couple who may be keeping their relationship secret and who may be considering a breakup for the good of all. They are having a final walk together and visiting some of their favourite places including a church and a terrace. Hashimoto's lyrics mention some place up in the north so I'm wondering if they had any particular place in mind such as Sendai or Sapporo.
Selling over 250,000 records, "Swan no Namida" managed to reach as high as No. 7 on the embryonic Oricon, and ended up as the 44th-ranked single of 1969.
There have been plenty of covers of the song over the decades with perhaps the earliest being done by Chiyo Okumura（奥村チヨ）in June 1969 for her 3rd album"Anata to Chiyo to..."（あなたとチヨと…You and Chiyo and...）. Her take is a bit more of a straight kayo version from that time with the strings and flute.
(cover version)
Another cover was provided by the trio Mi-Ke, whose modus operandi was dusting off a lot of those old kayo and breathing new life into them. It looks like their take on "Swan no Namida" went through the B'z arrangement filter. The song was included in their debut album"Omoide no GS Kujukurihama"（想い出のG.S九十九里浜...Memories of G.S. Kujukurihama）which peaked at No. 19 on the Oricon charts.
Sukisa, sukisa, sukisa I love you, I love you, I love you Wasurerarenain'da, OMAE NO SUBETE!! I can't get you out of my mind, ALL OF YOU!!
It's been a grand while since I put up an article on a Group Sounds song, and I had thought that I put down all that I knew about the bands in that genre, but once in a while, something falls out of the folds of my cerebrum. Last night, it was this one.
The above lyrics are the prime ones that I remember from The Carnabeats' most successful song, "Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa". Way back when, I had thought that the tune was first provided by 80s aidoru rock band, CCB, since there was that high-pitched voice by the drummer yelling that last part of the lyrics I wrote above. I'd also assumed that it could have been the 70s family group, Finger Five. But I was wrong on both counts in terms of band and decade.
The Carnabeats（ザ・カーナビーツ）were formed from a fusion of folks from other bands in the 1960s. In 1967, Ai Takano (高野アイ...all of 16 years of age), who would become the drummer and vocalist, left The Freelancers for the purpose of creating a new band. In short order, he was joined by Jiro Kitamura（喜多村次郎）from another GS unit, Swing West, and another Freelancers bandmate Hiroshi Koshikawa（越川弘志）, along with (and I hope I've got the names correct) Keikichi Usui（臼井啓吉）and Tadao Oka（岡忠夫）. Initially, the lads had called themselves Robin Hood but once "Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa" was released as their launching single, the name was changed to The Carnabeats.
I've heard the name now and then over the decades, but I always thought of car navigation systems. But as it turned out, the probable derivation of The Carnabeats was from the Carnaby Sound that was part and parcel of the music of Swinging London in that same decade.
Speaking of the UK, the original version of "Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa" was from the British band The Zombies'"I Love You" that had been released in 1965. Chris White created the song and when it made the trip over to Japan, Kenji Sazanami（漣健児）provided the Japanese lyrics. Released in June 1967, Takano's delivery of those words apparently had the girls swooning and grabbing their faces in ecstasy. The Oricon charts were still yet to start but I'm pretty sure the song would have hit the top spot in a New York minute. Sales were between 1.2 and 1.5 million.
Sadly, Takano passed away at the age of 55 from heart failure in 2006.
"Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa" would not only echo through the decades via nostalgia tours by The Carnabeats, but through cover versions. One came out in November 1990 as the 4th and final single by singer-actress Ayako Kobayashi（小林彩子）.
However, the one cover version I remember was provided by Group Sounds tribute trio, Mi-Ke. Released in May 1991, their version (their 2nd single) was given a bit more of a urgent oomph through some of those 90s guitars. It got as high as No. 9 on Oricon.
"Ano Toki Kimi wa Wakakatta"(You Were So Young Back In Those Days) is a kayo kyoku that resembles that particular sepia-tinged photo of a young couple being nostalgically viewed some decades later. If there was something that the old Japanese pop songs loved to do, it was to wax wistfully. I've heard the song off-and-on over the years, but didn't know it belonged to Group Sounds band, The Spiders, since as I've mentioned in one other article for The Tigers, I wasn't ever a huge, huge fan of Group Sounds per se.
It may have been released in March 1968, but "Ano Toki Kimi wa Wakakatta" sounds like a summer song, complete with beach-&-ocean background. Written by Fumie Sugawara （菅原芙美恵）and composed by Spiders' guitarist Hiroshi Kamayatsu（かまやつひろし）, the song basically comes off as a serenade by the suitor asking that the target of his love be with him always. I wouldn't be surprised if the band's 14th single was often used at wedding receptions. As for the song's own success, it peaked at No. 6 on Oricon, and in the years and decades hence, it has become a popular tune to bring back on various shows and specials.
The video at the top just has a partial take on the song along with another one of their other hits, "Yuuhi ga Naiteiru"（夕陽が泣いている）, so the video above will provide you with the whole song. I felt like yelling the title right at the band when I saw it, since I was accustomed to seeing Masaaki Sakai and Jun Inoue (堺正章・井上順...who share the vocals here) considerably older as veteran TV personalities.
In 1991, the retro-aidoru group, Mi-Ke, did their own Eurobeat-y take on the classic via their debut album, "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"（想い出の九十九里浜...Kujukuri Beach of Our Memories）. I also enjoy this cover since the vocals by the ladies seem particularly bright and summery here. I'm not sure but that may be Monsieur Kamayatsu himself helping out as well in this version.
In the last several months of my Gunma stint, I started hearing a song that harkened back to some of those old Group Sounds songs of the 60s, although at the time I didn't know the genre term....I just simply used "Japanese oldies" or Yuzo Kayama songs. There was a trio of women who decided to go somewhat retro in the final decade of the 20th century.
Mi-Ke was an offshoot of B.B. Queens, the motley crew of musicians led by Yuiko Tsubokura and Furanosuke Gendo who came up with the No. 1 song of 1990, "Odoru Ponponkorin"（おどるポンポコリン）, the ending theme for the long-running anime, "Chibi Maruko-chan". The B.B. Queens chorus of Keiko Utoku（宇徳敬子）, Mami Watanabe（渡辺真美） and Haruka Murakami（村上遥） made their debut as Mi-Ke, named after the Japanese word for calico cat, in February 1991 with this ode to all things Group Sounds, "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"(Kujukuri Beach of Your Memories). Kujukuri Beach is a 60-km strip of sandy beach along the northeastern coast of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture which has been a favourite place for swimmers and surfers, and what better venue is there to remember those days of hedonistic suntanned beach bums when Japan was starting to rev up its economic engines.
Written by Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸） and composed by Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎）, the lyrics were almost literally a list of song titles from the Group Sounds era. In fact, shoutouts were given by the ladies to 13 GS songs such as "Hana no Kubikazari"（花の首飾り） by The Tigers and "Yuuhi ga Naiteiru"（夕陽が泣いている） by The Spiders, and all wrapped up in a melody that Kayama-san would've been happy to jam in on (heck, I think Ms. Moritaka could've gotten in on the action). Even Mi-Ke's choreography seemed to take a step back in time.
The song peaked at No. 5 on Oricon, was the 32nd-ranked song of the year, and took the Newcomer's Prize in Pop/Rock at the Japan Record Awards. It also got them their appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen.
And I didn't know this but it was also used as the theme song for the comedy-drama "Nurse Station".
