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.
Showing posts with label Sachiko Kobayashi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sachiko Kobayashi. Show all posts
I figure that with the Holidays now in full swing in Japan, folks may be having their share of parties including those that occur at the karaoke boxes and bars of the nation. Maybe franchises such as Big Echo are doing volume business this week which may be quite long for people...perhaps as long as a week (yeah, I'm being a little sarcastic there). Of course, depending on the size and the average age of the group along with the type of songs that they tend to sing, there will be the duets to tackle.
Perhaps for the younger generation, that doesn't happen so often, since a lot of those duets occur in the enka and Mood Kayo genres. Plus, there is the matter of harmonizing which isn't all that easy. Not being a particularly great singer in my karaoke days in Japan, I don't think I ever dared ask any lady for a duet. However, listening to those duets on the stereo and now on YouTube is more my speed. Here are some of my favourites.
(1959) Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）
(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）
A few years ago, I posted another Reminiscings of Youth article regarding Joe Jackson's classy "Steppin' Out" from 1982 and how I first heard it when I was walking through a Hudson's Bay department store (which is now extinct, by the way) near its record album department. The same thing had happened to me perhaps a few years earlier with a totally different song. There was all this groove and funk surrounding a lone and perhaps lonely trumpet with such a sharp presence.
I couldn't identify it back then but I would gradually find out that this was the one and only Herb Alpert behind his July 1979"Rise". You could have knocked me down with a feather at that realization; I'd had no idea it was the same guy behind his iconic 1960s Tijuana Brass sound and the man behind the jolly "Casino Royale" theme. "Rise" sounded so sexy and urban (so I guess it was well titled, eh?😈) and quite different from what had come before. Apparently, Alpert had once been asked to come up with disco versions of his old hits such as "Tijuana Taxi" and "A Taste of Honey" but he (and I) didn't feel too comfortable with that and so a new song was crafted. Good choice!
"Rise" hit No. 1 on US Billboard while on Canada's RPM, it hit No. 5. Back in March, Alpert celebrated his 90th birthday and so there was a feature celebrating his life and career as shown below. Still on the trumpet, I see!
So, what was in the Top 3 of Oricon when "Rise" had been released a few days prior?.
Well, here I was last night stating that my previous Author's Pick was going to the final one for 2024, and then this opportunity comes along. Four weeks to go...what else can happen?
First off, congratulations to Japan for getting that UNESCO recognition for traditional sake brewing as an Intangible Cultural Asset. All those who have been steady viewers of KKP probably realize that I don't drink a whole lot but I have appreciated the higher brands of sake such as Kubota and Hakkaisan. One Cup Ozeki...not so much.
In any case, in commemoration of the news, I'm providing my own list of "sake" songs.
It was at the end of last month that I put up the article on my three favourite Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）songs in tribute to her 60th anniversary in show business. And that was through her appearance on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた...Songs of Japanese Spirit） where she also performed what I had assumed was a new song by her.
But in actual fact though, "Ibara no Ki" (Tree of Thorns) was her 88th single released in October 2012. Written and performed by veteran folksy singer-songwriter Masashi Sada（さだまさし）, the song about going through all of the rough stuff to attain some level of happiness as analogized through nature has been categorized as an enka tune, which is indeed Kobayashi's genre. However, considering that this is Sada who is involved here and just listening to the arrangement, I can't even say that this is some form of neo-enka ballad. This actually strikes me as being more of the hybrid genre of New Adult Music with the enka liquor being mixed with a Fashion Music tonic, so perhaps not so much of a traditional Japanese song but something that has a fair bit of European elegance infused here. On the Oricon regular chart, it scored a No. 38 but on the more specific enka and even indies charts, "Ibara no Ki" managed to peak at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively.
It was good that I discovered that "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた...Songs of Japanese Spirit） was on yesterday afternoon on Jme. Not only are my parents big fans of the kayo kyoku show but yesterday's episode commemorated veteran enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi's 60th anniversary in the music industry (many congratulations to her). Plus, I was able to find a small treasure trove of new kayo kyoku to write about in the coming days.
