Patrick Hernandez -- Born to be Alive

 

Ah, yes, YouTube...finder of lost memories of music. Perhaps I should say that it is a corrector of wrong memories of music. To explain, I had thought for the longest time that the disco hit "Born to be Alive" was a song by Canadian singer Gino Vannelli but it was actually by French singer Patrick Hernandez. And look, the names and origin nations may be vastly different (aside from the fact that both Canada and France have French as official languages), but both singers have huge mops of hair, boomer voices and plenty of charisma. I remember who I thought was Vannelli singing "Born to be Alive" as he popped up on a TV commercial for one of those K-Tel record compilations. It was no wonder that for some bizarre reason, I couldn't find the song on my own Vannelli BEST compilation.

What made it worse was that I hadn't even known the name of the real person behind "Born to be Alive". However, one day not too long ago, YouTube burst forth with some video shorts playing that very song for some ambitious dancing folks, and I finally had my singer. Interestingly enough, I remember this song being played at one of our junior high school presentations when a few of the girls decided to have a dance to this Hernandez hit. I gotta admit that hearing the song again after so long, I can imagine this still bringing the masses onto the dance floor to hoof it up with abandon. And back in the day after its release in November 1978, it struck No. 1 in a number of countries including Canada, America, Italy and Mexico.

And that begs the question, what Japanese singles were coming out in November 1978?

Anri -- Olivia wo Kikinagara （オリビアを聴きながら）

Hiroshi Madoka -- Musoubana （夢想花）

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Ii Hi Tabidachi (いい日旅立ち)

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Harukaze no Itazura（春風のいたずら）

Amazon.jp

This Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）song was recommended to me by a commenter a few days ago and it turns out to be her fourth single that I hadn't known about. "Harukaze no Itazura" (Spring Wind Mischief) which was released in March 1974 arrived between a couple of arguably more well-known hits by the famed 70s aidoru and actress, "Kinjirareta Asobi"（禁じられた遊び）from November 1973 and "Hito Natsu no Keiken"（ひと夏経験）from November 1974.

As with those two songs, "Harukaze no Itazura" was written by Kazuya Senke（千家和也）and composed by Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）. The arrangement by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）was reflective of what Momoe's early material sounded like: light and bouncy kayo paired with her younger and higher-pitched vocals. It's all about a young girl who's gotten so distraught after a fight with the boyfriend that she's gotten lost somewhere in the big cruel city while a cold spring wind is blowing. If Momoe's late-career persona of jaded mankiller ever saw this lass, she would have either taken her under her wing or perhaps given her a sneer and internally told her to dry up.

"Harukaze no Itazura" reached No. 11 on Oricon and ended up as the 85th-ranked single for 1974. The song was also included on her 3rd studio album "Juu-go Sai no Tehma ~ Momoe no Kisetsu"（15歳のテーマ 百恵の季節...Theme of 15 Years Old ~ Momoe's Season） which came out in April 1974 and reached No. 7 on the album charts.

Bonnie Tyler -- It's a Heartache

Wikimedia Commons

I was watching the local news here when the breaking news hit the screen that singer Bonnie Tyler had passed away at the age of 75 today. Apparently since the information came out regarding her death, her 1983 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart" has been getting a lot of looks. Tyler already has recognition on this blog for that very song and I'd been thinking of using today's ROY slot to give tribute to her 1984 "Holding Out for a Hero", but then, I realized that when I had posted Miki Asakura's（麻倉未稀）cover of the song, I basically treated the article also as a proto-ROY one.

So, I've gone back several years before her really large feathery hair music video days in those 1980s and back to her 1970s days to listen to her "It's a Heartache". Released on November 4th 1977 as her 5th single, this was created by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe and I remember it as this genteel country ballad that got a lot of airplay on AM radio. And strangely enough, I only heard it on radio and never saw the face behind the song. At the time, I wasn't much for remembering names so I was surprised years later that it was indeed Bonnie Tyler who had sung this one although it should have been recognizable because of her famously husky voice.

"It's a Heartache" was a No. 1 hit in several countries including Canada and France. In the United States, it got as high as No. 3 while in the UK, it reached No. 4. 

