Morton Stevens/The Ventures -- Theme from "Hawaii Five-0"

From YouTube

 

Former contributor and good friend JTM who lives in the Aloha State might snicker a bit, but whenever I hear about Hawaii, it's not palm trees, leis or ukuleles that first come to mind. I always think of gigantic waves...namely the one that shows up in the opening credits of the original "Hawaii Five-0" which began its dozen-year run in September 1968. The image kept imprinting itself into my head because I used to remember it as a toddler whenever the long-running cop series came on CBS (I can't quite believe that I was allowed to stay up that late). At one point, I just marveled at the fact that the wave didn't crash into our living room.

Speaking of those opening credits, they are iconic. It will go down as the coolest and most dramatic travelogue for the 50th State in pop culture history especially when the camera races up to the star, Jack Lord as Steve "Not a Hair Out of Place" McGarrett, turning toward it. Of course, what else is iconic is the theme song which has gone down as one of the best that television has ever come up with anywhere around the world.

We can thank composer Morton Stevens, a protégé of Jerry Goldsmith, for the theme. I have no idea how he was inspired to come up with something this epic for a cop show in Hawaii, but it's gotten to the point that if some band plays it anywhere, it will get a rousing round of applause and cheers...and maybe the odd "Book 'em, Danno, Murder One".

The thing is that Stevens was partially responsible for my early exposure to television music. I only found out recently that he had also been behind the elegant theme for the weekly CBS movies, and it even had a title "So Old, So Young". Along with his work on movie scores, he also had a hand in other television shows such as "Gilligan's Island", another one that I remember very well.

A musical cue that Stevens used in "Hawaii Five-0" got even more fame and popularity as it got a new job accompanying "A CBS Special Presentation" lead-ins. It was those lead-ins that got me excited for the fact that they invariably led me to "Peanuts" specials. The original track from "Hawaii Five-0" is below with that percussive cue revving up at around 47 seconds.

For a few years, I had assumed that The Ventures were the ones behind the theme for "Hawaii Five-0". Well, the band that has given its own contributions to kayo kyoku in Japan actually did the cover for Stevens' theme later in 1968 which became one of their big hits, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard. It did well in Canada, too, hitting No. 5 on RPM.

Of course, it came back for another decade on the new "Hawaii Five-O". And even for a beloved CG movie franchise.

Anyways, a couple of acts won some Best New Artist prizes at the Japan Record Awards in 1968.

Ken Yabuki -- Anata no Blues （あなたのブルース）

Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Dolores Claman -- The Hockey Theme

 

Yup, I realize that Toronto, Canada has the MLB Blue Jays, the NBA Raptors, the MLS Toronto FC and the CFL Argonauts. But I think that even at this point in the 21st century, there will always be a special spot here for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. The above video shows the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup in early 1967, maybe around when I was 18 months old, so I don't remember anything of that championship. We've been waiting since then for another Cup win, and I'm less than a decade away from retirement age.

Of course, anyone who was born and raised in the Great White North has at least heard of the CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" on wintry Saturday nights. First started on radio in 1929, the first televised broadcasts of this sports institution began in 1952, and one of my earliest memories as a toddler when my family was living in downtown Toronto's St. James Town was watching Ward Cornell doing one of his interviews during the game. Maybe the above video is that interview, I'm not sure. But I sure remember his talking partner, commentator Bob Goldham who used to be a defenceman for the Leafs, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

What's another legendary sports institution in this nation? The theme song for "Hockey Night in Canada" which I only found out recently was officially titled "The Hockey Theme". I had always just known it as the "Hockey Night in Canada" theme all these decades and the song has been treated like the unofficial Canadian national anthem since its first appearance in 1968, next to the official one of "O Canada".

Composed by Dolores Claman, who specialized in commercial jingles and television theme music, and performed by the Jerry Toth Orchestra, the original version was created by Claman as if ice hockey were all a spectacle with Roman gladiators on skates. Considering that back in those days, bench-clearing melees were fairly frequent, the analogy was apt. But what I also liked was the part of the theme that ended each broadcast of "Hockey Night in Canada" which was done as a cool Mancini-esque swing jazz march.

Of course, changes had come for "Hockey Night in Canada" even before my long stint in Japan. It was no longer just the one game that Saturday night for two to three hours beginning from 8pm. It's now wall-to-wall games starting from 6:30 pm to well past midnight with other channels chiming in. The other major thing was that during my time across the Pacific, "The Hockey Theme", through some failed negotiations on the CBC's part, ended up heading over to its rival network, CTV and its sports channels, in 2008, news which felt like a bittersweet conclusion to the "The Twilight Zone". The song is still being used there but I'm hoping that it will someday return to the program that begat it.

Anyways, another hockey season is about to begin next week. So, which folks were getting the Japan Record Awards in Japan in 1968?

Grand Prize: Jun Mayuzumi -- Tenshi no Yuwaku （天使の誘惑）

Best Performance: Mina Aoe -- Isezakicho Blues （伊勢崎町ブルース）

Best New Artist: Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Tony Bennett -- Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town

 

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone down in the United States. Hope the turkey and stuffing taste good. Secondly, since it is November 25th, it is time for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" to hit Christmas mode, so for the next month before the Yuletide finally arrives, I will be putting up some J-Xmas tunes from time to time. Coincidentally enough, today falls on a Thursday which is usually time for the weekly Reminiscings of Youth article, so why not mix a ROY and a Christmas tune?