At first, I'd planned to go dive into those new songs and not give any more to Kobayashi since the songs which she sang on yesterday's program are ones that I've already covered on the blog. But then, I realized that I had yet to give my own Author's Pick on her tunes. I may have been way too young to appreciate her brand of enka and Mood Kayo to attend that one-and-only concert in Toronto decades ago, but the following decades were able to have me gradually cherish a few of her tunes through television and karaoke. In any case, here are my three favourites by her:
Happy Good Friday to all those who follow the statutory holiday. That's right...most of us are off today in the days leading to Easter which is arriving a little earlier than usual in 2024. As such, according to our own traditions on KKP, we'll be doing a special Reminiscings of Youth.
Keeping with the theme for urban contemporary on Fridays here on the blog, I wanted to go with something AOR or R&B from my youth. I found just the song...The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes". I ought to re-title it as "What a J-Canuck Believes" since it's taken me so long to get this up here as a ROY subject. I had actually assumed that Michael McDonald and his band were already represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" because McDonald has shown up on a number of ROYs in the past as a guest for other acts such asKenny Loggins and Steely Dan, but this is the first official Doobie Brothers' appearance on KKP. I'm giving myself a Gibbs slap as penance.
Although "What a Fool Believes" first appeared in the band's 1978 debut album"Minute by Minute", the single version was released in January 1979. If anyone asked me for a typical Doobie Brothers' song, I would immediately point to this one. Created by McDonald and the aforementioned Loggins, it's got that famous keyboard hook which has acted as the aural logo for the Doobies all these years. That melody kinda mellows out the story behind the lyrics of a fellow trying to rekindle a romance with an old flame, only to find out that there hadn't even been a first romance in the first place. Along with the hook, there are the iconic McDonald vocals and the path that the music takes weaving between whimsical and elegant. "What a Fool Believes" hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian charts.
Over the decades, there have been affectionate pokes at McDonald and the Doobies' sound. I know about McDonald's appearances on "Family Guy", but true to my age, I like to go back even further to "SCTV". It still kills me how Rick Moranis killed them. The wonderful thing is that both McDonald and Rick Beato referenced the two parodies involving the Doobie Brothers very magnanimously within the last couple of weeks.
As I said, "What a Fool Believes" was released in January 1979. Which Japanese singles did the same?
As Kayo Grace Kyoku is showing up above, it is Family Day today in most provinces in Canada including my home of Ontario. My own family had our big get-together a couple of days ago; we had sushi and pie because we like sushi and pie. Incidentally, let me introduce Kayo's family: we've got Kayo's mother Sayo at top left, and her two younger sisters, Mayo and Nayo going from left to right, and then at top right is father Garfield (yeah, like the cat). They have residences in Tokyo and Unionville, Ontario.
In any case, before I end up creating an entire background for the Kyoku family, let me get to the special edition of Reminiscings of Youth that I always do on holidays. I've chosen Kenny Loggins'"This is It", a song which I first discovered through a K-Tel compilation record commercial all the way back in my junior high school days and a few seconds of the official music video above is all I got. Since then, I've gotten to know a lot of Loggins' discography and even noted a few of his works in previous ROY articles but it took quite a while longer to appreciate "This is It" which was created by the singer and Michael McDonald who also contributes his distinct vocals.
When I heard "This is It" which was released as this soft rock song in October 1979, I had taken it to be a song of encouragement for those sitting on the borderline about whether or not to initiate some sort of courtship. Actually though, from what I read from the comments below the various copies of the song on YouTube and then the Wikipedia article on it, Loggins finally completed it as not a love song but as a life song as the man himself put it. His father had been going through surgery after surgery to resolve medical issues and as he was getting discouraged about the future, the singer and songwriter finally came up with the lyrics as not only encouragement but as a not-too-harsh smack on the head to stand up and fight and not give in or up.
The interesting thing is that usually when I hear a song with this lyrical theme of fighting against adversity, I get sound images of heroic marches or even enka. Not with "This is It"; it sounds sultry and smooth which would explain why I had initially thought it was a love ballad. Regardless of how people interpreted the music and lyrics, the song was another success for Loggins as it reached No. 9 on Canada's RPM chart and No. 11 in America.