Speaking of her husky voice, that all came about from a surgical procedure earlier to remove some nodules from her vocal cords. "It's a Heartache" was one of her first recordings following that surgery and from what I've read on the article for the song, her "new" voice made the song and most likely her entire career from that point onwards. Of course, I was interested in how Tyler had sounded in her first few singles before surgery so I pulled out her debut single "My! My! Honeycomb" from 1976. To be honest, I find her voice here to be a smoother version without the extra burr.

The Oricon rankings had their weekly report on November 7th 1977. So, what was up at the top of the list? Also, my condolences go out to Tyler's family, friends and fans throughout the world.

1. Pink Lady -- Wanted

2. Joe Yamanaka -- Ningen no Shomei （人間の証明）

3. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Cosmos (秋桜)

Shogo Hamada -- Kayaku no You ni（火薬のように）/Momoe Yamaguchi -- Ai no Twilight Time（愛のTWILIGHT TIME）

 

It was less than a week ago when I posted up "Tokyo Songs" which of course would have to include Shogo Hamada's（浜田省吾）"Tokyo"（東京）, a not-so-positive but probably more realistic account of what life in the big city could be like at the time. Maybe it was released as a counterpoint to Kenji Sawada's（沢田研二）hit "TOKIO" which was also out there in the same year.

Well, I was curious then to hear what the B-side of Hamada's "Tokyo" was like, so I came across "Kayaku no You ni" (Like Gunpowder). With that title, I had been expecting something quite hard rock and explosive, but it's actually quite the cordial rock n' roll story about a couple of high school buddies who choose to skip class and hop onto the motorcycle and hit the beach to play music and scope out the ladies. Ahhh...life in 1980 Japan...or maybe even 2026 Japan, I don't know.🤷 Hamada was behind words and music with Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）arranging everything.

Time for a crazy coda for this article. As I was looking over the information on "Kayaku no You ni" on J-Wiki, I found out that the song was actually Hamada's own self-cover of a track that he'd provided aidoru Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）all the way back in August 1977 when her 12th studio album "Golden Flight" was released. It was titled "Ai no Twilight Time" (Twilight Time for Love) at the time, had different lyrics about lost love by Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）, and though Hiroshi Kato's（加藤ヒロシ）arrangement kept things in rock, it had more of a honky-tonk style with a bit more in the production. "Golden Flight" hit No. 3 on Oricon. Always fascinating to hear a new Momoe tune and this one is no different.

The Muppets -- The Muppet Show Theme

 

It's safe to say that generations of people have grown up with "Sesame Street" including yours truly. Since 1969, I got to know about the safest and friendliest inner city neighbourhood in existence and its mix of human and Muppet residents ranging from Gordon and Susan to Ernie and Bert. But arguably, it can be said that one of those characters made it big outside of the area and that would be Kermit the Frog.

In fact, I think Kermit was able to inherit a huge if somewhat dilapidated playhouse and a new cast of characters (Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Fozzie, etc.) along with some famous human guests to create "The Muppet Show" in 1976. Of the many guests that appeared on the show, I remember Roger Moore, Elton John and Mark Hamill. I can't quite remember when on the weekly TV slate it appeared on CBC but it was must-see TV for me for a good long while during those five years.

Strangely enough, this is where I first got to know Gilda Radner. Gilda WHO was what I'd thought when I saw her in the above sketch. I hadn't started watching "Saturday Night Live" back then since I simply wasn't allowed to stay up past 10 back then so it would be a few years before realizing that she'd been part of the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players. Also one other interesting observation is that I think this sketch with the snobby carrot was perhaps the only time that I'd ever seen Gilda sing.

Of course, there were the regular segments on the show such as "At the Dance" where the participants got to crack wise while tripping the light fantastic on the ballroom floor. I think it may have been inspired by a similar segment from the American comedy-variety show "Laugh-In". 

But one thing that was the constant (although it also evolved throughout the years) was the theme song. Matching its Vaudevillian setting, the "Muppet Show" theme by Jim Henson and Sam Pottle was good ol' smacking jazz. It just welcomed all of us in like the friendliest usher in the house and I'm sure the kids loved to hum and sing to it. I have to admit hearing and seeing the intro again in that recent "Muppet Show" redux special brought some thrills back to me.

