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.
When I hear the name Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）, I always think of her lasting kayo classic from 1963 "Konnichiwa Aka-chan" (こんにちは赤ちゃん）where she croons her first greetings to a cute little baby.
Fourteen years later in 1979, I don't think her audience was located in a maternity ward. In fact, I would surmise that she was probably addressing a group of jaded women in a bar or club somewhere in Shinjuku, Tokyo. What I have here is a track from her 1979 album"Onna ga Otoko wo Kataru Toki"（女が男を語るとき...When Women Talk About Men）, "Joke" and considering the titles of track and album, I don't believe that Azusa is talking about men in a particularly complimentary way.
The obi for the album states that this is Azusa singing some Neo-Chanson and it's true that through "Joke" at least, she's doing so with that Gallic panache that's so common with the French genre of music. However, I think it's also a blend of kayo kyoku and City Pop...certainly, there is that urbaneness to it, and if I can throw in a French expression, it also has some of that je ne sais quoi that makes me think of New Music in general. Furthermore, the chorus does remind me of Circus' big hit "Mr. Summertime" from the previous year. Quite the musical sangria here. Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）was behind the melody while Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）provided the lyrics.
Let's see...during the 1960s original series "Star Trek", Captain Kirk had quite a few romantic dalliances throughout the three seasons the show was on NBC. Meanwhile, Spock also had his amourous adventures with a few guest stars from off the ship. But then, on the latest entry in the nearly 60-year-old franchise, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", which takes place in the pre-TOS decade, younger Spock has already been making out with three ladies, two of whom are his shipmates! For a half-Vulcan who's trying to keep hold of his emotions, he's a pretty randy guy! Love long and prosper indeed!🖖
My "Star Trek" preamble ramble was so that I could introduce this song which is part of a massive 5-LP box set, "CANDIES 1676 DAYS"（キャンディーズ1676日）, that was released in December 1977. Can you imagine a Candies fan getting this as a Christmas present? The tears of joy that would flood that living room floor! The set was put out there to commemorate the trio's singles and other songs ranging from their debut to the end of their farewell concert with the first three records containing those singles including B-sides while the fourth record has the ladies' cover versions of Japanese and English-language songs. Finally, Record No. 5 has new stuff.
One of those songs on the final LP happens to be "Gingakei made Tonde Ike!" (Fly to the Galaxy!) which is about one lass dreaming of her beau taking them away from all of the burdens of Earthly living and warping out to the end of the Milky Way. Kinda like the Enterprise. Written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）, composed by folk singer-songwriter Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）and arranged by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, it's notable for its disco arrangement over a folky rhythm and what sounds atypically like a koto or a harp periodically dropping by to say hello.
I can imagine the pitchman narrating the commercial for "CANDIES 1676 DAYS" and excitedly saying "Wait there's more!". Well, wait there's more!Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）gave her own more laconic cover of "Gingakei made Tonde Ike!" as her 42nd single in March 1978 with just a breath of rock in there. Then in September 1983, Rie Nakahara（中原理恵）also released her take on the song as a single; this one is notable for incorporating a country banjo and a synthesizer to create something that is still recognizably "Gingakei made Tonde Ike!" but on a rather bizarre level. Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）arranged this version.
Now, we finish up in this year. The original Candies version has been provided as the theme song for a CG anime titled "Ginga Tokkyu Milky Subway"（銀河特急 ミルキー☆サブウェイ...Galaxy Express: Milky Subway）.
For all American readers here, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all of you have made it to your destinations and will soon be tucking into that Norman Rockwell-friendly turkey dinner with all of the trimmings. Now, as for all you Whovians out in the world, a Happy 60th anniversary to "Doctor Who", the longest-running science-fiction TV series out there. It was born on the BBC on November 23rd 1963.
As you can see at the top, there is my copy of the commemorative tome for the 20th anniversary of the show which I purchased when I was but a wee high schooler. To think that "Doctor Who" is now three times as old. From what I remember reading was that the show of a fantastical if irascible figure known as The Doctor traveling in his Type 40 TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) had originally been crafted to act as a peaceful programming wedge between the Saturday afternoon sports show and the evening news. Well, it's gotten a little more complex since then.
The first time I'd ever heard of "Doctor Who" was in the early 1970s when it appeared on either the local educational channel, OECA, or the Buffalo affiliate of PBS, WNED. I first got to see the Third Doctor played by Jon Pertwee as this cranky if dashing middle-aged guy chopping enemies with his Venusian aikido and was then initially confused when suddenly he changed into a tall bohemian version of Harpo Marx played by Tom Baker as you can see above. I had to gradually learn about the whole concept of regeneration which is virtually a bank holiday in the UK when a new actor jumps into the role.