I was able to find what was occupying the top three spaces on the Oricon Top 10 list for October 1st 1979 (although I don't know exactly which day "This is It" was released).
Although "Uta Con"（うたコン）did come back from summer hiatus last week, that episode was just a clip show. Last night's episode was the full deal with a lot of singers coming back including enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）. Kobayashi had been persona non grata for a few years following arguments between her husband and NHK, so that tradition of her appearing on the annual Kohaku Utagassen in ever epic and increasingly large costumes which threatened to consume the Shibuya stage came to an abrupt stop.
Mind you, she's been showing up again in the last little while and her appearance last night included a history of her appearances on the Kohaku in those costumes, and sure enough, even though it was just a regular episode, Kobayashi and production team worked on a giant mockup of an Asian tiger with her in it while she performed her hit "Omoide Zake"（おもいで酒）. It may not have been as huge as some of her past costumes, but it was enough so that I am starting to wonder whether her appearance was a prelude to an invitation to return to this year's edition of the New Year's Eve special. Stay tuned!
"Uta Con" also showed some of her earliest appearances on the Kohaku before all of the huge costume stuff came to be including the very first edition that I had seen: the 31st edition back in 1981. Kobayashi came out looking out very stylish to perform her 33rd single from June that year, "Mayoidori" (Stray Bird). Migratory birds tend to show up in kayo kyoku as symbols of people having to go from place to place and therefore their ability to settle down with the love of their lives is severely curtailed. I guess that it's kinda like the analogy of two ships passing in the night.
Written by Kotaro Aso（麻生香太郎）, composed by former rockabilly singer Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃） and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, "Mayoidori" is a very cheerful and elegant enka talking about having that brief affair before parting for good but leaving residues of regret and longing. Dang, with that supremely beaming smile from Kobayashi, one would have thought that "Mayoidori" was all about a pleasant walk among the sunflowers.
It's been some years since enka singer, actress and TV personality Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）has appeared on the Kohaku Utagassen. She used to be a perennial participant on the New Year's Eve special with the last several years having her perform the tradition of appearing in increasingly larger dresses/mammoth sets on stage. Frankly, I think the producers let that ritual go on somewhat too long so when she first stopped getting onto the special, I actually breathed some relief.
That doesn't mean that I appreciate her enka abilities any less. She's a fine singer and I have to admit that my heart skipped a beat when her beaming face began the above video. Basically, when it comes to her discography, a lot of folks flock to her hits such as "Omoide Zake"（おもいで酒）, "Tomarigi"（とまり木）and her duet with Katsuhiko Miki（美樹克彦）, "Moshikashite Part 2"（もしかして・パート２）. However, that discography is still plenty long, going right up to her most recent and 99th single in 2020.
So I wanted to see what else she's had in her singing arsenal, and I found this one called "Nakase yagatte Kono Yaro" (Damn You For Making Me Cry). Posted as her 34th single from New Year's Day 1982, this was created by a couple of legends, lyricist Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composer Asei Kobayashi（小林亜星）. Those strings and sighing female chorus brought some instant enka nostalgia but I have to admit that reading Hoshino's lyrics left me a bit confused. However, if I'm not mistaken, the story seems to revolve perhaps a couple of brothers or bosom buddies and maybe one of the previously tight tandem is leaving the other for a woman. Of course, that other has been left bereft. It's an interesting combination of fairly rough male language against the sweet arrangement of the music.
First off, allow me to give a little bit of an explanation for both this article and the one that I did on the male enka singers last night for the Tokyo House Party label. I have left out the younger enka stars in the kayo sky such as Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）and Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）, and that's not to say that I don't like them. It's just that I was so focusing on the Showa Era veterans that I'd forgotten to include them and since I've already put in those male stars from that period of time, I may as well also focus on the female enka singers from that earlier time. But if you are interested in knowing about the more recent talent in that genre, let me know and I'll see if I can draw you to some of them.