So, let us begin. According to Wikipedia, the old chestnut "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" created by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie may have been first recorded in October 1934 thanks to banjoist Harry Reser and his band, and it became a humongous hit so I gather that the money came to town, too. For little ol' J-Canuck, most likely my first listening to the song came about from watching the 1970 Rankin & Bass TV special of the same name starring Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn. Oh, how I hated the Burgermeister Meisterburger and how I rooted for the young red-haired Kris Kringle!

Some years later, my parents bought me the vinyl of "A Christmas Gift" by Ronco with all sorts of songs of the season performed by some of the best singers including Bing Crosby, Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews. Now that I've had a record player for the past several years, I have been listening to the old LP again every year around this time, and Track 2 for me serves as probably my favourite version of the oft-recorded "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town"...the one that had been on Tony Bennett's "Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album" from October 1968.

I can say with some confidence that my interest in jazz in general and especially my love for Big Band Swing arose because of Bennett's smashing take on "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town". There is that mix of jazz swing and seasonal orchestral strings working hard behind the smooth dulcet tones of the one and only Tony, and that intro won me over immediately. Most likely, my ears exploded on hearing that brass section tear out of the stereo speakers for the first time. It just feels like the singer was on the Las Vegas stage on December 24th, and again going to that mix, fellow listeners and fans like myself must have enjoyed the classy horns blasting behind Tony while the strings sounded like a melodic version of a Hallmark card. 

There have been other jazz takes on "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" with folks like Diana Krall, The Manhattan Transfer and Michael Buble, but my sentimental favourite will always be the one by Bennett. It is for that reason that it feels particularly poignant this year since on reading that the singer has hung up his tuxedo or suit for the final time after one last concert and one last album at the age of 95. I'm not sure even at that age or with his battle against Alzheimer's Disease whether he wanted his retirement but he's certainly earned it and he's left us a legacy of great music.

For the kayo comparison this time, I've decided to bring in some of the award winners from the 10th Annual Japan Record Awards from 1968.

Grand Prize: Jun Mayuzumi -- Tenshi no Yuwaku （天使の誘惑）

Performance Prize: Mina Aoe -- Isezakicho Blues （伊勢崎町ブルース）

Best New Artist: Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Maria Muldaur -- Midnight at the Oasis

 

"So sensual and evocative that it was probably one of the most replayed records of the era and may be responsible for the most pregnancies from a record during the mid-'70s."

The above quote was by AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald via the Wikipedia article for "Midnight at the Oasis", a song that had first seen the light of day through singer Maria Muldaur's self-titled debut album from August 1973. As a kid of course, I used to hear it all the time on AM radio at home and in the car, and I just thought it was a really nice song to listen to instead of it being considered to be the aural equivalent of oysters, ginseng and other vaunted aphrodisiacs. Of course, as a wee kid, I shouldn't have been privy to that sort of information back then in any case. Then again, I didn't know the truth behind guitarist David Nicthern's words until just a few years ago since I've never been a huge lyrics person.

So here I had thought that "Midnight at the Oasis" was referring to a lovely romp at a nightclub called The Oasis instead of a lovely romp on the oasis. Well, we all learn something every day, don't we? It was released as a single the following year in February, and it did very well on the US Billboard chart by placing in at No. 6 but it did even better in Canada where it hit No. 1 on RPM. On the yearly charts, there was a switch in results in that it placed in at No. 13 on Billboard while finishing at No. 45 on RPM.

All in all, though, I think "Midnight at the Oasis" is just the tonic while heading home late at night or very early in the morning in the car. Good times on the radio!

In terms of what was being released in Japan at the time that people first heard "Midnight at the Oasis" on Muldaur's album back in August 1973, I found these three songs that may actually have been re-releases rather than original releases, according to Showa Pops.

Chieko Baisho -- Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni （さよならはダンスの後に）

Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Naomi Chiaki -- Yakan Hiko （夜間飛行）

Pinky and Killers -- Tanjoubi wa Ii Mon da （誕生日はいいもんだ）

Normally I wouldn't tout my birthday...but it looks like SNS like Facebook are more than happy to do the touting for me. And frankly for folks like me who are beyond their 40s, birthdays aren't exactly anything to be all that enthused about anyways. Still, I will officially be going into my 51st year on Earth in a couple of hours.

As is the case here in North America, a lot of those Western-style restaurants in Tokyo such as the Outback Steakhouse are more than happy to help celebrate the birthday occasion. So the wait staff will come on out with a small birthday cake while Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday" plays on the speakers. Our family though is definitely not one of those groups that will advertise a birthday to a restaurant...we relish our privacy.

Last night, I received a message from my Mixi account from one of my friends in Japan which consisted of the above song. It sounded adorable enough so that I wanted to share it with you as well. Titled "Tanjoubi wa Ii Mon da" (A Birthday is a Wonderful Thing), it is sung by the band Pinky and Killers（ピンキーとキラーズ）and was released as their 12th single in 1970.