I kinda wonder what it must have been like to work with Peter Sellers. Anyways, the show premiered on September 5th 1976, so what was at the top of the Oricon chart on the 6th? We have the Top 3.

1. Teruhiko Aoi -- Anata dake wo (あなただけを)

2. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yokosuka Story （横須賀ストーリー）

3. Kozue Saito -- Yamaguchi Sanchi no Tsutomu-kun（山口さんちのツトム君）

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Zettai Zetsumei（絶体絶命）

 

Japanese television loves to use its fair share of musical cues within programs such as variety shows. For example, if there is an instance where a couple of celebrities are about to come to a screaming match or physical blows (mostly joking...mostly), Tomoyasu Hotei's（布袋寅泰）famous "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" roars in like an oncoming storm.

Well, I think another song intro which is much older than Hotei's classic could have been another perfect shredding guitar cue, and I have to admit that I have to give myself another Gibbs slap upside the back of my head since I had unintentionally omitted it from the pages of KKP for years and years. When it comes to Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）"Zettai Zetsumei", her 23rd single from August 1978, I put it up there with her "Imitation Gold"（イミテイション・ゴールド）and "Playback Part 2" （プレイバック・パート２）as the 70s aidoru's songs of fury...as in "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned".

"Zettai Zetsumei" can be interpreted as "desperate situation" or "stalemate", and both definitions can set the scene described by Yoko Aki's（阿木燿子）lyrics of irate showdown and her husband Ryudo Uzaki's（宇崎竜童）hard rocking confrontation music. You see, we have a love/hate triangle at a cafe somewhere in which at least one of the women has finally had enough of the status quo, and she and the other woman are giving the ultimatum to the guy they share. Who will win? Who will lose? And are there any sharp utensils nearby? You'd be surprised at how much damage a butter knife can do. 

Even the cover of the single has Momoe looking terrifying. She looks like she's saying "Oh, really? THAT'S what you're going with?". Ay, carumba! "Zettai Zetsumei" peaked at No. 3 and ended up as the 34th-ranked single of the year. It's also a track on the singer's September 1978 15th studio album "Dramatic"（ドラマチック）which went as high as No. 6 on Oricon.

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Shikaranai de（叱らないでね）

 

Wow! It's been around 13 years since I first posted the article on Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）1973 debut single "Toshigoro"（としごろ）onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Going back to my earliest memories of the 1970s aidoru when she was already in the latter half of her career in the persona of that seen-it-all and done-it-all world-weary woman, it was rather surprising to hear her all the way back to her first single when she was indeed acting and singing as the high school kid she was.

This is actually the first time though that I've gotten to hear the B-side to "Toshigoro", "Shikaranai de" (Don't Be Mad). When I saw the title, my assumption was that the song would be a rather melancholy ballad about a relationship going sour. Instead, it's arguably even more happy-go-lucky than the A-side. The same folks behind "Toshigoro" also took care of "Shikaranai de": Kazuya Senke（千家和也）on the lyrics and Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）on the melody and arrangement. The tempo is even a slight bit slower as those lyrics describe a young girl getting all gushy with her beau and leaving the big decisions up to him. I don't really know for sure, but my impression is that B-sides don't usually get performed on stage or TV but if it had been performed by Momoe, I would imagine a lot of young couples behind her doing some very cute choreography.

Substance Kayo

By wilfredor via Wikimedia Commons

 

In high school, I was always more adept in Chemistry than I was in Physics (Biology was my favourite, though). I couldn't make heads nor tails of Physics but give me a test tube and some substances, and I was a happy camper. For one class, we had to go crazy making esters. It was indeed great fun but all those odors infused into us so heading home on the bus that day wasn't the most pleasant for my fellow commuters. 