2020 has been a rough year for many reasons, a lot of them due to COVID-19 but it's also been a sad year in that a number of famous songwriters have passed away. Kayo kyoku's most prolific composer Kyohei Tsutsumi （筒美京平）died earlier in September and then another famed lyricist Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）left this mortal coil only a few days ago. Then on December 20th, lyricist/composer Taiji Nakamura also passed away from liver cancer at the age of 81.
According to a Sankei Sports article from 2017 via J-Wiki, the songwriter was born in Nara Prefecture in May 1939. He was a junior high school student when he joined the brass band club where he played the trombone. Feeling restricted from performing marching music, Nakamura turned into more of a jazz enthusiast. However, although there was no band club in senior high school, as a sophomore, he became enamored with the rock n' roll of Elvis Presley and Neil Sedaka, and at the height of the rockabilly boom, he even got his own pompadour hairstyle.
At the age of 18, Nakamura joined a band which included actor/musicians Yuya Uchida and Mitsuo Sagawa（内田裕也・佐川満男）called Blue Jean Bops（ブルージーン・バップス）where he took on the stage name of vocalist Taiji Mikawa（美川鯛二）. This is where J-Wiki takes a huge leap forward in time, only then mentioning that Nakamura had actually run for the Nara Prefecture gubernatorial election in 1995, only to finish in second place.
But of course between 1957 and 1995, Nakamura had all those years to create many songs for many singers, some of which have become kayo classics such as the elegiac "Kassai"（喝采）, a huge hit and trademark tune for Naomi Chiaki（ちあきなおみ）in 1972. The video at the very top has Nakamura singing the song himself.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)
As mentioned, though, he had his time behind the mike as Taiji Mikawa but the only song that I could find of him singing is "Kimagure Date"（気まぐれデート...Whimsical Date）, a B-side to his 2nd single in 1962"Akai Yacht wa Shindeita"（赤いヨットは死んでいた...The Red Yacht was Dead） and a cover to Bryan Hyland's"Every Other Night" released the same year. Hyland is more famous for his 1960 novelty hit"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini". As for "Kimagure Date", listening to the Hyland original with the male chorus, I have to confess some confusion as to why the Mikawa cover had to include a female chorus that's practically shrieking.
Not exactly sure when Nakamura made his foray as a full-time songwriter but perhaps one of his early works was "Ima wa Shiawase kai"（今は幸せかい）for his old bandmate Sagawa in 1968.
Nakamura didn't just focus on the more melancholy aspects of kayo. He also provided a huge number of songs for 70s aidoru Junko Sakurada（桜田淳子） such as her "Watashi no Aoi Tori"（わたしの青い鳥）in 1973.
In 1982, Nakamura also composed the song that would be another big hit for enka singer Takashi Hosokawa (細川たかし）, "Kita Sakaba" (北酒場）. It's a kayo that has been my second choice in the karaoke box all these years.
There are quite a few songs that I've also put into the Nakamura list here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I also wanted to include a couple of more that I had yet to cover. One example is "Futari wa Hitori"（ふたりはひとり...Two are One）, a song performed by Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）and written by Kotaro Aso（麻生香太郎）. Recorded in 1980, it's a light and cheerful enka thanks to the singer, the strings and the guitar.
One more discovery that I'll include to wrap up is Nakamura's music for Miki Obata's（小畑ミキ）1968 B-side, "Goodnight Andy"（グッドナイト・アンディー）with the A-side being "Kono Hana ni Ai wo Komete"（この花に愛をこめて...These Flowers With Love）. Obata herself provided the lyrics to Nakamura's melody which sounds like his old roots of rock n' roll.
Perhaps Nakamura's output wasn't quite as prolific as those of Tsutsumi but he has also left his generous share of kayo classics to be performed and cherished.
I've known veteran entertainer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）as enka singer, actress, vivacious TV personality and epic set during Kohaku Utagassen broadcasts. She cemented her career with hits such as "Omoide Zake"（おもいで酒）and "Moshikashite Part 2"（もしかして・パート２）.