I distinctly remember the first episode that was introduced on screens here which happened to be the 10th anniversary special, "The Three Doctors". The idea was either inspired or insane by the programmers. Have new viewers see all three actors who have played The Doctor at one time to get the idea of who they were or confuse the heck out of them by having three Doctors in the same time and space in some madcap caper. But since I didn't see any weird monsters, spaceships or phaser bursts within the first five minutes, I quickly switched over to the CBC. It would take several years, quick views of clips Pertwee and Baker as I was changing the channel and a more mature approach before I finally got to enjoy "Doctor Who" by the late 1970s...just in time before Baker handed the baton to young Peter Davison.
My feelings on the good Doctor and the show over the decades have been perhaps similar those of his companions: love and hate, disappointment and thrills. The quality of episodes and even that of full seasons has also careened wildly just like the TARDIS flying through the space/time vortex. But The Doctor keeps on coming in his many and different faces to save the universe from Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and other horrifying crises.
Although my initial viewing of "The Three Doctors" didn't last too long, I was around for the eerie and iconic theme song by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire. The story of how the theme was created is frankly incredible and ought to be read about on its Wikipedia entry but back then, there were no synthesizers or emulators. From how it reads, it was all the equivalent of manual handling, snipping, splicing and patience without computers. I've often wondered whether techno bands such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk had gotten any inspiration from hearing the theme.
In the decades since, the theme song eventually underwent a lot of different arrangements including the one for the 60th anniversary specials, due to be televised in a few days. But I have to admit that my favourite version isn't one that has been used on any of the episodes or specials, but the following mix created by Hardwire. If I ever have the need for speed and inspiration, I go to this one.
Anyways, enjoy the anniversary and have a jellybaby!
For this week's Reminiscings of Youth, let's see what was winning at the Japan Record Awards in 1963.
For this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I once again take you to cartoon land.
Along with bunnies, mice, ducks, prehistoric blue-collar guys and round-headed kids, I also got to know a pink panther and an obtuse French detective. Yeah, as a very young little boy, I watched "The Pink Panther Show" which opened as you can see here with a quintessentially 1970s groovy theme song.
My weekday afternoons following school were often filled with views of the innocent and unintentionally troublemaking Pink Panther and the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. I did get my laughs at both of them although at the time, I had no idea that they shared a common origin.
The other thing was that instead of "The Pink Panther Show"70s theme song, Pink himself was always accompanied by this boozy and jazzy saxophone-led theme in his individual cartoons that I actually enjoyed much more. In fact, in contrast with this theme and its variations showing up in most of the episodes, I actually fell hard for the "soundtrack" as it were of what was the very first Pink Panther cartoon, "The Pink Phink". Everything stood out for this one as the pilot cartoon: the more minimalist design, the slightly stouter but still suave panther and what would be a more faithful rendition of the theme song.
Some years would pass before I finally discovered that the Pink Panther hadn't come from a weekday cartoonist's mind but from director/screenwriter Blake Edwards' realization of an idea for a 1963 motion-picture live-action caper comedy which would introduce one of cinema's biggest comedic characters in the form of Inspector Jacques Clouseau played by Peter Sellers, and of course, the legendary Pink Panther. Apparently, the opening credits for the movie became so popular with folks that some of them actually bought more tickets just to see them again...and thus, the cartoon was born.
It's been a long time since I've seen "The Pink Panther" but though I remember that Clouseau back then was also a bumbler, he was not quite so to the extent that he was in later sequels. Sellers had played him a bit more competently back then, and the jewel thieves were also in the bumbling category which surprised me considering that David Niven and Robert Wagner were the stars. My general feeling was that "The Pink Panther" was slapstick comedy nestled within a sophisticated movie of high society, international intrigue and beautiful people.
But when it comes down right to it, it will always be that Henry Mancini theme song with Plas Johnson behind the tenor sax that everyone will remember first. "The Pink Panther Theme" hit the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category, according to Wikipedia.
Mancini was also the composer behind the theme song for the 1964 "A Shot in the Dark", the first sequel to "The Pink Panther". And once again, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the theme for all those "The Inspector" cartoons had gotten its full glory in another popular opening credits sequence. "A Shot in the Dark" basically reflected Clouseau in its arrangement of intrigue, Frenchness and jazzy coolness along with the brassy explosions. And Clouseau seemed to attract all sorts of explosions.