Anyways, I did bring over a periodic table from Wikimedia Commons. At one point, I was able to memorize the first ten elements. I think I still have the ability but I've noticed in the 40 odd years since my last Chemistry class, the periodic table has grown some more elements. Also, I need to put a shoutout to my old Chemistry teacher, Mr. Phillips. He was a grizzled elderly ex-soldier who definitely held a position of some responsibility (sergeant at the very least) and if he detected any nonsense, he made you feel like the lowest recruit at boot camp. But if you were on his good side, he could be quite cordial.

Yes, I am being quite whimsical (and before a Wednesday, to boot) which means that I've got to get an Author's Picks out of my system. This time, it's all about the substances that I've seen in titles of kayo kyoku over the years. And I'm not just talking about the bare elements either.

(1966) Barb Satake -- Neon Gawa（ネオン川）

(1975) Hiromi Ohta -- Momen no Handkerchief (木綿のハンカチーフ）

(1977) Momoe Yamaguchi -- Imitation Gold （イミテイション・ゴールド）

(1981) Anri -- Cotton Kibun （コットン気分）

(1981) Noriko Miyamoto -- Silver Rain

(1981) Jun Horie -- Memory Glass（メモリーグラス）

One more thing about Mr. Phillips. There was once this cockamamie so-called allowance at high school in which if a teacher didn't show up at class within the first ten minutes, then the students could walk out and have a free hour. One time, our math teacher didn't show up due to traffic issues so of course, a third of the class just stood up and walked out gleefully. A minute later, that whole third walked back in looking dramatically glum...and in walked Mr. Phillips behind them looking very miffed. We then got the drill sergeant's reprimand along with a no-nonsense reminder that no such allowance existed. It turned out that the math teacher had called the office to let the school know that he would be late. Mr. Phillips was there to make sure that the allowance never happened.

The Works of Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）

Wikimedia Commons via the Agency for Cultural Affairs

 

Since going into the 21st century, NHK's Kohaku Utagassen has undergone a number of key changes in its format, but one thing that has been retained is everyone's singing of "Auld Lang Syne" or as it is known in Japanese, "Hotaru no Hikari" (蛍の光）. The orchestra goes into its rendition at the end of the broadcast with a brief glimpse of the man who's conducting them. In the past, that has been singer Ichiro Fujiyama（藤山一郎）and singer-songwriter Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）. For the past several years, though, it's been singer-songwriter Shunichi Tokura.

Well, since it's been several months since I've written up a Creator article (the last one was for Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）back last August), I've decided to whip one up tonight for one of the more prolific songwriters. Tokura has come up with some of the biggest hits in the late kayo kyoku period including those for some of the most famous aidoru of the 1970s: Pink Lady and Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）.

Born in Tokyo in June 1948, Tokura got into music pretty early in life by picking up the violin at the age of 4. His father was a diplomat so for several years, their family was living in West Germany where he started studying the basics of music. Returning to Japan at the age of 12, some of his junior high school classmates included future officials in government and business. He then returned to Germany for high school (where he joined a band called The Beat Cats) before making his way back to his home country.

During his sophomore year in university, Tokura became the vocalist for the folk group The Panic Men which came out with a 1968 single called "Omoide no Komichi"（思い出の小径...Path of Memories）. This was also the time when he took up his future career as a composer and one of his first creations was Chinatsu Nakayama's（中山千夏）"Anata no Kokoro ni" (あなたの心に) in 1969.

A few years later in 1971, Tokura would compose "Tenshi ni Narenai"（天使になれない...Can't Be An Angel） with lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, a heartfelt 8th single for Akiko Wada（和田アキ子）that became her first Top 10 hit, coming in at No. 8. It was also Wada's ticket for her 2nd appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen that year.

Tokura currently has 60 articles, not including this one but including one which shows his own solo song "I'm Just a Man". I was pretty surprised and happy to get his name on the byline as a performer. But let's show some of the ones that he has composed for other big-time acts. Along with other composers such as Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, there is a bit of a "He made that one?!" buzz around Tokura.