However I was also aware about her beginnings as a mere kid coming up with a hit song right at her debut in the 1960s although I never got to hear the song itself. Well, I finally got to hear the song last night.
"Usotsuki Kamome" (Lying Seagull) was Single No. 1 for Kobayashi when she was only 10 years old. It was released back in June 1964 and listening to it, I thought that this was a pretty mature song for her considering her age as Sou Nishizawa's（西沢爽）lyrics talk about a woman taking it out on a seagull for making all sorts of noise in the mistaken assumption that her beloved's ship had come into port. Another notable point was that it was legendary composer Masao Koga（古賀政男）who came up with the melody for "Usotsuki Kamome".
Quite some headiness and attention for the preteen Kobayashi and so I wondered what earned her all that special treatment. Well, apparently, it was Koga who scouted her out and perhaps it was he or someone close by who proudly proclaimed her as the second coming of Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, which could explain why she got something like "Usotsuki Kamome" as her debut. Misora also started out as this kayo child prodigy who immortalized herself into public consciousness dressed up in a very adult tuxedo and with a voice which sounded years older.
I wish I could have found the original recording of "Usotsuki Kamome", but at this point, I will have to settle for Kobayashi's later revisitings to the song as an adult. Having listened to it a few times now, I've noticed how it starts off sounding like an old-fashioned happy-go-lucky kayo strut but then suddenly switches into something quite enka-like and this is around when the lyrics start talking about the woman heading back from the port rather dejectedly.
The fact that the single sold about 200,000 records probably had everybody thinking that Kobayashi was indeed the second Hibari. But as I mentioned as well on "Omoide Zake", there came 15 years of no hits, so it was amazing that she didn't give it all up and hung in there for so long (especially with that second Hibari label hanging over her) until her 28th single, the aforementioned "Omoide Zake" in 1979 which was that next big hit. After that, success became more of a regular and much appreciated tradition for the Niigata Prefecture native.
Ah, yes...cherry blossom season. It's the beloved time of year in spring when the sakura come out in full bloom, and the populace celebrates it by amassing under the spreading cherry trees in various parks and other natural areas through the custom of o-hanami. Of course, there is the flip side of things which involve the newbies in a company having to clamp down a spot of prime real estate under a tree for several hours in chilly weather before the rest of the folks come after work. Also, o-hanami means lots of drinking which means often enough a lot of angry/overly happy/exhibitionist drunks. I've witnessed examples of some of those.
I had my share of o-hanami experiences during my time in Tokyo. Most of them were fine but in my early years at the Ueno branch of NOVA, the staff and I had to literally swat off several homeless sots from our area in Ueno Park as they tried to cadge alcohol from us by grubbily spitting out greetings like "Me...friend...me...drink?" It didn't take long before we decided to pack up and hit an izakaya instead.
Anyways earlier in the summer, I wrote about "Tabiji Yoiyoi Yume Hanabi"（旅路宵酔ゐ夢花火）, the song with the mouthful of a title by the anime-based band Tsurezurenaru Ayatsuri Mugenan（徒然なる操り霧幻庵）from "Show By Rock". I mentioned that this fusion of enka and rock was an example of wagakki music in which bands populated by artists blast away on shamisen and shakuhachi as much as they do on electric guitars and bass.
Perhaps I may have been a bit premature in my nomenclature. Wagakki Band（和楽器バンド）is the live-action group performing this new Japanese fusion of genres but in J-Wiki, the group has been classified as J-Pop, hard rock, heavy metal, alternative rock, progressive rock, folk rock and heavy metal...but there is no sign of enka in there and no mention of wagakki. From what I've read so far, it looks like Wagakki Band may be the only official unit to shred shamisen.
According to the Wikipedia entry, Wagakki Band launched in 2013 as a group bringing together Vocaloid songs, traditional Japanese instruments and a rock sensibility. Apparently, they exploded on the scene through their video of the song "Senbonzakura" a few years back.