This was the movie that set the Clouseau franchise template of being a total puffed-up buffoon who brought mayhem to any situation and person, especially his long-suffering boss, the increasingly neurotic Commissioner Dreyfus. I remember laughing my innards out like a sea cucumber on Red Alert during the running gag of the police van taking Clouseau into custody four times, including after his escapade at the nudist colony.
Well, Oricon wasn't around in the early 1960s and the usually dependable Showa Pops website of singles releases only goes as far back as 1965, so let us go with what won at the Japan Record Awards in 1963.
Some sad news from the world of kayo kyoku in that singer/actress Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）passed away on January 29th at the age of 76, according to NHK News. For many people, when her name has been mentioned, the one song that pops up all the time is her adorable 1963"Konnichiwa Akachan"（こんにちは赤ちゃん）.
However, according to a 2017 article in the Asahi Shimbun via J-Wiki, despite Azusa releasing many more songs since "Konnichiwa Akachan", she had been starting to wonder whether that would be the only kayo that she would be recognized by. Perhaps it was beginning to feel more like an increasingly heavier millstone than a medal.
Well, her saviours for that situation were lyricist Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and composer Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）who were finally able to take that millstone off Azusa's neck after 11 years by coming up with her March 1974 single, "Futari de O-sake wo" (Let's Have a Drink Together). Azusa was further grateful to them because she felt that the song matched her love of drink.
The J-Wiki article also mentioned that "Futari de O-sake wo" managed to take away that innocent image from Azusa because of "Konnichiwa Akachan" as Yamagami's lyrics have a woman (perhaps an experienced hostess in the Ginza clubs) reassure her imminently ex-paramour that everything will be OK once they part but it wouldn't hurt if they still got together for the odd drink. I like Hirao's music since that keyboard also helps lighten the mood with its gentle swing, and Azusa certainly shows the bon vivant maturity in her vocals.
"Futari de O-sake wo" peaked at No. 11 on the Oricon weeklies and got Azusaher 8th invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen in 1974, her first time in 5 years to appear on the NHK special. She would make another three appearances up to 1992. The singer also earned a couple of awards for the song as it finished 1974 as the 18th-ranked single of the year.
All I can say here is "What a difference 16 years make!".
My only knowledge of Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）had been for her recording of the adorable kayo classic "Konnichiwa Aka-chan" (こんにちは赤ちゃん）back in 1963 when she was around 20 years of age. Then earlier today, I found this video of this song titled "Yoroshikattara"(If It's OK With You) by Azusa, released in September 1979 when she was in her mid-30s.
It's definitely not for babies. Recorded as a commercial song for Partner Cigarettes, Azusa takes on vocals reminiscent of those for Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）in character as the done-it-all, seen-it-all woman who doesn't suffer fools gladly. However, she adds on a further layer of what seems rather chanson-like; the accordion that comes in and out adds to that Frenchness.
Categorizing "Yoroshikattara" was intriguing since it felt like a somewhat updated Mood Kayo with some fast horns and bass, so that there was an additional tone of City Pop. I've always thought that City Pop was not exactly a son of Mood Kayo but more of a with-it nephew. Kudos to composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）while Yoko Aki（阿木燿子）, who has provided sultry lyrics to the aforementioned Yamaguchi's later hits, weaves a tale of high living and loving, and perhaps a hint that she can handle both men and women. Of course, since this was for Partner Cigarettes, the lyrics even have that actual word sewn in there, too. "Yoroshikattara" made it all the way to No. 30 on the charts.
Most likely over the next several months, there will be box collections of the works of lyricist Rokusuke Ei coming out in the major music stores. I just found out this morning that Ei had passed away last week at the age of 83. So the Creator article this time will be as much a tribute to the man as it will be a look at his songs.
Rokusuke Ei was born in 1933 in the district of Moto-Asakusa, Tokyo, and along with his title of lyricist, he was also a radio personality, an essayist and a tarento although according to the NHK report on his death, he far preferred being behind a radio mike over being in front of a TV camera. In fact, his J-Wiki article mentioned that he truly loved the medium of radio; one piece of information stated that after high school, he and a group of friends got together to buy various parts in Akihabara to create their own crystal radio set. The leader of that group just happened to be the late actor Kiyoshi Atsumi（渥美清）who would gain his own legend through his famous character of Tora-san.
But when the NHK report started, the song that played is arguably the one that he is the most famous for, "Ue wo Muite Arukou"（上を向いて歩こう）by Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）from 1961. Ei wrote this evergreen tune about smiling through the tears with his frequent songwriting partner, Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）, who had left this mortal coil more than 20 years previously in 1992.