(1977) Pink Lady -- UFO

(1974) Momoe Yamaguchi -- Hito Natsu no Keiken（ひと夏経験）

(1979) Tomoko Kuwae -- Watashi no Heart wa Stop Motion （私のハートはストップモーション）

(1972) Linda Yamamoto -- Dounimo Tomaranai （どうにもとまらない）

(1977) Karyudo -- Azusa Ni-go （あずさ２号）

(1973) Pedro & Capricious -- Johnny e no Dengon （ジョニイへの伝言）

Along with his many accolades over the decades, he was the JASRAC chairman and currently Tokura is the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Not bad for a guy who once whipped up a melody about an alien-human love affair.

Steely Dan -- FM (No Static at All)

 

I'm providing this week's Reminiscings of Youth under false pretenses since this song by Steely Dan, unlike "Peg" and "Time Out of Mind", isn't something from my youth. I never heard this on the radio while I was growing up although I was certainly alive at the time of its release in 1978. In fact, I didn't hear it for the first time until I was well within my odyssey in Japan between 1994 and 2011 when I picked up that Steely Dan BEST compilation.

As well, I had never seen nor heard of the April 1978 film "FM" with its eclectic cast which included two stars from Mel Brooks' classic "Blazing Saddles": Alex Karras and Cleavon Little. It wasn't particularly well reviewed but looking at the trailer, I'd be interested in taking a gander at it.

However, it's the theme song by Steely Dan, "FM (No Static at All)", that has managed to grab me by the wide lapels of my leisure suit of the 1970s. But I'm a huge Steely Dan fan so that's no surprise. What's also no surprise is that Wikipedia has provided a rather lengthy article on the song itself so please peruse that for that analysis that I could never create. 

For me, "FM" is this heady combination of jazz, rock, R&B and romantic sophisticated pop that hits all the right places. The first three genres drive me on the nocturnal and perhaps not-so-safe streets of the metropolis while the final genre manages to lift me up into the clouds and penthouses thanks to those really silky strings. And once again, it seems as if Donald Fagen and Walter Becker managed to attract some of the best of the best in studio musicians and jazz greats such as drummer Jeff Porcaro of TOTO and saxophonist Pete Christlieb. Plus, I only found out recently that some of The Eagles had helped out as background singers. The contrasts and comparisons even extend into the relationship between the song and the movie with the lyrics condemning FM radio while the John A. Alonzo project wants to save it. As a kid who only really knew about AM radio at the time, this whole argument was lost on me. But I'll be more than happy to take "FM" for my own now. I'd also say that this would be one song that I'd play on my own radio broadcast that I mentioned some months ago.

"FM" the single was released on May 19, 1978. A few days prior, there was the Oricon Top 10 list for May 15. Let's see what was up at Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

1. Pink Lady -- Southpaw （サウスポー）

3. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Playback Part 2 （プレイバック・パート２）

5. Candies -- Hohoemigaeshi （微笑がえし）

Starland Vocal Band -- Afternoon Delight

 

Ahh...yes. "Anchorman", the gift that keeps on giving through reaction videos and the actual movie itself. I recall that back in 2022, I thanked "Anchorman 2" for highlighting a 1976 song from my radio days titled "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" by England Dan & John Ford Coley. Well, I got another one right from that year that got highlighted in the first movie.

And the wonderful thing is that the actual main cast was behind covering it. It was simultaneously hilarious and heartwarming as Ron Burgundy and his buds on the news team sang (in wonderful harmony) "Afternoon Delight" which was originally by Starland Vocal Band. Now back in those halcyon days of the 1970s, I was about as sweet, naive and thickheaded (probably still am) as Brick Tamland (and yes, I love lamp too), so I hadn't been aware of the hidden message of getting a "nooner" in the lyrics. "Afternoon Delight" was about a friendly country ditty that mystified me because it sounded as if someone were shooting fireworks in broad daylight...which probably was the case, figuratively speaking. Plus, there was that mighty guitar twang right after "...skyrockets in flight..." that made me able to remember the song after all these decades.

Perhaps there were a lot of nudges and winks at the Grammys that year as "Afternoon Delight" won for Best Vocal Arrangement and was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Group. It also hit No. 1 in both Canada and the United States. For one of those No. 1s, that was on July 10th 1976 which begs the question: What hit the top on Oricon on July 12th 1976? I have here Nos. 1, 3 and 4.

1. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yokosuka Story （横須賀ストーリー）

3. Hiromi Ohta -- Akai High Heel（赤いハイヒール）

4. Akira Inaba -- Wakatte Kudasai（わかって下さい）

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Club Sandwich wa Ikaga? （クラブ・サンドウイッチはいかが？）

 

The whole family went out last night for dinner and we had it at a Swiss Chalet not too far away. As a bit of a change from my usual choice, I ordered a Hot Chicken Sandwich. It turned out to be somewhat less than the sum of its parts, however, since although there was plenty of bread and gravy slathered on, there wasn't a whole lot of chicken. I think the saltiness and the volume of gravy were meant to cover up for the deficiency. It just seemed like this restaurant's equivalent of the cheap Chinese takeout version of Deep Fried Shrimp...90% fried batter and 10% shrimp.

However, a club sandwich has never let me down no matter where I've eaten it. Most of the time, it's been at the diner franchise Eggsmart. I will always be a sucker for the bacon and chicken combo with generous smearings of mayonnaise. Found some good information on the famous dish at Wikipedia, too.

Last Wednesday, when I put up those two burger kayo, commenter AL replied that he actually found a club sandwich kayo and it was performed by none other than aidoru of the 1970s, Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）. "Club Sandwich wa Ikaga?" (How About a Club Sandwich?). It's truly an unusual tune since this whimsical ditty actually sounds like something from a century back with its playful jazz arrangement by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）. Even Momoe-chan herself gets in on the act by sounding like she was recorded via an old-fashioned gramophone. 

"Club Sandwich wa Ikaga?" was also one track on Yamaguchi's successful August 1976 album "Yokosuka Story"（横須賀ストーリー）with that famous trademark title tune, and indeed all of the tracks, including "Club Sandwich wa Ikaga?", were written and composed by husband-and-wife team Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki（阿木耀子・宇崎竜童）. Usually when I hear those two names and Yamaguchi's in the same breath, my mind will usually go to one of the singer's more world-weary and rough-and-tumble hits such as "Imitation Gold"（イミテイション・ゴールド）, so it is pretty revelatory when I hear something as comical as this particular song by the three. Heck, Momoe even predicted my drink of choice with my beloved club sandwich: hot coffee!🥪☕

Orleans -- Still the One

 

Once upon a time in Hollywood's TV Land, scripted dramas and comedies followed a standard schedule in which at around this time in May or June, the seasons for series ended and the summer was filled with lots of reruns from those series because after all, folks wanted to enjoy their summers outdoors. Then, in September and October, the seasons began anew. Of course before all that, the Three Big Networks (ABC, NBC and CBS) in America would spin out their campaign commercials boasting the fresh lineup and bringing out the stars

ABC was the network that had the most memorable one for me. I used to see the stars from programs such as "Three's Company", "Taxi" and "Angie" pop up in all sorts of fun and happy environments such as circuses and hot-air balloons (personally, no thanks) to entice viewers to come and watch. And it was all accompanied by an upbeat and inviting tune called "Still the One", and this campaign under this pop-rock tune continued for a while. Let's see how many thespians from way back when you can identify from above.

"Still the One" was catchy enough that I recall wanting to hear the full version of the song. And I eventually got it on radio where I realized that this was a song by the American pop-rock band Orleans. It was presented to the listening world as a single and a track from the band's August 1976 album "Waking and Dreaming". One couldn't have asked for a more triumphant song about a couple sticking it out through thick and thin for years and years.

In Canada, the single version of "Still the One" hit No. 9 while in America, it reached No. 5. Well, while "Still the One" was still the one, what were also the ones in August 1976 in Japan, according to Oricon? We've got Nos. 1, 4 and 5 from the August 16th chart.

1. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yokosuka Story （横須賀ストーリー）

4. Hiromi Ohta -- Akai High Heel（赤いハイヒール）

5. Hiromi Iwasaki -- Kiri no Meguriai（霧のめぐり逢い）

Olivia Newton-John -- I Honestly Love You

Wikimedia Commons

We're not too far away from the third anniversary of the passing of Olivia Newton-John who left this mortal coil in August 2022. It's hard for me to think of her as anyone else other than that pretty young blonde woman with the softest vocals imaginable, although she died at the age of 73.