I translated the title into "A Thousand Cherry Trees" but according to J-Wiki once more, senbonzakura refers to the blossoming of cherry trees on Mt. Yoshino in Nara Prefecture and by association, any famous place known for a huge blanket of sakura during the season. Whatever the case may be, although I don't think I will ever become a dedicated fan of wagakki (yep, I did say that the genre may not officially exist but I will still use it here), "Senbonzakura" is pretty magnetic especially seeing Wagakki Band perform. It's almost like listening to the most traditional of enka music injected with a high-octane action film.
The song was a track on Wagakki Band's debut album from April 2014, "Vocalo Zanmai"（ボカロ三昧...Vocaloid Samadhi）which peaked at No. 5. Up to this point, the band has released 5 singles and 3 albums. You can learn more about the 8-piece group at Wikipedia and at their own website.
However, Wagakki Band's"Senbonzakura" is a cover of the original released in September 2011 by Vocaloid Miku Hatsune（初音ミク）, done up as a straight pop-rock number. It is available on the album "jubeat (jubeat saucer)". The song was written and composed by Vocaloid music writer Kurousa-P（黒うさP）.
For a few years now, my anime buddy has been mirthfully telling me that enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）has been surprising and/or delighting everybody from enka fans to anime enthusiasts recently due to her participation in the various sub-cultures. She performed "Senbonzakura" to mark her return after 4 years to the Kohaku Utagassen in 2015 in a special guest capacity. The above, though, is not the Kohaku.
Well, whether wagakki does become its own genre or not, it will be interesting to see if some form of it gets into the Opening Ceremonies for the 2020 Games.
It's been some months since I've written about this kayo legend so I'm happy I'm able to talk about her again.
This is one of those songs by Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）that I let slip through my memories perhaps because a later hit "Moshikashite"（もしかして）pretty much embedded itself in my head as her trademark song from the 1980s. Still, now that I've become reacquainted with "Futatabino"(The Second Time), I do remember that it was popping up on those music programs via rental video tapes from Nippon Video.
Appreciating it again after so long, I've found Kobayashi's 36th single from January 1983 to be another one of those kayo that might straddle the line between enka and Mood Kayo. Certainly looking at her appearance in the above video, I can envisage "Futatabino" to be a tune that can bring up images of being in a swanky nightclub in Tokyo and in fact, the lyrics by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）, talk of a lady walking through the side streets of an entertainment district bumping into an old flame again and wondering whether the embers of love can be rekindled.
It's pretty interesting how much more conservatively dressed Kobayashi was back in the day. To be honest, I kinda prefer that way instead of the more glamourous threads she's been wearing in recent years.
Anyways, there is also something about that melody by TAI that hints at enka so you can imagine why I'm slightly stuck to definitively categorize "Futatabino" one way or another. I was surprised to find out that it was Kisugi who came up with the lyrics since I'd always thought her to be purely providing for regular pop singers.
There is no mention on J-Wiki about how the song did on the charts but it did get her another opportunity to appear on the 1983 Kohaku Utagassen. I'm pretty sure at that time, Kobayashi had yet to begin that custom of enswathing herself in yards of epic fabric on the level of an Eiko Ishioka（石岡瑛子）creation.
The late Teresa Teng（テレサ・テン）had also released her version of "Futatabino" later in October of that year but unfortunately I couldn't find her take on YouTube. (But now I have!)
I was watching "Uta Kon" (うたコン) as usual on Tuesday night and was delighted to see Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）again after quite a while. The talking segment had the hosts show segments from past editions of the Kohaku Utagassen when Kobayashi was a regular competitor as she appeared in some of the most outlandish and gigantic costumes. To be honest, I gradually got quite tired of the spectacle after a few years but still there's no denying that I have liked a number of the singer's songs over the decades.
Kobayashi sang one of her hits that I hadn't been aware about. "Yuki Tsubaki" (Snow Camellias) was released as her 43rd single in June 1987. She has referred to the song written by Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composed by Minoru Endo（遠藤実）as one of her treasures since the snow camellia is a flower to be found in her native Niigata Prefecture and the song to her is a mindful one due to the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake that struck the area.