Now, I've known Pinky and Killers with the clear-voiced Yoko Kon（今陽子）leading the way with the cool 60s number "Koi no Kisetsu"（恋の季節）, so it was a tad surprising to hear them sing this birthday song that was so cute that it could have been made for the kiddies. As for liner note information, I could only find out that Taku Izumi (いずみたく) was responsible for the breezy, let's-go-catch-butterflies music.

http://upopvocal.music.coocan.jp/pkbirthday.html

Toi et Moi/Jackey Yoshikawa & His Blue Comets/Pinky & Killers/Mari Amachi -- Niji to Yuki no Ballad （虹と雪のバラード）

Now that Tokyo will be hosting the Summer Olympics for the 2nd time in a little less than 7 years' time, eventually the organizers will have to get a superstar singer to come up with a zinger of a theme song. Of course, various artists from Maki Ohguro to Misia to Anri have come up with songs that were used for various Olympiads, but for the Tokyo Games, the chosen singer or singers will have to have 20/20 vision for 2020 since it is the capital of Japan, after all.

Now, take a fellow by the name of Bunichiro Kawamura（河邨文一郎）. In 1970, he was given the assignment to write the lyrics for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo with Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦） as the composer. National broadcaster NHK gave Kawamura 3 conditions to help him formulate the theme song for the Sapporo Games: 1) The song has to last long after the Games are done. 2) It has to express the hearts of the residents of Sapporo. 3) It shouldn't have a heavy ceremonial feel but it must be able to be sung by everyone from the Buddhist monk on his guitar to thousands of people in chorus (translated and paraphrased from the J-Wiki article for the song). No pressure. And the kicker was that Kawamura's stock in trade wasn't lyrics.... he was an award-winning poet and orthopedist! The poor man had to go through 2 weeks' worth of writer's block before that pen of his finally got going.

However, Kawamura somehow got the job done. In February 1971, "Niji to Yuki no Ballad" (The Ballad of Rainbow and Snow) was first broadcast on the NHK "Minna no Uta"（みんなのうた...Songs for Everybody） series and would later get officially released as a single, starting off with folk duo Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モワ）.

The above two videos have Toi et Moi giving the recorded and live performances. I decided to write about "Niji to Yuki no Ballad" since I actually caught it tonight on a special NHK concert performance. The song was the duo's 9th single released in July 1971 and was the most successful version, hitting the No. 7 spot on Oricon. I can't be sure about Condition 1 when it comes to how long its popularity lasted once the Sapporo Games were over, but I think Conditions 2 and 3 were met. It doesn't come off as overly ceremonial, but it does show that pride in an anthemic but folksy way.

Some weeks after Toi et Moi's version got released, Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa & His Blue Comets （ジャッキー吉川とブルーコメッツ）brought out their own folk/GS cover of the song as their 25th single. However, since it seemed that everyone got their fill of "Niji to Yuki no Ballad" through Toi et Moi, there weren't too many people left to go for The Comets' cover.

But then between Toi et Moi and The Comets was the version given by Pinky & Killers（ピンキーとキラーズ） which was incidentally the band's 2nd-last single released in August 1971. Lead vocalist Yoko Kon（今陽子） gives a nicely full-throated performance here.

(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)

Then there is Mari Amachi's（天地真理） soft and relaxing cover which was never released as a single and considering that the 70s aidoru had only started her career in October 1971, she sounded remarkably reassured here. The song was actually a track on her debut album, "Mizuiro no Koi"（水色の恋...Water-Coloured Love） (December 1971), which managed to become the top album of 1972.

Now, as for those 3 conditions, I wonder if NHK will be dusting those off once more in the year 2018, and who will be the one to follow them to get a song out. Could it be Noriyuki Makihara? Yasushi Akimoto?

Pinky and Killers -- Koi no Kisetsu (恋の季節）

Not too long ago, the Japanese government came up with a campaign called "Cool Japan"to boost up the tourist numbers with Tokyo's geeky Akihabara as the lynchpin. I think the term could've come in vogue decades earlier with this song.

"Koi no Kisetsu"(Season of Love) has got that half-kitschy, half-cool vibe that would've made it at home on any Quentin Tarentino movie soundtrack. The flute and the hoary bass really bring back the 60s. And the band, Pinky and Killers, can go down in history as having one of the most imaginative names. But they settled for having their debut song go down in history as having the most number of weeks at No. 1 (17 weeks)...still unbroken. But it isn't a continuous streak. After the 12th week, it was usurped for one week by another song but came back to the top spot for another 5 weeks. The single sold 2.7 million copies and earned a Japan Record Award before finishing up its magic run as the 4th-ranked single of 1968 and a spot on the Kohaku.

Singer-actress Yoko Kon（今陽子） was Pinky, responsible for that resonant alto while backed up by her Killers. They were quite the Dapper Dans...and Daniella...in their ties and bowler hats.

The band also ended up on the closing credits of some TV show. And they apparently get occasionally invited to reprise the song on some nostalgic music show....which is almost an industry in itself in Japan.