However, he and Nakamura got their songwriting tandem started in 1959 when they created the Mood Kayo"Kuroi Hanabira"（黒い花びら...Black Petals） for kayo singer Hiroshi Mizuhara（水原弘）. It was also a first for Mizuhara in that it was the singer's debut single. The combination was sweet for all concerned..."Kuroi Hanabira" won the Grand Prize at the very first Japan Record Awards in that same year.
The Ei/Nakamura duo had more success into the 1960s with another kayo standard, "Konnichiwa Akachan"（こんにちは赤ちゃん）from 1963 sung by Michiyo Azusa（梓みちよ）. As I mentioned in the article for that song, Ei wrote the words for Nakamura as a present of sorts in celebration of the upcoming birth of Nakamura's child.
Another composer who often worked with Ei was Taku Izumi（いずみたく）. Together they created another kayo classic in the form of "Ii Yu da na"（いい湯だな）in 1966 for the vocal group Duke Aces（デューク・エイセス）. Afterwards, the song was further immortalized as the ending theme for the very long-running variety series featuring comedy group The Drifters, "Hachi-ji da yo! Zen'in Shuugo!"（8時だよ！全員集合...It's 8 O'Clock! Everyone Assemble!）Considering how beloved onsen are in Japan, I would think that this song has triggered a Pavlovian craving for folks to head over to Hakone and other hot spring-laden resorts.
In the J-Wiki article on Ei, it said that although the songwriter liked some specific enka tunes, he wasn't a huge fan of the genre, generally speaking. And yet, he created one of Saburo Kitajima's（北島三郎）signature songs, "Kaero kana"（帰ろかな...Shall I Go Home?）for release in April 1965. An article for the song has yet to be written up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" so I will keep things brief here and just say that Ei and Nakamura managed to create an anthemic mountain-moving ballad for Sabu-chan that has been performed at no less than 7 of the Kohaku Utagassen specials, and most if not all of them probably ended the show in epic paper snow blizzards.
I'm uncertain whether Ei kept to a fixed theme when it came to writing lyrics for songs but just from looking back on some of these kayo here, I would guess that the lyricist liked to reflect specifically on the Japanese heart whether it dealt with the simple pleasures of soaking in a hot spring or keeping that smile up even during the most heartbreaking of times.
I may have heard it on that NHK report and I definitely did read it in the J-Wiki article but Ei stopped being a lyricist for the most part after 1969. According to that article, he had apparently been afraid that once anything got onto television, it would simply get trendy for that fact and perhaps not for the quality of the song itself. But the main reason was that Ei wanted to put his priorities on having Nakamura and Izumi more as friends than also as collaborating colleagues in the music industry. Perhaps he didn't like the stresses of songwriting wearing on their mutual friendships, and besides, it seems as if Ei had a lot of other interests to pursue to keep him happy. I'm not a religious man but I hope that Ei has now reunited with his old friends, Nakamura and Izumi (who also passed away in 1992) to talk about the old days. Meanwhile, I'm sure that there will be people here, famous or not, who will converse on and sing those nostalgic tunes at karaoke or the bars.
I'll leave you with a rendition of another Ei classic also from 1963, "Miagetegoran Yoru no Hoshi wo"（見上げてごらん夜の星を）, originally sung by Kyu Sakamoto.
One of those songs that just wanna make you go "Goo...goo...goo." Appropriately, "Konnichiwa Aka-chan"(Hello, Baby) is one of those songs that I've heard since I was an aka-chan myself. Created by the same tandem that brought the famed "Sukiyaki"song to life a couple of years earlier in 1961, lyricist Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）wrote the words and gave them to composer Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大）as a present; Nakamura was on the verge of becoming a father for the first time. The lyrics speak of a parent's greeting to a child:
Hello, baby....your face Hello, baby....your cries Those hands, those cute round eyes How do you do. I'm your mother. Hello, baby....your life Hello, baby....for your future This happiness is your father's wish How do you do. I'm your mother. (Thanks to j-lyric.net)
Awwwwwwwww. "Konnichiwa Aka-chan" was first introduced on an NHK program, "Yume de Aimashou"（夢で逢いましょう.....Let's Meet In Our Dreams） back in July 1963. It may have been a man who came up with the words, but there's always been a mother's heart buried deep in them. Sung cheerfully by the high-voiced Michiyo Azusa(梓みちよ）, the song sold over a million records and earned the Grand Prize on that year's Japan Record Awards, plus an appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen for Azusa.
Even today, probably any new mother has internalized the song for obligatory use.