I'm not totally certain on the lyrics myself but it seems as if those camellias are a symbol of people, and perhaps especially mothers, taking on that huge burden knowing that the spring will eventually come. I think there is also a component of the loyal daughter finally having to leave the nest to start her own family with all of the happiness and tears that comes with that.
So it's not a surprise that although it only got as high as No. 23 on the charts, the enka song was a long seller, staying in the Top 100 for 104 weeks and selling over 800,000 copies. It would gradually become the 29th-ranked single of 1988. Kobayashi ended up singing "Yuki Tsubaki" three times on the Kohaku Utagassen.
One of the other songs that was featured at my friend`s dance recital the other Saturday was an old Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）enka ballad titled "Kanto Harusamegasa" (Umbrella for a Spring Rain in the Kanto) which was originally released in December 1963.
Composed and written by Masao Yoneyama（米山正夫）, it`s a tribute to old-time feistiness and no one can do enka feisty better than the Grande Dame herself. If I have got the meaning to the lyrics correctly, Misora is virtually daring a suitor to take her out for a stroll in that titular spring rain, the impression being that the lady has a certain intimidating reputation. Then she exhorts the fellow that if he`s gonna court her, then he'd better be ready to live life large since that's what she does.
Yoneyama's music also has the raucousness of a summer festival, perhaps for listeners to even better understand the force of nature that the woman is. It strikes a contrast with the title depicting a gentle stroll with that demure young lady. If anything, the poor guy will probably have to run to catch up with the strutting woman while sporting the brolley.
Y'know...if Madonna had started life a few decades earlier and decided to go into enka, "Kanto Harusamegasa" would have been right up her alley. I've got no idea how well this song did in terms of sales and no Oricon existed at the time to chart its success, but it's hard to imagine it being forgotten even among Misora's huge discography. To me, this song is another illustration of the phenomenon that was Hibari Misora.
"Kanto Harusamegasa" has been covered a number of times in various TV performances over the years. Here is veteran Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）.
It's been quite a while since we all saw enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）appear on the Kohaku stage but there she was in all her glory as a "special guest" on December 31st 2015 singing "Senbonzakura"（千本桜...A Thousand Cherry Trees） in her characteristic Mega-Sachiko mode.
Well, I was doing my usual translations today and one of the articles was a travel-based one in Gifu Prefecture which featured a certain brewery which specialized in a sake known as Yancha Sake which can mean Mischief Sake. To be honest, if I ever saw a bottle of clear liquid with the label of "Mischief", I would automatically think of a Calvin Klein perfume.
Still, when I was doing my research and checking online, I also came across this song by Sachiko Kobayashi under the title of "Yancha Sake". According to the lyrics by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）, I don't think this had anything to do with that Gifu brand of rice wine but more about Sachiko-san getting giddily drunk with the man she loves. This enka ballad would come under one of the tried-and-true tropes of a well-established couple enjoying those much-appreciated drinks at the local watering hole.
"Yancha Sake" was Kobayashi's 64th single released on New Year's Day in 1999 (auspicious day at the end of the century...probably many more quantities imbibed on that one) and the cheerful music was provided by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）. Y'know...I wouldn't mind the singer coming back as a regular competitor in a future Kohaku and just perform this particular song without needing to take over the entire stage.
This was a song that has popped up on NHK's"Kayo Concert" a couple of times including the previous episode last night (so glad that it's back)...and no surprise; it just seems to be tailor-made to be performed on stage.
"Kaimono Boogie" (Grocery Shopping Boogie) is a rapid-fire report on the craziness of doing the daily shopping by kayo boogie queen Shizuko Kasagi（笠置シヅ子）. Written and composed by Ryoichi Hattori（服部良一）in June 1950 for some Nichigeki revue show (ah, no wonder it's great on stage), the song gained a great reputation so it got its own single release. I think Kasagi was definitely the big factor here as she sings out the role of a harried-but-tough-as-nails housewife hitting the fish market and fruits-and-vegetable shop while bantering about in the Osakan dialect non-stop...and if there's a group of people who can talk and shop at the same time, it's the Osakans. There was no Oricon at the time (and there wouldn't be for the better part of a couple of decades), but I can only wonder how it would have done on the charts since "Kaimono Boogie" managed to sell about 450,000 records.