For a lot of her file under Reminiscings of Youth, I've covered her discography going from the 1970s into the 1980s when she was tackling pop and dance music such as "Physical". And yet, my earliest memories of her go to the pink SONY radio when she was releasing the softer ballads and country music from the early 1970s. One of her most memorable songs from that period was "I Honestly Love You" which was released in August 1974, and created by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen.

I guarantee if they had played this ballad at her funeral, there probably wasn't a single dry eye in the place. It is one of the most tenderhearted love songs that I ever heard and if I did listen to this one on the day that the media announced her death, I probably wouldn't have been too dry-eyed either. As I recall, this got plenty of airplay, and not surprisingly, "I Honestly Love You" was a huge hit around the planet, hitting No. 1 in both America and Canada among other places. It also won Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 1975 Grammys.

Couldn't find an exact date for the release of "I Honestly Love You" aside from that month of August in 1974 so why not go with what was part of the Top 10 on Oricon on August 5th that year? I've got Nos. 1, 5 and 8.

1. Tonosama Kings -- Meoto Kagami（夫婦鏡）

5. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Hito Natsu no Keiken（ひと夏経験）

8. Finger Five -- Koi no American Football（恋のアメリカン・フットボール）

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Momoe, Yosui & Mina

 

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yume Saki Annainin (夢先案内人）

Yosui Inoue -- Isso Serenade （いっそセレナーデ）

Mina Aoe -- Shinjuku Saturday Night （新宿サタデー・ナイト）

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Shrewd Fellow（シュルード・フェロー）

 

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.

Al Stewart -- Year of the Cat

 

With my most recent example being Gen Hoshino's（星野源）"Eureka" back on Monday, I've always been a fan of some of the more elegant piano pop pieces on both sides of the Pacific. Of course, this can go all the way back to the Piano Man, Billy Joel, himself. There's something about fingers dancing on the keys like a prima ballerina that evokes a lot of good and relaxing feelings.

With both Joel and Hoshino, I have my fair share of articles regarding them and their music. However, I've only known Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart for just a couple of songs. One is his "Time Passages" which I only know through K-Tel compilation record commercials, but the other one is his most well-known song "Year of the Cat" from July 1976. A tale of a tourist in a strange land being taken for a whirlwind romance by a lady of mystery, the next morning has him waking up next to the lady and realizing his tour bus has taken off without him. Well, no problems...he'll hang around in town with her for as long as possible.

Perhaps Stewart's setting was somewhere in Southeast Asia but from the soaring music, I've always thought it was somewhere in Eastern Europe or even Northern Europe. For some reason, there was always something quite Baltic about "Year of the Cat". I used to hear the song a fair bit on radio but never paid attention to how long it was...at nearly seven minutes. I also didn't realize that two-thirds of the song was instrumental with piano, strings and saxophone among other instruments joining in this most refined jam. Stewart's vocals and his music were that mesmerizing and it is the type of song that I would like to listen to when times are not all that rosy so that I can actually feel like that man in the strange land with the mystery woman. There's a goodly amount of hope and curiosity and wistfulness to splash about in here.

In Canada, "Year of the Cat" hit No. 3 on RPM while in the United States, it made it all the way to No. 8 on Billboard. Now, when this classic got out, what was at the Top 3 of Oricon on July 5th 1976?

1. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yokosuka Story （横須賀ストーリー）

2. Daniel Boone -- Beautiful Sunday

3. Hiromi Ohta -- Akai High Heel（赤いハイヒール）

"Kin"（金）Songs

From Infoseek Rakuten

 

Well, I guess the Author's Pick articles keep on giving this month. I did the "Snow" songs last week and here we are with another one. But considering that we are at the end of the year, I guess having some of these compilations to commemorate the rush of "______ of the Year" lists is perhaps quite obvious.