As I've said before, nostalgia has had a huge hand in Japanese pop culture, and when something as snappy as "Kaimono Boogie" is created, it's pretty much rendered immortal. So unsurprisingly, the 1950 song has been covered by a number of artists including Osaka-born UA for her 2010 album"KABA". Here she is performing it on stage.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)
Glad to see you again, Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）. She was actually on Tuesday night's "Kayo Concert", and this is her performing "Kaimono Boogie" on stage with all of the trappings of mid-Showa Era living. I'd say that it was a tribute to Kasagi when she performed it as part of the stage show, and Kobayashi plays it up to the hammy hilt. It would be nice if she could come back to the Kohaku Utagassen to act out something like this on the Shibuya stage and leave the planet-sized costumes to posterity.
One of my supermarkets in the neighbourhood: Y's Mart.
Good ol' Minami-Gyotoku was truly blessed with no less than
4 supermarkets and a good sprinkling of convenience stores.
Long time, no hear, Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）. It has been a very long time since I put up one of her songs so allow me to talk about "Tomarigi" (The Perch). I didn't know the title but as soon as I listened to the song after so long, especially those first several notes, it was kinda like having a reunion with an old friend. And as I once mentioned in one of the other articles for Kobayashi, the enka singer always struck me as being that somewhat footloose and fancy-free aunt who occasionally came by to visit on holidays.
"Tomarigi" was Kobayashi's 29th single released on New Year's Day 1980, almost a full year after her huge previous single, "Omoide Zake"（おもいで酒）came out. Written and composed by Eiji Takino（たきのえいじ）, there was a certain girlish lightness to "Tomarigi" when compared to Kobayashi's 28th single. Although I think just about every record store was closed on January 1st (how do you release a record in Japan on its most important national holiday?), this would have been the ideal song to play on the stereo with the cold sunny weather outside while family and friends were chowing down on the o-sechi inside. The lyrics dealt with a woman pining away for that special someone; if I'm not mistaken, the perch of the title was the man himself, the anchor that the woman wanted to hold onto.
Those were quite the days when Kobayashi didn't need to look so flashy on the stage. Back then, she looked like the friendliest flight attendant or office lady. Anyways, although "Tomarigi" didn't quite score the same level of success as "Omoide Zake" did, it was still another hit for her. Reaching No. 4 on Oricon, it also became the 13th-ranked song of the year.
As far as my memory goes, enka star Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子） was arguably the first big name from Japanese music to come to Toronto. Perhaps, others may have preceded her arrival to T.O, but they probably came before I was born. I think she came over just shortly after her big hit of "Omoide Zake" （おもいで酒）in 1979, and the venue was the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC). Not sure how the organizers pulled it off but most likely, a concert in New York probably helped in the logistics since by air, a flight from The Big Apple to The Big Smoke is barely an hour. In any case, Kobayashi's arrival to perform here was treated like an appearance by the Queen. I remember my parents dressing up to the nines to see her.
In any case, Sachiko Kobayashi had a fine decade in the 80s. One of her teiban songs was "Moshikashite" (By Chance), originally released in January 1984. A sparkly and sprightly tune, the song matched the singer's bubbly personality. It has a bit of a tango flair in it as well. Whenever we borrowed any music tapes from Nippon Video, she was sure to pop up with this one. "Moshikashite" got as high as No. 11 on the Oricon weeklies, and got her a ticket to that year's Kohaku.
The song was written by Michiko Sakaki（榊みちこ） and composed by singer-songwriter Katsuhiko Miki（美樹克彦）. For Miki, I guess it just wasn't enough for him to stay on the sidelines; he decided to jump onto the stage and so, in July 1984, "Moshikashite Part II" was born with some changes in the lyrics to fit a duet for both him and Kobayashi. It looks like the upgraded version had some bigger benefits. The song again peaked at No. 11 but also became the 60th-ranked song for 1984, and earned a Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards on New Year's Eve. And it has become a karaoke favourite with the older couples...perhaps after a few drinks.