This morning, Japanese news announced "The Kanji Character of the Year" and it turned out to be "kin"/"kane" which means "gold" or "money". It was chosen because of the gold medals that had been won by the Japanese athletes at the Paris Olympics back in the summer and also because of all of the money hijinks involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party this past year (probably not the only party to be guilty of that). So, there is a good side and a bad side.

Anyways, I was thinking about putting up a few songs tonight that have some connection with gold or money and even just the presence of the winning kanji in the title. It wasn't that easy but I managed to find four of them who already have a presence on the blog.

(1993) SMAP -- $10

(1977) Momoe Yamaguchi -- Imitation Gold （イミテイション・ゴールド）

(1999) Hiromi Go -- GOLDFINGER '99

(1992) Dreams Come True -- Kessen wa Kin'youbi (決戦は金曜日）

Chicago -- If You Leave Me Now

 

Welcome to the regular weekly Reminiscings of Youth. Back in May, I wrote one ROY on Seals and Crofts' "Summer Breeze", an early 1970s soft rock hit that was suddenly used in a drink commercial earlier this year. And of course, me being all about the nostalgic music, I was quite happy that an oldie could be dusted off to a new generation even if for a TV ad. 

Cue ahead a few months, and lightning has struck twice. Recently, the household goods store in my nation, Canadian Tire, has dusted off its own oldie-but-goodie that I used to hear on AM radio all the time, Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" from July 1976. The ad has a good dollop of bittersweet humour as Canadian Tire staff wipe a tear but smile in happiness as their favourite products get bought up and taken to their forever home while songwriter Peter Cetera croons away.

When I was hearing this on radio as a kid, I first noticed the French horns and strings, and I categorized it with my limited musical knowledge of the time as "fancy music". There were quite a few of these French horn-laden songs popping up in the 1970s. Nowadays, something like "If You Leave Me Now" would be considered to be 70s soft rock. Ironically, considering how beloved it seems to be now because of the Canadian Tire commercial, I remember the intro for this song popping up on a hard rock radio station ad and being treated as something like the Antichrist.

"If You Leave Me Now" didn't leave the radio-listening public for quite a while as it hit No. 1 in both the United States and Canada along with nations including Australia. It also won a couple of Grammys and by the middle of 1978, it had sold 1.4 million copies just in America alone. This might be Chicago's first ROY article but the band has popped up before on KKP due to "Street Player", the band's disco dance tune.

Well, couldn't find enough kayo kyoku from July 1976 so let's go with June 1976 in terms of what was being released at around the time of "Ai aru Wakare"（愛ある別れ）which is the Japanese translation for "If You Leave Me Now" when the single was being released over there.

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Yokosuka Story （横須賀ストーリー）

Seiko Miki -- Machibuse （まちぶせ）

Teruhiko Aoi -- Anata dake wo (あなただけを)

Momoe Yamaguchi/Akina Nakamori -- Aizenbashi（愛染橋）

 

Getting some of those cold feet before getting married? Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）probably didn't, but she can still feel your pain. In December 1979, she released her 28th single, "Aizenbashi" (Aizen Bridge).

Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）with some Kyoto dialect included, the song reflects the doubts and expectations of marriage via a famous bridge which actually existed somewhere in Osaka. The pensive but stylish melody was provided by Takao Horiuchi（堀内孝雄）which is interesting since his old partner from the folk group Alice（アリス）, Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司）, had been behind an earlier hit by Yamaguchi, "Ii Hi Tabidachi" (いい日旅立ち). In fact, I'd say that the song almost borders on an enka ballad. Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）took care of the arrangement.

"Aizenbashi" reached No. 10 on Oricon and ended up as the No. 69 single for 1980. It was also included on the singer's 19th studio album "Harutsugedori"（春告鳥...Japanese Bush Warbler） from February 1980 which hit No. 5 on the album chart. The single sold a little over 270,000 records and by doing so, Yamaguchi topped 10 million records sold for all of the singles thus far in her career. In that same year of 1979, aidoru duo Pink Lady and enka singer Shinichi Mori（森進一）also pulled off the same feat.

Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）gave her own refined cover of "Aizenbashi" through her 1994 album "Utahime"（歌姫）with more emphasis on the Asian and orchestral aspects.